Following a report by a government agency concluding that it saw no solutions that would allow LightSquared to operate its service in the next few years, the US satellite/terrestrial venture has hit back and sharply criticised the federal agencies…
Following a report by a government agency concluding that it saw no solutions that would allow LightSquared to operate its service in the next few years, the US satellite/terrestrial venture has hit back and sharply criticised the federal agencies conduction the tests.
In response to concerns last year that LightSquared’s technology interfered with GPS, the FCC called for more testing to be conducted before giving approval for LightSquared to start operating.
This testing was organised by a government panel, the Position, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee (PNT EXCOM). This body was advised by a group of non-government officials called the PNT Advisory Board.
The co-chairs of EXCOM said on Friday that the “unanimous conclusion” from the tests was that both LightSquared’s original and modified plans would cause “harmful interference” to many GPS receivers. “Based upon this testing and analysis, there appear to be no practical solutions or mitigations that would permit the LightSquared broadband service, as proposed, to operate in the next few months or years without significantly interfering with GPS,” they said.
LightSquared reacted in a statement accusing the federal agencies of being biased.
The company said that it had filed a complaint regarding “conflicts of interest” on the PNT Advisory Board.
Specifically, it noted that the vice-chair of the advisory board, Brad Parkinson, is also a director at Trimble, the GPS manufacturer.
GPS manufacturers have been among the most vociferous critics of LightSquared’s technology.
LightSquared called for the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to “retake the lead” on the testing and for the test results to be “re-evaluated by unbiased officials and engineers”.
