September 9, 2022

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a detailed independent analysis prepared under the purview of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that finds Ligado Networks 5G operations will pose significant harm to critical real-time weather and water data transmitted by its NOAA satellites between 1675–1680 MHz. The full Spectrum Pipeline Reallocation 1675–1680 MHz Engineering Study (SPRES) Program Report is available here.

The following statement can be attributed to the Satellite Safety Alliance:

The completion of the SPRES report by the government’s leading authority on weather forecasting adds to the volumes of rigorous technical analysis that definitively show that Ligado will disrupt critical data collection tools used for forecasting severe weather, floods and wildfires. The analysis clearly demonstrates that no realistic solutions exist to mitigate the harmful effects Ligado’s proposed network will have on real-time sensors used to predict and track severe weather situations across the continent.

The mounting evidence from government and industry sources clearly demonstrates that Ligado continues to misstate and downplay the risks associated with its plans. As extreme weather across the country becomes more persistent and deadly, America cannot afford to disrupt its critical weather tracking infrastructure to advance the interest of spectrum speculators. We urge the FCC to act quickly to stay the Ligado Order, and address the imminent harm that is likely if Ligado is allowed to deploy this fall at the height of the Atlantic hurricane season.

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