The US telecoms regulator, the FCC, has said it was unaware of GPS interference issues with LightSquared’s L-band spectrum and blamed the GPS industry for not voicing its concerns about receiver overload earlier in the process.
The disclosure comes…
The US telecoms regulator, the FCC, has said it was unaware of GPS interference issues with LightSquared’s L-band spectrum and blamed the GPS industry for not voicing its concerns about receiver overload earlier in the process.
The disclosure comes from joint testimony prepared by two FCC officials for a hearing with the House of Representatives’ oversight and investigations subcommittee today.
It was also revealed that the FCC expects a report from its technological advisory council in the next few weeks which should determine whether or not LightSquared can utilise its spectrum once and for all.
The FCC initially granted LightSquared a conditional waiver to use terrestrial-only devices on the frequencies in 2011, but subsequently blocked it from utilising its spectrum in February this year.
The decision followed a report from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), responsible for federal government use of spectrum, which said using the L-band for mobile broadband would interfere with GPS which operates using the neighbouring band.
The FCC also noted that it was not LightSquared’s use of the L-band that interfered with GPS. Rather, it was that legacy GPS devices, including some used for national defence, bled into the L-band. Some equipment treated LightSquared’s spectrum and the GPS spectrum as one band, and if LightSquared launched broadband over the frequencies it would cause receiver overload.
“The FCC relies on licensees and stakeholders to raise interference concerns to ensure the timely resolution of such complaints,” said the FCC’s Julius Knapp in the testimony. “During the decade preceding the November 2010 waiver request, the GPS industry had numerous opportunities to inform the Commission of the receiver overload interference issue ultimately raised in 2010.”
The official said the FCC was focused on allowing ensuring business and consumers could take advantage of underused spectrum, and expected those who had concerns about the use of frequencies to express their fears in a timely fashion.
