On November 24, 2020, a letter was sent to House leadership and members of the Appropriations Committee regarding the danger of the Ligado order to the safety of SATCOM services. The bipartisan letter was signed by Representatives GT Thompson (R-PA-15), Collin Peterson (D-MN-07), James Comer (R-KY-01), David Rouzer (R-NC-07), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO-04), Austin Scott (R-GA-08), Rick Crawford (R-AR-01), Dusty Johnson (R-SD, At-Large), Ralph Abraham (R-LA-05) and Jim Hagedorn (R-MN-01) and focused specifically on the negative impact of the Ligado order on the agriculture industry.
In the letter, the bipartisan group of Representatives stated:
“While the FCC Order acknowledges this interference will impact users in the federal government and requires Ligado to upgrade or replace these devices, the Order fails to require Ligado to accept responsibility for the millions of private devices that will be affected. This will force several industries, including agriculture, who rely on these devices to access satellite-based services to suffer from Ligado’s operations, initiate burdensome and ill-defined procedures to address this interference, or to pay to replace them.”
Take a look at the letter in full here.
On November 20, 2020, a letter signed by a number of groups across a wide range of industries was sent to the chairs of the House Armed Services Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee. The letter expressed the danger of the Ligado order to the safety of SATCOM services.
In the letter, the groups stated:
“Operators and users of L-band satellite systems have relied on a stable spectrum environment – free from harmful interference – to deploy their networks and conduct their operations Ligado’s proposed terrestrial network would fundamentally put the vital L-band satellite communications services–that in some instances serve as the only way to reach even the most remote regions of the world and are critical to safe aviation– at risk. In addition, the proposed Ligado network would disrupt the reliability of satellite communications services and the many critical applications which rely upon GPS, which has direct implications for safety-of-life in commercial aviation operations, precision farming and irrigation management that have revolutionized the agriculture economy, autonomous ground and air vehicles that will bring a new generation of transportation, precise and actionable weather data that predicts and enables warnings for hurricanes and other life-threatening natural events, and many other applications. Simply put, the Ligado Order failed to take full account of the diverse services in the L-band, including those relied on by military, federal, and public safety users, that would be stranded or significantly impaired (without available alternatives) by the harmful interference caused by Ligado’s proposed terrestrial network.”
Read the letter in full here
On October 27, 2020, a letter signed by a number of groups across a wide range of industries was sent to the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The letter expressed the danger of the Ligado order to the safety of SATCOM services.
The letter states the following:
“Operators and users of L-band satellite systems have relied on a stable spectrum environment free from harmful interference to deploy their networks and conduct their operations that depend upon those networks. Ligado’s proposed terrestrial network would fundamentally put the vital L-band satellite communications services—that in some instances serve as the only way to reach even the most remote regions of the world and are critical to safe aviation—at risk. In addition, the proposed Ligado network would disrupt the reliability of satellite communications services and the many critical applications that rely upon Global Positioning System (GPS), which has direct implications for safety-of-life in commercial aviation operations, precision farming and irrigation management that have revolutionized the agriculture economy, autonomous ground and air vehicles that will bring a new generation of transportation, precise and actionable weather data that can predict hurricanes and other life-threatening natural events, and many other applications. Simply put, the Ligado Order failed to take full account of the diverse services in the L-band, including those relied on by military, federal, and public safety users, that would be stranded or significantly impaired (without available alternatives) by the harmful interference caused by Ligado’s proposed terrestrial network.”
Read the full letter here
On June 8, 2020, a consolidation of several airline groups including the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) filed a reply to Ligado Networks’ Opposition to petitions for reconsideration or clarification filed by the Joint Petitioners.
In the filing, the groups note:
“Joint Petitioners represent virtually all of the aviation industry – including helicopter and fixed wing pilots, passenger and cargo airlines, and manufacturers – and have the interests of the flying public and aviation safety and efficiency as their missions. Ligado seeks to obfuscate the broad array of interests that constitute Joint Petitioners by inaccurately referring to the Petition as the “ASRI Petition.” In addition, Ligado makes a shallow attempt to counterbalance Joint Petitioners’ broad array of aviation expertise and experience with an ex parte letter of a single helicopter company with a commercial relationship with Ligado and, now, a consultant under contract with Ligado, who happens to be a retired Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employee (see, e.g., Ligado Opp. at 18 (referencing what Ligado calls Joint Petitioners’ ‘disagreement with other stakeholders’ perspectives concerning both TAWS and flight by visual reference’); JHW Opp. at 11 (referring to the Order’s recognition of ‘Metro Aviation’s endorsement’)). The Order’s acceptance of the applicant’s view, and that of a helicopter company in a commercial relationship with Ligado, on matters of aviation safety in contradiction to virtually the entire aviation industry is nothing short of baffling. and indicative of why the Order is arbitrary, capricious, and not supported by substantial evidence in the record.”
