Has Not Given Up On Its Nationwide 4G Network
LightSquared, which has come under fire from GPS users including
the aviation community for a plan to establish a wireless broadband
data network on frequencies that cause severe interference with GPS
reception, said on Monday it has come up with a comprehensive
solution to the problem of interference caused by its transmitters
with GPS receivers on adjacent frequencies. In a news release, the
company says this solution will permit it to "proceed with its
business plan, protect the public's stake in GPS, and lay the
foundation for the future co-existence of a variety of wireless
broadband services and GPS."
"This is a solution which ensures that tens of millions of GPS
users won't be affected by LightSquared's launch. At the same time,
this plan offers a clear path for LightSquared to move forward with
the launch of a nationwide wireless network that will introduce
world class broadband service to rural and underserved areas which
still find themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide,"
said Sanjiv Ahuja, LightSquared Chairman and CEO.
Early test results indicated that one of LightSquared's 10MHz
blocks of frequencies causes interference to many GPS receivers, to
the point that they are unusable. This block happens to be the
specific set of frequencies that LightSquared planned to use for
the initial launch of its nationwide wireless broadband network.
Based on those same early test results, LightSquared determined
that another 10MHz block of the spectrum did not create such an
interference risk. This block is lower on the spectrum band and
located further away from the GPS frequencies, greatly reducing the
risk for interference.
Test results show this lower block of frequencies is largely
free of interference issues with the exception of a limited number
of high precision GPS receivers that are specifically designed to
rely on LightSquared's spectrum. In its original plan, LightSquared
planned to move into this other frequency block as its business
grew over the next two to three years.
After assessing this information, LightSquared says it
immediately began developing an alternative deployment plan focused
on the lower block of spectrum to launch its service. It also
entered negotiations with Inmarsat, the satellite company that
controls the alternative block of spectrum in the L Band, to
accelerate the schedule for LightSquared to begin using the
frequencies.
LightSquared recently reached an agreement with Inmarsat that
will allow the rollout of its wireless network in a timeframe that
keeps to the original business plan and is in accordance with
regulatory requirements. As part of this revised plan, LightSquared
will modify its FCC license to reduce the maximum authorized power
of its base-station transmitters by over 50%. This action will
limit LightSquared to the power it was authorized to use in 2005,
which will provide additional protection to GPS.
The company says this new plan will provide enough spectrum to
serve its growing customer base for the next several years. During
this time, LightSquared will not use the spectrum it originally
planned to use for the launch of its network.
LightSquared will use this time to work closely with the FCC and
the NTIA, as well as the relevant US government agencies and
commercial GPS users, to explore mitigation possibilities and
operational alternatives that will allow LightSquared to continue
to expand its business. At the same time, LightSquared says it is
"committed to protecting GPS services, which have become
indispensable to millions of Americans."
In the news release, LightSquared said it believes that its
next-generation, 4G LTE wholesale network can live side-by-side
(literally, ed) with GPS users.
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