Has Not Given Up On Its Nationwide 4G Network

LightSquared, which has come under fire from GPS users including the aviation community for a plan to establish a wireless broadband data network on frequencies that cause severe interference with GPS reception, said on Monday it has come up with a comprehensive solution to the problem of interference caused by its transmitters with GPS receivers on adjacent frequencies. In a news release, the company says this solution will permit it to "proceed with its business plan, protect the public's stake in GPS, and lay the foundation for the future co-existence of a variety of wireless broadband services and GPS."

"This is a solution which ensures that tens of millions of GPS users won't be affected by LightSquared's launch. At the same time, this plan offers a clear path for LightSquared to move forward with the launch of a nationwide wireless network that will introduce world class broadband service to rural and underserved areas which still find themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide," said Sanjiv Ahuja, LightSquared Chairman and CEO.

Early test results indicated that one of LightSquared's 10MHz blocks of frequencies causes interference to many GPS receivers, to the point that they are unusable. This block happens to be the specific set of frequencies that LightSquared planned to use for the initial launch of its nationwide wireless broadband network. Based on those same early test results, LightSquared determined that another 10MHz block of the spectrum did not create such an interference risk. This block is lower on the spectrum band and located further away from the GPS frequencies, greatly reducing the risk for interference.

Test results show this lower block of frequencies is largely free of interference issues with the exception of a limited number of high precision GPS receivers that are specifically designed to rely on LightSquared's spectrum. In its original plan, LightSquared planned to move into this other frequency block as its business grew over the next two to three years.

After assessing this information, LightSquared says it immediately began developing an alternative deployment plan focused on the lower block of spectrum to launch its service. It also entered negotiations with Inmarsat, the satellite company that controls the alternative block of spectrum in the L Band, to accelerate the schedule for LightSquared to begin using the frequencies.

LightSquared recently reached an agreement with Inmarsat that will allow the rollout of its wireless network in a timeframe that keeps to the original business plan and is in accordance with regulatory requirements. As part of this revised plan, LightSquared will modify its FCC license to reduce the maximum authorized power of its base-station transmitters by over 50%. This action will limit LightSquared to the power it was authorized to use in 2005, which will provide additional protection to GPS.

The company says this new plan will provide enough spectrum to serve its growing customer base for the next several years. During this time, LightSquared will not use the spectrum it originally planned to use for the launch of its network.

LightSquared will use this time to work closely with the FCC and the NTIA, as well as the relevant US government agencies and commercial GPS users, to explore mitigation possibilities and operational alternatives that will allow LightSquared to continue to expand its business. At the same time, LightSquared says it is "committed to protecting GPS services, which have become indispensable to millions of Americans."

In the news release, LightSquared said it believes that its next-generation, 4G LTE wholesale network can live side-by-side (literally, ed) with GPS users.

FMI: www.lightsquared.com, www.fcc.gov