LightSquared's Current Services Unaffected by Recent Events
LightSquared assured users of its current generation voice (MSAT), private network carrier and mobile data services that it would extend emulation of these services on its SkyTerra-1 satellite for existing users. Bryan Hartin, vice president of sales, distribution and business development for LightSquared, said, "Our existing satellite customers will not see any change in service or coverage as a result of recent regulatory events. LightSquared's mission is to support every user through the emulation period and transition them to a next generation LightSquared satellite platform."
Regarding the new customers, Hartin said, "LightSquared's next generation customers will be able to take advantage of the SkyTerra-1 advanced spot beam coverage capability to utilize the LightSquared L-Band spectrum more efficiently, resulting in significantly reduced device size and cost. Additionally, the SkyTerra-1 ground based beam forming system allows for customization of coverage over the North American continent, Hawaii and the Caribbean, giving customers the flexibility to provide increased coverage in specific areas and to change coverage over time as user demand requires."
The announcement said that LightSquared's MSAT-1 and MSAT-2 satellites will remain in service and are available to provide critical redundancy capabilities, if needed.
Broadcasters Unimpressed by Aereo's Miniature Antennas
As expected, broadcasters--including Fox Television, PBS and Univision—have asked a Federal judge to halt Aereo's TV service which would stream off-air broadcast channels to subscribers via the Internet. Each customer would be hooked to their own miniature antenna at Aereo's headquarters. However, as Wired.com author David Kravets wrote, Tiny Antennas Don't Prevent Copyright Suit. Rip Empson at TechCrunch.com thinks Aereo Actually Has A Shot At Beating The Broadcast Networks. Regarding the lawsuit, he points to some recent court rulings both here and in Australia and says, "The point is that these are examples (Cablevision/Optus) of two distinct, federal judicial systems finding no real significance to where digital recording happens, in the cloud, in a box, on a table, or from beneath the sea. As long as only one copy of the content being recorded is made, and it is only viewed by the person licensing that box (or in the case of Aereo, that pair of antenna), and thus not redistributed outside of that home, well … you see where I'm going."
Read more in his article.
