New Receiver Will Prove GPS Fix Possible, LightSquared Says

LightSquared will announce next week a new precision GPS receiver prototype aimed at dispelling claims that a fix for the GPS interference problem is impossible, said LightSquared Executive Vice President Jeff Carlisle. While the new receiver won’t actually fix all of the interference problems with GPS, the new receiver will be touted as a “proof of concept,” he said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters. The FCC and NTIA recently said additional testing of LightSquared’s proposed terrestrial wireless service are necessary before LightSquared can begin commercial terrestrial operations. Meanwhile, GPS interests and some lawmakers voiced support for the NTIA and FCC decision.

LightSquared has been working with a “preeminent leader” in GPS technology, to develop the receiver, said Carlisle. The new receiver can serve precision GPS needs while coexisting with LightSquared’s wireless service, he said. Interference to precision GPS, which is used by agriculture and surveying operations, has been identified by LightSquared and federal agencies as a source of continued concern even under LightSquared’s revised plan of beginning service at the bottom of the L-band. The production of the prototype could begin within months, he said. Though the new receiver won’t solve the issue of precision GPS receivers currently in the field, it proves such fixes are possible, he said. Further details on the new device will be given as part of next week’s announcement.

The timing of the next stage of testing for LightSquared will continue to be a big question. The new receiver won’t initiate the next round of testing sought by NTIA, as mentioned in its Friday letter (CD Sept 13 p5). NTIA said it sees “no reason for any further testing of high-precision receivers until LightSquared presents its filtering solution to the Federal agencies for testing and evaluation.” LightSquared believes “the testing of the devices discussed by NTIA can and should start immediately,” said Carlisle in a later email. “Our announcement next week goes to showing the separate point that the precision issue can be solved.” LightSquared hopes to begin commercial operation by mid-2012, Carlisle said during the call. Carlisle reiterated that the NTIA and FCC request for more testing provides a helpful and more specific path in resolving the GPS issues (CD Sept 14 p14).

Lawmakers were appreciative of the FCC and NTIA decisions to require more testing. “More testing seems like a no-brainer, with the interference problems still affecting national security and aviation,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. “That said, the FCC should have performed this testing upfront. It seemed to take a public outcry from every affected party and Congress to get the FCC to perform its due diligence on this project. All interference concerns and questions about the FCC’s actions need to be resolved completely before the project is allowed to go forward.” Grassley has raised some questions about the FCC process that led to a waiver that would allow LightSquared to begin terrestrial service.

House Science Committee Chairman Ralph Hall, R-Texas, also supports more testing. “Early testing has shown that high-precision GPS units, those used by numerous scientific agencies to predict natural disasters, operate satellites, and conduct valuable research, would be severely impacted by LightSquared’s network. While I believe spectrum should be used more efficiently in order to bring about the benefits of mobile broadband services, it should not be accomplished by sacrificing GPS. I will obviously follow the upcoming testing closely, and look forward to reviewing the results."

"We agree with the FCC’s conclusion that significant unresolved interference issues remain and that further testing is needed to determine if those issues can be resolved,” said the Coalition to Save Our GPS, a group aimed at preventing GPS interference from LightSquared’s network. “This is particularly the case regarding high-precision GPS devices” and “the vital role they play in national security, public safety and aviation. LightSquared’s recent proposals also represent progress toward addressing future interference issues.”

The House Armed Services Committee is set to address the GPS interference issue at a hearing Thursday in the Strategic Forces Subcommittee. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is scheduled to testify, but there had been some question about whether he himself would represent the FCC (CD Sept 13 p14). Subcommittee Chairman Michael Turner, R-Ohio, “still expects the FCC Chairman to attend the hearing,” Turner’s spokesman said Wednesday. The hearing is at 11:30 a.m. in Room 2212, Rayburn House Office Building.