US telecoms regulator FCC said that it believes “additional targeting testing” is required to ensure that LightSquared’s technology does not cause harmful interference issues.
In a public notice, the FCC said that it was satisfied with the process…
US telecoms regulator FCC said that it believes “additional targeting testing” is required to ensure that LightSquared’s technology does not cause harmful interference issues.
In a public notice, the FCC said that it was satisfied with the process of evaluation into potential interference issues and said, with reference to LightSquared’s commitment to use spectrum in the lower 10MHz of its spectrum (rather than in the upper 10MHz that it also holds):
“The results thus far from the testing using the lower 10MHz showed significant improvement compared to tests of the upper 10MHz, although there continue to be interference concerns, e.g, with certain types of high-precision GPS receivers, including devices used in national security and aviation applications.”
Last week, the assistant secretary for communications and information, Lawrence Strickling, had asked for LightSquared and the interagency National Executive Committee for Space-based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (Excom) to produce “as expeditiously as possible” a testing plan for cellular and general navigation GPS receivers.
Strickland was writing on behalf of the NTIA, the government body that advises the President on telecoms policy.
Strickling asked for the plan to be designed to allow for the completion of testing and analysis by 30 November.
In his letter, Strickling also revealed more details about the NTIA’s efforts to evaluate LightSquared’s technology and its potential effects on GPS. This follows on from the analysis into the issue by a Technical Working Group (TWG), made up of representatives of LightSquared and the GPS industry, which was completed in June.
He wrote that all parties, including LightSquared, now accepted that its operations in the lower 10MHz signal band that it holds would cause “unacceptable interference” to high-precision receivers (a different kind of receiver to the cellular/general-navigation receivers) that had been tested by the TWG.
He said that LightSquared was working on the design and manufacture for a filter that would mitigate this interference. He added that LightSquared had accepted that it would not start commercial operations “unless and until” federal agencies can test the filter and decide whether it is acceptable in stopping the overload.
Taking this into account, the NTIA saw no reason why the testing on high-precision receivers should be recommenced before it had been presented with the new filter.
Strickland’s letter was dated 9 September, but a link to it was included in a public notice by the FCC yesterday.
Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin claimed that there are two relevant “triggers” in LightSquared’s recent infrastructure sharing agreement with mobile operator Sprint Nextel.
These triggers are that LightSquared needs to be authorised to use a 5x5MHz pair by 30 September and a 10x10MHz pair by 31 December.
Chaplin said: “We believe it will be difficult to complete all the testing and to receive authorisation by either date. This gives Sprint the right to walk away from the agreement; however, even if Sprint allows more time, it is unlikely that they will start deploying equipment for LightSquared until the testing is complete.”
LightSquared was not immediately available for comment.
