Lockheed Martin reached a milestone in developing the U.S. Air Force’s next generation Global Positioning System III satellites by turning on power to the system module of the program’s first spacecraft. The team is on track to deliver the first satellite for launch availability in 2014, Lockheed said in a press release (http://bit.ly/Xdri5T). The GPS III program will replace aging GPS satellites, “while improving capability to meet the evolving demands of military, commercial and civilian users,” it said. Successfully powering on the satellite, GPS III SV-1, demonstrates mechanical integration, “validates the satellite’s interfaces and leads the way for electrical and integrated hardware-software testing,” Lockheed said.
Gilat was awarded a three-year contract by the Peruvian Ministry of Education to help provide Internet connectivity to 2,600 schools nationwide. The $12.8 million contract is part of the ministry’s initiative to bring connectivity to Peruvian school children “in an effort to reduce educational disparities in the country,” Gilat said in a press release (http://bit.ly/YKb8k5). Gilat will provide its SkyEdge II-c Aries very small aperture terminal, which is designed “to enable high speed broadband services and fair use policy while meeting cost efficiencies which are at the heart of government sponsored projects,” it said.
The EU is a strong player in the global market for telecommunication satellites and services but faces growing competition from emerging industries in countries such as China and India, the European Commission said Thursday. To address the challenges, it proposed a new industrial policy for the space sector (http://bit.ly/VQd9dZ) and a surveillance and tracking system to avoid satellite collisions. The European space industry differs from its chief rivals because its budget is smaller, it relies more on commercial sales, the part of military expenses is smaller, and synergies between civil and defense sectors are less well developed, the EC said. In addition, unlike the U.S., Europe’s downstream satellite navigation and earth observation markets are only emerging. Among other challenges the European space industry faces are higher subsidies in other countries, and the fact that the satellite communication industry accounts for almost 60 percent of Europe’s space manufacturing sector, it said. While Europe has a world-class satellite communication sector, it’s facing increasing global competition as well as technical and political roadblocks due to scarcity of radio spectrum, it said. Moreover, Europe needs to position itself in the emerging markets for navigation and Earth observation, it said. The EC proposed several actions to raise Europe’s game: (1) Legislation at the EU and national level that addresses legal issues such as insurance obligations, sanctions, and environmental issues. (2) Monitoring the impact on the space industry of the export control system for dual-use goods. (3) Investigating how best to take into account future spectrum needs for satellite communications, and preparing to defend EU interests at the next ITU World Radiocommunication Conference. (4) Pursuing development of European space standards. (5) Ensuring that the specificities of the space industry are taken into account in trade negotiations, to promote a level playing field. (6) Supporting research and innovation to foster development of satellite navigation applications using Galileo. The EC also said it wants to make sure that space data from existing and future European missions is used extensively by scientists, the public and the commercial domain. It also proposed a space surveillance and tracking service to protect space infrastructures.
The Rural Telecommunications Group told its members they can shut down the operation of all cell signal boosters already in consumer hands on their networks, which don’t meet the requirements of last week’s FCC order (http://bit.ly/WncMtV). “Some service providers such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless may be totally unwilling to support legacy boosters,” RTG said in a brief to its members (http://bit.ly/XF7dox). “Members of RTG have complete freedom to either allow for the continued use of legacy boosters or require their customers to completely stop their operation. In addition, if non-conforming legacy boosters are causing interference to other service providers operating in the same market, those affected service providers (or the FCC) can shut-down the offending boosters.” “The order was, unfortunately, quite specific on this point,” said Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld, whose group raised concerns about cell boosters already in use. “Hopefully, rural carriers will consider the needs of their customers when making these decisions. But the plain fact is that the FCC permits carriers to order customers to shut down boosters without any evidence that the boosters are causing interference issues. As a result, those customers that most need boosters, and have the fewest (if any) choice of providers, find themselves entirely at the mercy of their carrier.”