Read the full filing here
On June 8, 2020, Iridium Communications, Aireon LLC, Flyht Aerospace Solutions and Skytrac Systems filed a reply to Ligado Networks’ Opposition to petitions for reconsideration or clarification filed by Iridium & co.
In the filing, they note:
LIGADO AND ITS ALLIES DO NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO RESPOND TO SEVERAL IRIDIUM ARGUMENTS.
- The Order Ignored Material Evidence and Arguments. Iridium et al. showed that, contrary to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), the Order ignored evidence and arguments that represented “important aspect[s] of the problem” before it.
- The Order is Constitutionally Deficient. Iridium et al. showed that, by interpreting the Communications Act to allow the FCC to override executive branch concerns regarding interference to military equipment, the Order unconstitutionally infringed on “the President’s role as Commander in Chief.”
- The Order’s Repair-and-Replace Condition is Infeasible, Toothless, and Unlawful. Iridium et al. demonstrated that the Order’s repair-and-replace condition with respect to federal users was infeasible, toothless, and unlawful under the Miscellaneous Receipts Act (MRA).
WHERE LIGADO AND ITS SURROGATES PURPORT TO RESPOND TO IRIDIUM’S CLAIMS, THEIR SUPERFICIAL ARGUMENTS FAIL.
- Repeated Invocation of “Agency Expertise” Does Not Override APA Requirements. Time and again, Ligado rests on the suggestion that criticisms of the Order are irrelevant because the FCC is an expert agency, and that petitioners’ arguments boil down to mere policy disagreements.
- FCC Failed to Satisfy Section 343 of the Act. Iridium et al. demonstrated that the Order violated Section 343’s requirement that the agency “resolve[]” concerns of harmful interference to covered GPS services in the 1525–1559 MHz and 1626.5–1660.5 MHz bands.
- FCC Failed to Satisfy Section 25.255 of Its Rules. Iridium et al. also showed that the Order was incompatible with Section 25.255 of the Commission’s rules. Ligado contends that this rule is irrelevant because Iridium’s authorization in the applicable band is “on a secondary basis” and thus, under Section 2.105(c), warrants no interference protection against Ligado’s “primary” use.
- Ligado is Not 5G. Roberson parrots the Order, contending that Ligado’s network will support elements of two of the three “cornerstones” of 5G – massive machine type communication and ultra-reliable and low latency communications. Roberson Opp. at 19. As Iridium et al. demonstrated, this is not so. Iridium et al. Petition at 19-20. Roberson fails to address the reasons why – namely, the facts that Ligado lacks sufficient bandwidth to support 5G, its offering is not covered by any of the 3GPP 5G standards, and there is no record evidence that Ligado has even initiated the process to be included in the 3GPP standards for 5G.
THE COMMISSION SHOULD CLARIFY THAT THE FIVE-YEAR EIRP RAMP- UP COMMENCED ON THE ORDER’S EFFECTIVE DATE.
- Ligado confirms Iridium et al.’s concern that it would adopt a tortured, self-serving reading of the Order’s statement that, “for a period of five years, the maximum EIRP” for 1627.5-1632.5 MHz “will ramp up from -31 dBW at 1627.5 MHz to -7 dBW at 1632.5 MHz.”
Read the full filing here
On June 8, 2020, the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation (RNTF) filed a reply to Ligado Networks’ Opposition to petitions for reconsideration or clarification filed by RNTF.
In the filing, RNTF notes:
“Ligado, in its Opposition, misrepresents the history of the Commission’s proceeding on the Mobile-Satellite Service (MSS) Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC). The Commission specifically prohibited stand-alone terrestrial services in its 2003 MSS ATC Report and Order (2003 ATC Order), stating in section I paragraph 1 that ‘We do not intend, nor will we permit, the terrestrial component to become a stand-alone service.’ Simply put, the Commission provided welcome assurances that stand-alone terrestrial services would not be permitted in the spectrum bands reserved for satellite services. Ligado’s claim that the 2003 MSS ATC rulemaking addressed their current stand-alone terrestrial service in its Opposition is thus completely without merit.”
Read the full filing here
On June 8, 2020, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) filed a reply to Ligado Networks’ Opposition to petitions for reconsideration or clarification filed by NTIA.
