Canada's ISED Denies Ligado ATC Application

Before Ligado can get ancillary terrestrial component authority in the L band, a more in-depth review of potential interference to adjacent band services is needed, said Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Wednesday, denying Ligado's 2022 application. Noting Ligado's U.S. authorization, ISED said harmonization of technical standards is important, but it would be premature to give Ligado an ATC authorization due to interference concerns. In its decision, ISED cited a National Academies of Science report raising concerns about possible interference to high-precision GPS receivers and Iridium downlinks (see 2209090032). ISED said it "strongly encourages" collaboration among the stakeholders to assess the potential for interference from proposed ATC services in the 1525-1559 MHz band into adjacent-band global navigation satellite system receivers. Ligado emailed it's disappointed the agency is seeking additional study, but "we also appreciate that ISED believes this will help achieve consensus in its efforts to ensure maximum and efficient terrestrial use of the L-band in Canada. This band has been extensively studied in the U.S., and we’re confident additional technical studies will continue to show these frequencies, like most spectrum bands, can -- and should -- be used for multiple services. We will continue collaborating with ISED and other parties while remaining focused on working with our partners to commercially launch satellite Direct-to-Device (D2D) service solutions later this year.”