Fri, Feb 03, 2012
Members Asked To Lend Their Voices In Fight To Preserve Vital
Technology
The NBAA replied Wednesday to a petition by the FCC asking for
public comment ahead of its final decision on whether embattled
telecommunications company LightSquared may deploy a nationwide 4G
wireless broadband network, despite repeated test results
demonstrating signals from that network would cause catastrophic
interference with global positioning system (GPS) signals and
receivers.
"The US GNSS (GPS) system must be protected from all sources of
interference, intended or unintended," wrote Bill Stine, NBAA
Director, International Operations. "Tens of thousands of aircraft
depend on these GPS-based avionics for safe and dependable
navigation information world-wide. The receivers were designed to
meet the protection specifications within their spectrum
allocations, both domestically and internationally, that are
required of them. Can protections for the system be improved?
Probably, but these will take decades to implement and cannot be
accomplished retroactively," Stine added.
The deadline for comments to be submitted is February 27, and
the parties involved will then have until March 13 to respond. Soon
after, the FCC is expected to make its final ruling on the matter,
over one year after reports of interference became widely
known.
Stine added it is also important that NBAA members make their
voices heard in the FCC petition. "Aviation has come to depend on
GPS - it works," he said. "For the purposes served by GPS, no
interference is acceptable. The LightSquared proposed system, in
the spectrum the company has requested, has been shown in
independent testing to interfere with GPS signals. The FCC needs to
permanently stop any further pursuit of the LightSquared system in
this block of spectrum, period." Members may review the petition,
and submit their comments to a
designated FCC web site.
In addition to the aviation industry, GPS equipment is also
widely used by first responders in emergencies; for navigation at
sea; in avoiding train collisions; in civil engineering projects;
and countless other commercial and civic applications. NBAA is a
founding member of the Coalition to Save Our GPS, comprised of over
200 members and representatives from the industries that rely on
this vital technology. The coalition is committed to resolving the
threat to GPS and preserving its benefits for industries,
government and citizens.
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