Advisory Board Says LightSquared Can't Coexist With GPS
Tells the FCC 'no practical solutions or mitigations' would stop interference
A special board formed to advise the federal government on the clash between Global Positioning System receivers and LightSquared’s proposed cellular/satellite communications network has concluded there are “no practical solutions or mitigations” that would allow the two to coexist on adjacent segments of the radio spectrum.
A letter from the National Space-Based Positioning Navigation and Timing Committee said it had reached the “unanimous conclusion” that the LightSquared network would “cause harmful interference to many GPS receivers” as well as a GPS-powered ground-alert system overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Space-Based Positioning Navigation & Timing executive committee has representatives from nine federal departments including the Commerce Dept, and the Air Force, and the letter was signed by Ashton Carter, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and John Porcari, Deputy Secretary of Transportation. The group reports its conclusions to the Federal Communications Commission, which has the final say on whether Lightsquared can proceed with its network, into which New York hedge fund operator Phil Falcone has poured more than $2 billion.
