Update on FCC & LightSquared’s Assault on GPS

In March, we joined a wide variety of industries and companies supporting the efforts of the Coalition to Save Our GPS, to resolve a serious threat to Global Positioning Systems (GPS) — a national utility upon which farmers and their equipment rely on more everyday. At that time, we urged our members to add their support & call on Congress to insist on an impartial Federal Communications Commission (FCC) review process, by which LightSquared was licensed.

According to several industry observers, the FCC has told the Obama administration that it can tout the jobs that LightSquared might produce — giving the agency a political stake in the outcome.

Here’s the problem: The FCC had granted LightSquared the spectrum that lies near the GPS band on the condition that it work with GPS vendors, regulators and users to prevent interference between the services. Reports by agencies involved in the testing, showed that LightSquared’s LTE transmitters would hinder or cut off GPS service for several types of receivers, including ones for public safety and aviation. Deere & Co. notified the FCC of substantial interference with its GPS receivers by the LightSquared signal. Deere receivers registered impact of and interference by the LightSquared signal as far away as 22 miles from a transmitter.

The FCC had set a deadline of June 15 for LightSquared to report on interference testing, but on the day the report was due, the FCC granted LightSquared an extension until Friday, July 1, providing the perfect cover of a holiday weekend, to file the report.

This week, LightSquared announced that it has proposed setting aside the part of its spectrum closest to the frequencies used by GPS and instead using a band controlled by satellite carrier Inmarsat. LightSquared’s Chief Executive Sanjiv Ahuja said, “This is a solution which ensures that tens of millions of GPS users won’t be affected by LightSquared’s launch.”

This latest gambit by LightSquared borders on the bizarre. Last week LightSquared unilaterally delayed filing of the study report that culminated months of intensive work to evaluate interference to GPS, because they purportedly needed two more weeks to analyze the results. Days later, well before the report is scheduled to be filed, LightSquared unilaterally announces that it has found a ‘solution.’

“LightSquared’s supposed solution is nothing but a ‘Hail Mary’ move. Confining its operation to the lower MSS band still interferes with many critical GPS receivers in addition to the precision receivers that even LightSquared concedes will be affected. The government results submitted to date already prove this, and the study group report will also confirm this. It is time for LightSquared to move out of the MSS band,” said Jim Kirkland, an executive at Trimble Navigation Ltd. and a founding member of the coalition.

We continue to support the efforts of the Coalition to Save Our GPS and praises their efforts to date. For more information go to SaveOurGPS.org. ◆