Deere, LightSquared Reach Agreement on GPS/LTE Interference

John Deere and LightSquared came to agreement on their mutual L-band use. LightSquared said Tuesday it will forego use of 1545-1555 MHz to end some disputes with Deere over its planned ground-and-satellite-based LTE broadband network. The Deere agreement "sets the framework for broadband/GPS compatibility," LightSquared President Doug Smith told us Tuesday. "The two services can coexist peacefully. This will be a good step forward." The CEO had set out to reach such deals (see 1512040039).

LightSquared also will cut out-of-band emissions (OOBE) under the Deere agreement through filter specifications on its uplink and downlink frequencies, it said. In return, Deere won't object to LightSquared's LTE plans, which involve use of 1526-1536 MHz and 1627.5-1637.5 MHz, 1646.5-1656.5 MHz, and 1670-1700 MHz .

The two also finalized a settlement in the 2013 lawsuit brought by LightSquared against Deere, Garmin and Trimble and the U.S. GPS Industry Council (see 1311040060) after they raised concerns that LightSquared's LTE network could interfere with GPS signals in adjacent spectrum space, which led to the FCC's revoking LightSquared’s spectrum license, ultimately forcing it into bankruptcy. In a company blog post Monday, Smith said the company officially ended its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That was expected after the FCC last week approved transfer of licenses and Communications Act Section 214 authorization from bankrupt LightSquared to its post-bankruptcy reorganized version. Smith wrote that a top priority now is "achieving compromise and working with the GPS community -- including the provision of increased protections for the industry -- to ensure GPS and wireless broadband can co-exist."

LightSquared has been in talks with GPS companies for months about settling the suit, and said earlier this fall an agreement with Trimble looked possible (see 1510090042). Smith didn't comment Tuesday on the status of talks with Trimble and Garmin, but he said resolving the bankruptcy helped in coming to an agreement with Deere. Neither Garmin nor Trimble commented. Deere didn't comment.

The 1545-1555 MHz bandwidth, which was to be used for LTE downlinks and sits close to global navigation satellite system spectrum, was earlier identified by the GPS community as "most concerning to them," Smith told us. Without it, he said, "We feel comfortable we can operate on the other spectrum," since LightSquared previously sought and received an FCC license modification allowing it to use 1670-1675 MHz with the intention of using that in its stead. The new Deere agreement will require a variety of FCC filings, which will start before year's end, Smith said.

A separate LightSquared/GPS suit by Harbinger Capital Partners in 2013 was rejected Monday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That suit by Harbinger -- then a major investor in LightSquared -- alleged fraud by Deere, Garmin and Trimble, the U.S. GPS Industry Council and the Coalition to Save Our GPS (see 1311040060). The 2nd Circuit ruling upheld a February decision by a U.S. District Court judge in Manhattan dismissing those fraud claims.