LightSquared is trying to build out a 4G LTE network using satellite bands but there has been a lot of concern over if its network will interfere with GPS. The company recently told the government that any potential interference is because other companies are not following the Department of Defense’s filtering standards. In other words: it’s not us, it’s them.
This is a major issue because it could potentially derail LightSquared before it even gets started. I won’t dive too much into the specifics of its complaint but LightSquared said there’s a “guard band” that the DoD recommends which is far narrower than what other companies have complained about. Many think that established players are blowing the GPS issue out of proportion to try and stifle competition.
“If all spectrum users demanded the irrational guard band solutions that GPS manufacturers are demanding, we would not have broadband in this country and efficient spectrum use would take a backseat to the squeakiest wheel,” LightSquared Jeffrey Carlisle said in a prepared statement. “This type of precedent would set back the United States’ competitiveness by decades. The GPS industry turned a blind eye to the Department of Defense’s recommendations regarding the manufacturing of commercial GPS receivers and a blind eye to the ITU’s long-standing recommendations regarding GPS receiver performance.”
This issue should be squared soon enough, as LightSquared and Sprint signed a major deal to build out a 4G LTE network.
[Via LightSquared]