The GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA) is deeply disappointed by today’s decision, which appears to ignore the well-documented views of the expert agencies charged with preserving the integrity of GPS, specifically on the critical issue of what constitutes harmful interference to users of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). GPSIA has consistently advocated for adoption of the 1 dB Standard as the only reliable mechanism that provides the predictability and certainty to ensure the continuation of the GPS success story, with the support of the Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation and numerous other federal agencies. The 1 dB Standard for radiofrequency-based services is critical for GNSS. The FCC’s press release refers to conditions placed on Ligado’s application to prevent harmful interference and GPSIA and its members intend to carefully review the details of today’s order while continuing to vigorously advocate for promoting, protecting and enhancing GPS.
What Others are Saying
Experts in both Congress and the private sector have voiced their opposition to Ligado’s proposal to the FCC. See below for a collection of quotes from these experts on why this proposal is so detrimental to the entirety of the SATCOM community.
Joint Statement, Department of Transportation & Department of Defense
Americans rely on our Global Positioning System (GPS) each day for many things: to locate citizens in need of emergency assistance through our E-911 system, to secure our financial system, to order and receive shipments, to travel by car for work and leisure, to facilitate commercial trucking and construction work, and even to make a simple cellphone call. Our Departments rely on GPS each day for all those reasons as well to coordinate tactical national security operations, launch spacecraft, track threats, and facilitate travel by air and sea. The proposed Ligado decision by the Federal Communications Commission will put all these uses of GPS at risk.
Representative Greg Walden
R-OR-02, U.S. House of Representatives
“As an old radio guy, I want to make sure we don’t have interference, that’s the first thing. You know, wherever you are in the spectrum, we went through this with Lightsquared and you know all the issues that followed from there. You want to always be pushing out and maximizing use of the spectrum but you don’t want to create unintended consequences, and in this case [there] could be interference with existing users.”
Keith L. Seitter & Christine W. McEntee
Executive Director, American Meteorological Society
CEO/ Executive Director, American Geophysical Union
“If allowed to move forward, the spectrum sharing Ligado proposes will likely impede needed access to real-time and near-real-time data from GOES-R satellites, except to a few NOAA ground stations. The alternate cloud-based transmission system currently proposed by Ligado will not support critical forecasting and communication needs in the most severe weather situations, such as hurricane-induced coastal flooding, extreme precipitation events, or time-critical tornado warning predictions.”
“More than 70 Earth science community stakeholder entities, ranging from small to large companies, state, local and foreign governments, and international and domestic organizations provided comments or briefings to the FCC expressing considerable concern about Ligado’s proposal.”
“In addition, we are concerned about Ligado’s engagement with the Earth and space science community. Most recently, members of the meteorological community met with Ligado this past July during an American Meteorological Society meeting in Alabama to express concerns with their proposal. In our judgment, Ligado has been unresponsive to our comments. The company has not modified any of its statements and has been dismissive of our concerns. Instead, in their most recent correspondence to Administrators Sullivan and Strickling, it questioned the Earth science community’s understanding of physics. Such communications suggest that Ligado is dismissive of these issues and not a good faith partner in our effort to protect the nation’s severe weather forecasting capabilities.”
“We urge you to encourage the FCC to reject Ligado’s sharing proposal outright without establishing a further FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on this matter.”
John Stenbit
Chairman, the National Space‐based Position Navigation and Timing Advisory Board (7/5/17)
“Extensive government testing in 2011 and in 2016, clearly shows that both proposals cause definitive harmful interference to many classes of GPS receivers.”
“We confirmed that the current proposal is fundamentally the same as the [Lightsquared] proposal tested in 2011.”
“[The initial round of The Department of Transportation’s ABC Assessment] shows that harm can occur to precision GPS users at a half mile from each of the several thousand ground transmitter sites planned under the new proposal, even at the reduced (by a factor of 100 from that of the original proposal) 15.8 Watt (W) power level that the new proposal claims.”
Bradford Parkinson
Vice-Chair, U.S. PNT Advisory Board
“It seems unrealistic that Ligado can or will reliably guarantee that these widespread installations will be continually adjusted and monitored to avoid GPS interference.”
“I believe the concept of allowing the installation of transmitting towers that, by design, will interfere with normal GPS use at some distance away opens the door to tacit approval of short-range (or not-so-short-range) GPS jammers.”
“While I can commend the entrepreneurial spirit, the Ligado proposal seems very reckless indeed. The incremental value of an additional broadband transmitting system when there are at least five already in existence seems trivial compared to the potential damage done to the modern utility named GPS. I sincerely hope the FCC can find a spectrum swap or deny outright the current Ligado application.”
Robert McDowell
Former Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission from 2006-13
“Unfortunately, Ligado, the re-branded LightSquared, hasn’t changed its tactics, is pushing hard and is hoping today’s policymakers have short memories. It won’t succeed.”
“The Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration complained that LightSquared’s terrestrial wireless network would interfere with aviation navigation equipment, jeopardizing the safety of millions.”
“In recent weeks Ligado (LightSquared’s fourth name since inception) has blitzed the FCC anew with papers and visits that weakly trumpet mere echoes of its past failed arguments. Perhaps they were hoping that the FCC and Congress had forgotten about its debris field of its past. Nonetheless, the essence of the science behind their arguments hasn’t changed: Ligado’s plan still causes harmful interference to already-licensed neighbors such as satellite services providers, NOAA’s weather service and the aviation industry.”