GPS and LightSquared

[_richardMdBorn]

Am curious how many people have heard about this controversy and when you became aware of it. It's been discussed in the GPS periodicals, Inside GNSS and GPS World, since late last year, but the general public probably still knows little or nothing about it.

[_Dr. Shades]

Um, you forgot the part where you explain just what, exactly, this controversy even is.

[_richardMdBorn]

LightSquared, which is controlled by major Obama contributor and billionaire Phil Falcone, filed with the FCC last year a proposal to provide wireless broadband. The FCC gave an abbreviated time for discussion which raised the suspicions of the GPS industry. Testing has shown that LS would cause massive disruption to GPS, especially high precision GPS applications.

Glen Gibbons, editor of Inside GNSS and founding editor of GPS World, just wrote that Obama is the worst GPS president ever.

Tests conducted earlier this year by a technical working group set up under the conditional FCC order directing LightSquared to proceed with its plan clearly showed widespread interference to most GPS receivers in frequencies nearer to GPS. A limited set of tests conducted late in the process showed interference to high-precision wideband receivers from transmissions further away from GPS L1.

Civil and military officials responsible for ensuring the well-being of GPS have expressed urgent concerns over the LightSquared plans, apparently with limited effect. They recommended that the broadband system’s transmitters should use a more distant frequency or, at least, the FCC require a new round of tests for the lower 10-megahertz of spectrum on which LightSquared now says it will broadcast.

In light of these facts, common sense and due diligence would seem to call for holding off on rolling out LightSquared’s system until further tests can be conducted. But then due diligence would have suggested a more thorough investigation of the company’s plans by its leaders, investors, and the FCC before letting it get this far down the road.

Although the process is nominally in the hands of the agency’s International Bureau, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski appears to be managing the process there, backed by the close scrutiny and guidance of the White House.

We know all too well the swamp of unseemly relationships between campaign contributors and political appointments, and between regulators and the regulated companies at which they later become employed.

Before his apppointment, Genachowski had been a friend of the president’s since their Harvard Law School days and served as a “bundler” of contributions during Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

The chairman also has a business background in both broadcast and venture capital; so, the ambitions of Phil Falcone, who controls the Harbinger Capital fund that is the primary backer of LightSquared, might well resonate with him. As must the contributions that Falcone and LightSquared corporate leaders have made to Obama’s re-election campaign.

http://insidegnss.com/node/2756

See also http://insidegnss.com/node/2776
http://freegeographytools.com/2011/how- ... xplanation
http://www.gpsworld.com/gnss-system/new ... rity-12046

The DOD, FAA, etc oppose this. The FAA fears that the safety of commercial aviation could be compromised. There have been accusations this week the Obama Administration tried to alter the testimony of AF Gen. Shelton about the effect of LS on GPS. I'm amazed that the White House has allowed it to go this far. This is a disaster politically; the Democrats control the FCC with three Democrats being able to outvote the two Republicans. Apparently, some billionaires are more equal than others.

[_richardMdBorn]

It has emerged that the White House tried to influence the testimony of another government official:

A second government official has come forward saying the White House tried to influence his testimony concerning a wireless broadband project backed by a Democratic donor that military officials fear might impair sensitive satellite navigation systems.

Anthony Russo, director of the National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing, told The Daily Beast he rejected “guidance” from the White House’s Office of Budget and Management suggesting he tell Congress that the government’s concerns about the project by the firm LightSquared could be resolved in 90 days, a timetable favorable to the company’s plans.

“They gave that to me and presumably the other witnesses,” Russo said. “There is one sentence I disagreed with, which said that I thought the testing could be resolved in 90 days. So I took it out.”
Russo said he objected to that language because “I have low confidence that we can complete all of the testing in 90 days.” He estimated that such testing would take at least six months. Russo called the White House efforts to alter his testimony “guidance rather than pressure.”
Russo’s comments come just days after four-star Air Force Gen. William Shelton, who heads U.S. Space Command, told Congress in a classified briefing that he felt pressured by the White House to change his testimony about the same project to make it more favorable to the company.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/19/lightsquared-second-witness-rejects-white-house-testimony-guidance.html

The scandals continue: The ATF and Fast and Furious, Solyndra and LightSquared. As I wrote, the GPS community has been screaming about this since late last year. Now at last the general public is becoming aware that the Obama Administration is putting at risk GPS to line the pockets of a big campaign contributor.

[_moksha]

Now at last the general public is becoming aware that the Obama Administration is putting at risk GPS to line the pockets of a big campaign contributor.

Sounds like LightSquared may become the next Haliburton or Bechtel.

[_richardMdBorn]

Now at last the general public is becoming aware that the Obama Administration is putting at risk GPS to line the pockets of a big campaign contributor.

Sounds like LightSquared may become the next Haliburton or Bechtel.

Yes, Haliburton and Bechtel caused commercial planes to crash or your navigation devices to malfunction.

[_EAllusion]

I know when I think of responsible corporate citizen that hasn't caused catastrophic harm, Haliburton comes to mind.

richardmdborn: Against business rent-seeking, cronyism, and corruption when Democrats enable it. Otherwise, yee haw!

[_richardMdBorn]

I know when I think of responsible corporate citizen that hasn't caused catastrophic harm, Haliburton comes to mind.

richardmdborn: Against business rent-seeking, cronyism, and corruption when Democrats enable it. Otherwise, yee haw!

EA - when I write anything in support of Halliburton? I've got give Obama credit, he's going to jump start the economy by building another inter-continental railroad. And he knows a corpseman when he sees one.

[_richardMdBorn]

If anyone's interested in the issue of LS rather than in making inane comments, the recent ION GNSS meeting gives some additional details:

“When we got the testing charter from the FCC, we got a timeline that was, in my opinion absolutely ridiculous,” said Galyean, who participated in the technical working group set up to investigate the issue. “So, the NTIA [National Telecommunications and Information Administration] has now requested more testing . . . and given another ridiculously short timeline in which to do the testing. That schedule, completing the next round of testing by November 30, in my opinion is absurd.

http://ion.org/meetings/gnss2011sdFRI.pdf

I rarely agree with Dr. Parkinson, an example of which was my sharp exchange with him last year in Inside GNSS, but I concur with his comments here:

The two co-chairs of the U.S. National Advisory Board for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing, the Hon. James R. Schlesinger and Dr. Bradford Parkinson, have delivered an official, strongly worded letter today to Julius Genachowski, chairman, Federal Communications Commission. The letter "formally requests that the Federal Communications Commission rescind the conditional waiver approving LightSquared terrestrial operations in the MSS radio band from 1525-1559 MHz, and instead select an appropriate band that would avoid the substantial collateral damage in its understandable quest to bring broadband to the American public.

The two writers add that "The proposal would radically change a primary space-to-earth radio band to allow high-power terrestrial broadcasts. As shown by comprehensive industry and government testing and analyses, if this proposal were allowed to proceed, it would have the unavoidable consequence of adversely impacting current and planned Federal and private sector infrastructure. The costs would be tens of billions of dollars per year. Such a loss would impact our nation's national security, international standing and have a notable economic impact. It is not an acceptable alternative to impose this burden on behalf of a single company.

http://www.gpsworld.com/gnss-system/new ... iver-11952

[_kairos]

WSJ today contains a full page ad by lightsquared saying that 99.5 % of the interference problems have been resolved and the final .5% are rapidly being resolved.

and by the way light squared in th ead says that it is the gps community's sloppy infringement of lightsquared owned spectrum that was/is causing the problems; and lightsquared has put up its own $$$ like 15 billion over the last decade to revolutionize the wireless business.

let the games continue!!

k