Arianespace’s 2012 profit was the equivalent of $2.2 million at today’s exchange rate on sales of $1.74 billion, it said in a news release (http://bit.ly/12V60dI). That income is up from about $2 million on sales of $1.3 billion for 2011, according to last year’s announcement (http://bit.ly/YQPFa8). For 2012, Arianespace had seven Ariane 5 launches orbiting 12 commercial satellites, it said. There also were three launches on the Soyuz launcher and the first launch of its Vega launcher, it said. The commercial launch company said it has planned six Ariane 5 launches this year, three Soyuz launches and one Vega launch.
Getting FirstNet up and running will present a tough task for the group’s board and staff in the coming months and years, NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling said Thursday at a forum sponsored by PCIA, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and the Maryland/D.C. Wireless Association (CD April 12 p2). “Clearly we're looking at a huge challenge here,” Strickling said. “When you look at what the task is that’s been put before FirstNet they have to assemble a nationwide network with nationwide coverage, in other words this is a network that has to reach into every corner of our country.” FirstNet also has to offer a service that first responders find attractive, he said. “Keep in mind absolutely no one has to purchase any service from this network. It’s got to be clear that the service meets needs and is offered at a price that’s affordable to out public agencies.” The FirstNet board also has to follow federal hiring and procurement regulations, he said. Many of the board members are from the private sector, he said: They're “used to hiring people tomorrow and signing contracts next week. That’s not the way we do it in the federal government.” Partnerships with the state and local governments and with industry will be critical, he said. “We're all going to have to pull together on this to make it a success.”
NSSL Global was selected by Inmarsat as a value added reseller of Global Xpress for the maritime market. With Ka-band technology, Global Xpress will provide the shipping industry with the first global broadband service with speeds up to 50 Mbps, NSSL said in a press release (http://bit.ly/10QXkmL). NSSL is an independent service provider for satellite communications solutions, it said.
The FCC’s allocation of Channel 3 to Middletown, N.J., took effect Friday, said a commission notice in Friday’s Federal Register (http://1.usa.gov/17vEsio). It said the move from Ely, Nev., now “complies with the principle [sic] community coverage and technical requirements set forth in the Commission’s rules.” The Media Bureau last month approved the reallocation of the Nevada station and another western license owned by PMCM to Delaware after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the agency must approve PMCM’s request (CD March 19 p16).
Bible Broadcasting Network, Charlotte, N.C., Positive Alternative Radio, Blacksburg, Va., and Radio Bilingue, Fresno, Calif., amended their FM translator applications to de-select their noncommercial educational status. The licensees applied for FM translators in Auction 83, they said in separate FCC filings. The Media Bureau opened up a window through April 17 for certain applicants to change their filing status (CD April 3 p10).
Cisco said MetroPCS is using its Carrier-Grade IPv6 solution to transition the carrier’s mobile Internet to IPv6. Cisco said the technology will help MetroPCS “effectively deal with the bottleneck” caused by the depletion of IPv4 addresses. Cisco technologies involved in the MetroPCS transition include the Cisco ASR 5000 series, Cisco carrier routing system, Cisco ASR 9000 series aggregation service routers and the Cisco Nexus 7000 series switches. Cisco is leading MetroPCS’s system integration for IPv6, including directing the design, testing and product enablement of IPv6 on the carrier’s network. Cisco said Friday it’s already completed the network end-to-end validation work and first-office applications required for the transition, and improved efficiencies in other areas. That work will help MetroPCS speed its start 4G LTE services on IPv6, Cisco said (http://bit.ly/153BnXb).
The FCC International Bureau dismissed an application from Ocean Exploration Trust for a license to operate an earth station on a vessel in the 3700-4200 MHz and 5925-6425 MHz frequencies. The application “is technically inconsistent, which renders it unacceptable and subject to dismissal,” the bureau’s Satellite Division said in an order (http://bit.ly/110EoT7). On FCC Form 312, OET lists an emission designator 2MG1W value that is inconsistent with its response to another item, “which states the maximum EIRP [effective isotropic radiated power] per carrier value as 58.98 dBW,” it said. “Our calculations indicate that a maximum EIRP per carrier value of 58.98 dBW over a 2 MHz carrier bandwidth would result in a maximum EIRP density per carrier value of 31.98 dBW/4kHz.” The bureau can’t validate the proposed emission EIRP density power of the proposed earth station, it said. The bureau also noted that the correct expression of the emission designator should be stated as “2M00G1W,” not “2MG1W,” it said.
Several state officials told the FCC they're collecting and plan to submit ILEC study area boundary data for their states. The FCC posted notices from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, the Mississippi Public Service Commission and the Minnesota Department of Commerce on Friday and the North Dakota Public Service Commission on Thursday. The Washington commission plans to begin submitting data April 29 “when the study area boundary database first becomes available for input” and will certify the data by June 28, it said in its filing (http://bit.ly/ZetwSN). The FCC issued an order in November calling for such submissions as part of the creation of a nationwide set of study area boundaries.
Kansas approved its law restricting state regulation of VoIP and Internet Protocol-enabled services. House Bill 2326 received strong support in both bodies of the Kansas Legislature. Kansas companies worked out many of the bill’s details before it was introduced. It was presented to Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, at the beginning of April, and he signed the bill last week. The law’s terms run counter to regulation of interconnected VoIP attempted by the Kansas Corporation Commission in January.
The incentive auction of broadcast TV spectrum is especially critical to T-Mobile, Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray and other company officials told FCC officials last week in a series of meetings (http://bit.ly/16S2YJn). “Because T-Mobile has virtually no low-frequency spectrum, the 600 MHz auction offers the only foreseeable opportunity to acquire spectrum with superior in-building penetration and expansive coverage properties,” Ray said, according to a filing at the commission. “First, maximize the amount of paired spectrum available in the 600 MHz auction, second, maximize participation in the 600 MHz auction by providing meaningful opportunities for competitive carriers to participate and win, third, require interoperability across the entire band.” Ray said T-Mobile hopes for an incentive auction next year.