GPS continued on A4
By Jessica Wehrman
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — It’s the proverbial neighbor versus neighbor battle, only this one has national security interests.
A Virginia company’s launch of a massive nationwide 4G wireless network is running up against opposition from a coalition of businesses and government bodies that rely on Global Positioning System coordinates for everything from flying safely to fighting in wars.
Officials of LightSquared of Reston, Va., say they’ve had permission to use a piece of spectrum for nearly a decade.
In essence, they say, they’ve had a vacant lot for years and are now ready to build. All they need is permission from the Federal Communications Commission.
Opponents say the plan will interfere with GPS signals, which are licensed by the FCC on an adjacent spectrum. If LightSquared launches its network as it stands, they say, it would be the equivalent of having a raucous heavy-metal rock band move next door. They also argue that the FCC never intended for LightSquared to occupy those airwaves for such a robust network.
For the Air Force, interference with GPS signals could be catastrophic. Among other uses, GPS helps precision weapons systems, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, carry out their missions.
“As you look to both our precision weapons systems, the high-end technology used in aircrafts, the whole informational basis for UAVs, you see our dependence on GPS,” said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville. “All of these are programs manufactured at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.”
Private businesses too have a stake in the airwaves battle, which has taken on political overtones with charges of connections between LightSquared investor Phillip Falcone and President Barack Obama — charges that Obama and Falcone, a registered Republican, have denied.
But the main fight is over GPS, which is used by nearly everyone — in cellphones, car navigational devices and in nearly every possible means of commerce. Commercial aircraft use GPS to land planes safely, particularly during times of low visibility. Delivery companies rely on GPS to deliver goods on time. Farmers use GPS to determine precisely where to deliver fertilizers and pesticides, using the technology to increase productivity and avoid waste.
“Everything we do is based off of GPS,” said Shane Imwalle, senior vice president of Woolpert, a company that is the largest surveying and mapping firm in the United States. “It’s as fundamental to our infrastructure as the Internet.”
Not everyone is opposed. Advocates argue that enhanced broadband service is an economic issue and will help propel the economy forward.
Michael Evans, director of government affairs and communications for the Ohio Hotel and Lodging Association, said hotels realize the need for better broadband, though they also recognize that the dispute over spectrum interference must be ironed out.
“If you’re not able to do your work where you’re staying, you’ll become frustrated and won’t come back,” she said. “To us, it’s an economic development issue.”
In January 2011, the FCC offered conditional approval to LightSquared to launch its network, providing the expansion does not interfere with GPS signals.
The company, along with other stakeholders, began tests to determine if the LightSquared network would interfere with GPS. In June, those tests results were released, showing interference with commercial and personal products.
LightSquared then offered to use just the lower end of its licensed spectrum and began new tests. In December, the group released results finding “harmful” interference with general purpose GPS receivers, but no interference with cellular phones.
Still ahead are tests on high-precision devices. That testing could begin later this month, said Chris Stern, a LightSquared spokesman.
The issue has provoked enough concern that Turner and Rep. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, have introduced measures designed to block GPS interference.
Turner added a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act requiring that the FCC not permit LightSquared to launch its network until Defense Department concerns about GPS interference are resolved. He said he introduced the measure because he was worried that the FCC might approve the use of the spectrum without recognizing that the network could jam the GPS signals that the Defense Department relies upon.
Austria, meanwhile, has worked the issue on the House Appropriations Committee, introducing a measure in June to effectively bar the FCC from approving any use of the bandwidth that would interfere with GPS. That measure was included in a spending bill signed into law last month.
“We all want to see broadband and new technology expand,” Austria said. “But we want to see it done responsibly.”
Meanwhile, LightSquared met with FCC staff Jan. 4 to urge the commission to continue working on the issue. According to FCC filings, the company “emphasized the significant investment that has already been made” in the technology and also noted that it has worked on developing filtering solutions to resolve issues with GPS signals.
LightSquared’s Stern said the FCC granted permission to use the spectrum about a decade ago. He said GPS companies are the ones invading LightSquared’s spectrum, not the other way around.
“This country is desperate for spectrum,” he said. “These guys want to reserve a gigantic bunch of spectrum for themselves. If LightSquared goes away, they’ll have a problem with the next person.”
But James Kirkland, vice president and general council for Trimble, a commercial and industrial GPS manufacturer that has about 400 employees in the region, said LightSquared’s spectrum was never intended to be used for the expansive network now planned.
Instead, he said, it was originally approved by the FCC for use of mobile satellite service — a quieter signal. Later, the FCC agreed to allow “ancillary” transmitters to make the mobile satellite service more seamless. But LightSquared, he said, would go far beyond that, creating an extensive broadband network comparable to AT&T, Verizon or Sprint.
“This is not what the FCC authorized, not what the FCC contemplated,” he said.
Woolpert’s Imwalle said if the FCC approves LightSquared’s network as it is now proposed, “It would bring us to a halt.
“Think about a tire company if you don’t have rubber,” he added. “It’s just fundamental to what we do.”