"I don’t want a new Digital Cold War!” EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Thursday at a roundtable on the future of Internet governance at the European Parliament in Brussels. It took time for governments to realize the importance of the Internet, and because some don’t like its openness and transparency they'd prefer a more hierarchical and country-to-country governance, her written remarks said. Others complain that the current governance model is unduly dominated by the U.S. or excludes the poorest. They want bodies such as the United Nations to give them political power, she said. With distrust growing, now isn’t the time for a digital cold war, Kroes said. Europe doesn’t want governments or the ITU to control the Internet, and is fighting to keep it from being fragmented into national “intranets,” she said. What matters most is the “clear divide that has emerged between countries, and the mutual suspicion that someone is trying to unilaterally control a common resource.” Europe has been in a similar situation before, but it shouldn’t turn this into a struggle between civilizations. The Internet isn’t about Western cultural supremacy, but is what one makes of it, she said. In addition, the EU can get better at the multistakeholder model by improving relations with the information and communications technology and Internet communities and making the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers better, she said. She also wants Europe to work better with international partners to ensure nations don’t feel they're excluded from a rich members’ club. Moreover, it’s “time for diplomats to realise the importance of the internet,” she said. It’s important to understand why countries take the positions they do, and to engage with them on the merits of a distributed approach to online policymaking. Finally, Kroes said, Europeans must develop their vision for the Internet, defend their values, and challenge those who oppose European freedoms. Kroes said she'll focus on these issues in coming months.
HTC America posted a listing online Wednesday of its smartphone and tablet devices that the FTC said contained security flaws. HTC and the FTC reached a settlement Friday that requires HTC to provide customers with a security patch to fix those flaws (CD Feb 25 p3). The online listing also includes the status of security patches for the affected devices, HTC said. Customers can also obtain information on affected devices by dialing a toll-free number -- 866-449-8358 -- which is staffed from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern time (http://1.usa.gov/12bNDVv)
Clearwire said Wednesday it plans to take $80 million in Sprint Nextel financing in March that was offered as part of Sprint’s buyout agreement, but said it hasn’t decided whether it will accept future financing amounts allowed under the agreement. Sprint agreed in December to offer Clearwire up to $800 million in financing as part of the buyout deal, which is divided into $80 million note allotments over the span of 10 months that convert into stock. Clearwire said its actions don’t mean it has outright rejected a competing bid by Dish Network, though Dish has indicated it would withdraw its bid from consideration if Clearwire took the Sprint financing. Clearwire said a special committee examining the competing bids will continue discussions with both Dish and Sprint (http://bit.ly/XDdPE2).
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said the panel will continue its oversight of the FCC in the 113th Congress as well as advance technology and telecom priorities to “prepare Americans for a digital economy,” in a news release Wednesday. The committee will continue to work to expand broadband Internet access to underserved American communities and conduct oversight into NTIA’s implementation of FirstNet, the release said. Cybersecurity will remain a priority for the committee, the release said, and it will emphasize the importance of recruiting and training more federal cybersecurity personnel. The committee will strive to strengthen privacy protections on the Internet, promote competition and increase consumer choice in video content and study the impact that violent media content has on children, it said. Rockefeller announced last year that he would not run for reelection after his term expires in 2014.
Atlantic Broadband asked the FCC for another week to respond to Western Pacific Broadcasting’s must carry complaint regarding its WACP Atlantic City, N.J. (http://bit.ly/15R8Fro). “Atlantic Broadband and Western Pacific continue attempts to resolve their issues, and believe they may be able to do so without the need for Commission Intervention,” it said. It was the fourth such request for more time Atlantic has made; the other three were granted.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said he will try to reform the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and bolster the nation’s cybersecurity in a speech Wednesday at the Christian Science Monitor Breakfast in Washington, D.C. The “decades old” ECPA should be modernized “to reflect our current digital economy,” he said. “Cyberattacks are a direct threat to our economic prosperity, privacy, and way of life,” Goodlatte said. “The Judiciary Committee will make it a priority to enhance our nation’s vulnerable systems to protect our networks and computers and ensure our national security and economic well-being.”