DOT wants to ban wireless services that interfere with GPS

Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari testified today that FAA tests show that LightSquared's proposed terrestrial network is "not compatible" with numerous GPS-enabled aviation safety-of- flight operations and that "there appears to be no practical solutions or mitigations that would permit LightSquared broadband service, as proposed, to operate in the next few months or years without significantly interfering with GPS."

Porcari was testifying before the Subcommittee on Aviation of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He said the FAA alone has spent more than $2 million testing LightSquared’s various proposals and that "further investment cannot be justified at this time." Porcari referred to LightSquared's plans as causing "considerable harmful interference with GPS" and referred to the "fundamental incompatibility" between LightSquared's proposal and "continued use of GPS" for air navigational uses.

LightSquared has been dogged by concerns—and test results—that show its system could interfere with GPS devices. The company argues that GPS manufacturers have long used parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that they are not licensed to employ.

"Two rounds of testing by independent and government entities have confirmed that the interference experienced by the commercial GPS receivers is the result of an industry decision to design and sell poorly filtered devices that purposefully depend on spectrum licensed to LightSquared for accuracy," the company said. "If sensible standards were in place, the GPS industry would not be facing the current interference problems and consumers would benefit from a more efficient use of spectrum."

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