In the filing, NTIA notes:
“NTIA corrects serious errors and misperceptions in Ligado’s portrayal of the longstanding dual system of federal/non-federal spectrum management. Notwithstanding basic procedural provisions of the 2003 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two agencies, the Commission committed in 2005 to coordinate – not merely ‘consult’ – with NTIA and other government agencies if “any change” is requested by a MSS licensee under Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) authorization in the L-Band, including Ligado. NTIA also reiterates and clarifies some of its recommendations set forth in its petition and recent submissions on the record that Ligado’s opposition misconstrues, misunderstands, or ignores.”
- UNDER THE STATUTORY SCHEME ESTABLISHED BY CONGRESS, NTIA AND THE FCC ARE CO-REGULATORS OF THE L-BAND, REQUIRING CAREFUL COORDINATION – ESPECIALLY WHEN NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SAFETY OF LIFE SERVICES ARE IMPACTED
- THE LIGADO OPPOSITION MISCONSTRUES, MISUNDERSTANDS, OR IGNORES NTIA’S CONCERNS AND RECOMMENDED PATHS FORWARD
Read the full filing here
On June 8, 2020, Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) filed a reply to Ligado Networks’ Opposition to petitions for reconsideration or clarification filed by ALPA and ASRI.
In the filing, ALPA notes:
“Airline pilots rely upon reliable and secure GPS satellite services for critical navigation and warning systems that have prevented airline accidents. Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (TAWS) and GPS-navigation systems aboard airliners provide pilots and passengers with invisible three-dimensional life-saving guardrails in the sky. With the increasing elimination of traditional ground-based navigation and radar facilities by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) it is more important today than ever to ensure that critical GPS-based cockpit warnings and navigation continue to operate as intended. Nothing presented in the Oppositions filed in response to the Air Line Pilots Association, International’s (ALPA’s) Petition for Reconsideration1 presents any valid reason for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to refuse ALPA’s reasonable requests to reconsider its decision to ensure that airline GPS-navigation and TAWS are properly protected, and to give these critical airline safety systems the evaluation they deserve before granting Ligado a license.”
- The Order Did Not Properly Address Concerns Applicable to Certified Aviation Receivers
- The Commission’s Analysis of Risks to Airline Operations including to Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (TAWS) was Incomplete
- ALPA’s Safety Concerns about Risks from UAS and General Aviation aircraft remain Unrebutted
- The Issues raised in the Commission’s 2020 Licensing Order are distinctly new and different those covered in the 2003 Flexible Delivery Rulemaking
“Considering the evidence of and the risks identified by ALPA and others, it is clear the Commission made a hasty, arbitrary, and incorrect decision will impede ongoing work on spectrum sharing. For that and the reasons discussed above ALPA urges the Commission to reconsider, reverse its decision, and withdraw in its entirety its April 22, 2020 Order granting Ligado a license and authorizing the operation of terrestrial transmitters in the 1525-1559 MHz and 1626.5-1660.5 MHz bands.”
Read the full filing here
On June 8, 2020, Lockheed Martin filed a reply to Ligado Networks’ Opposition to petitions for reconsideration or clarification filed by Lockheed Martin and seven others.
In the filing, Lockheed notes:
“First, Ligado argues that the Commission need not address the fact that it should have designated Ligado’s applications for a hearing because Lockheed Martin failed either to comply with the requirements of section… Second, Ligado’s efforts to defend the interference complaint procedures are themselves deficient. In no other spectrum context—including those cited by Ligado—is the interfering party allowed to determine whether a complaint it receives is “credible” before taking action… Third, Ligado states that Lockheed Martin simply seeks to ‘rehash the debate regarding use of the 1 dB metric in this context, disagreeing with the Commission’s method of analyzing harmful interference to GPS.’… Finally, Ligado argues that the Commission is not obligated to conduct a cost-benefit analysis, and that in any event ‘[t]he Commission’s public interest analysis fully considered the costs and benefits associated with granting Ligado’s applications.’ This is wrong.”
Read the full filing here.
Today, over 60 commercial interests including major airlines — American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest and United — filed in support of a Commerce Department request to keep Ligado Networks from deploying any network equipment until the US government can resolve interference concerns with their plans. As the manager of federal agencies’ airwaves, Commerce petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its April decision to allow Ligado to operate in airwaves that the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration and these commercial interests believe will cause interference to government and commercial users in airwaves nearby. NTIA also petitioned the FCC to stay the Ligado order while the request is considered, which is the subject of the letter attached.
Letter In Support of NTIA Stay Petition (06.03.20)
