Planned wireless Internet network threatens GPS

Our protection against interference in the L1 band was (and for now, remains) the fact that the adjacent spectrum is allocated (and hence, should ONLY be licensed by the FCC) for the relatively low power of satellite comms - not higher power terrestrially based equipment. There has never been any reason to imagine that some nutcase at the FCC would even consider an application for deviation from that use. It would be like them allowing me to install a 1 megawatt TV transmitter and antenna in your basement. Good luck with all of your audio and video gear after that! There has been, after all, a bit of thought put into how spectrum is allocated based upon how 'neighbors' will impact one another. Deviation from that plan should NEVER be considered without a full review -- and this insane project never really got one.

What you guys and the ITU do with it over there regarding allocation adjacent to L1, I haven't checked as yet. Not a problem for you at the moment in any case. However, you can bet that no one on your side of the pond will be considering applications for high power terrestrial stations on frequencies adjacent to whatever spectrum Galileo will eventually be using!

Perhaps just perhaps this issue is getting closer to resolution, and we can sleep a bit better, if one can believe this report today about the ongoing battle between LightSquared and the FCC.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/...-interference/

I hear that Falcone has just fired up $3M worth of lobbyists to see if he can turn this around, but the FAA concerns and the amount of $ they have tied up in the aviation fleet (and will have additionally, in the future) makes LS's financial issues look pretty small by comparison. This one may (finally) be over.

It was a bait-and-switch spectrum grab by LightSquared from the beginning, and in spite of the fact that Falcone has spent everything he's got (and a ton of his hedge fund's money as well) on this scam, well ... life's tough. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

According to the New York Times today, Falcone’s LightSquared has filed for bankruptcy.

"Despite LightSquared’s bankruptcy filing, the company will remain operational and plans to keep fighting for regulatory approval. In an additional filing, LightSquared said it remained 'committed to finding a resolution with the FCC and the GPS industry to resolve all remaining concerns,' a process it indicated could take as long as two years. In an effort to buy more time, the company has cut costs, reduced its headcount by nearly half, and extended its debt agreements."

Not an unexpected move, but in the long run a likely foolhearted one.