LightSquared's Network Wrecks GPS, Says Gov. Study
Dec 10, 2011, 10:09 AM by Eric M. Zeman
updated Dec 10, 2011, 1:29 PM
A recent test conducted by the U.S. government concludes that LightSquared's proposed Long Term Evolution 4G network "caused harmful interference to majority of GPS receivers tested," according to a portion of the study, which was provided to Bloomberg. "No additional testing is required to confirm harmful interference exists." In January, the Federal Communications Commission gave LightSquared provisional permission to operate its LTE network in the L-Band satellite spectrum — if it could prove that it wouldn't interfere with nearby GPS signals. LightSquared, several arms of the U.S. government, and private companies have all tested the network extensively throughout the course of 2011. While tests have shown repeatedly that LightSquared's network interferes with GPS — including those receivers in airplanes and other military equipment — LightSquared has proposed several alterations that it says should fix the problem. It has proposed to use a lower channel in its spectrum holdings, as well as ramp down the power of its amplifiers. Martin Harriman, LightSquared's executive vice president of ecosystem development and satellite business, said in a statement issued Friday, "The statement that testing shows that most GPS devices would be disrupted by LightSquared’s operation is patently false. There is no way that such a conclusion could be drawn without deliberately ignoring a critical element in LightSquared’s mitigation proposal to manage the power from its network that GPS devices will be able to receive." LightSquared has consistently accused the GPS industry of encroaching on LightSquared's spectrum with shoddy GPS designs. LightSquared says its LTE service will start at $7 per gigabyte of mobile broadband, less than half what the competition charges. LightSquared has also signed up 30 wholesale partners to resell its network services under their own brands. U.S. officials are meeting this week to make a decision on the matter.
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Comments
Why did the government sell it to lightquared?
It's also pretty cool that the government charges GPS manugacturers NOTHING to use the signal.
Something smells.
Take a look into the financials and when the FCC granted the modification of the rules to allow LS to use the spectrum for terrestrial communication.
The original spectrum deal did not include terrestrial communication devices.
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(continues)
Wrecks?
LightSquared's Spectrum MURDERS GPS, causing GPS related funerals across the nation. I really hope that the westboro baptist church does not stage a protest, becuase as we all know, God loves dead GPS!
