Wed, Mar 30, 2011
Interference From LightSquared On Adjacent Frequencies Still An
Issue
GAMA said Tuesday it welcomes active engagement from the U.S.
DOT and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in a recent letter to
the FCC calling into question the process by which a company called
LightSquared is to proceed in repurposing the satellite spectrum
immediately neighboring that of the Global Positioning System (GPS)
for use in extremely high-powered ground-based transmissions. This
has caused serious concern within the GPS user community,
especially aviation, since this planned spectrum use by
LightSquared is fundamentally incompatible with existing GPS
uses.
In a meeting last week in Wichita with Secretary of
Transportation Ray LaHood and general aviation manufacturing
leaders, this serious issue was discussed at length. "We are very
appreciative that Secretary LaHood has taken up this issue in
partnership with Defense Secretary Gates, since the consequences of
disruption to GPS signals are far reaching," said Gary Kelley, vice
president of marketing and company officer for Garmin
International. "Virtually all modern general aviation aircraft are
outfitted with GPS systems that are an integral tool used in all
phases of flight. GPS, together with the Wide Area Augmentation
System, has long been approved by the Federal Aviation
Administration for aircraft navigation and GPS instrument
approaches that provide a landing system option at many airports
not equipped with land-based instrument landing systems."
"Modern air travel for our industry is inconceivable without a
reliable GPS system to guide it," said Jack Pelton, chairman,
president and CEO of Cessna Aircraft Company and chairman of GAMA's
Flight Operations Policy Committee. "Even minimal predicted
interference to GPS operations creates unacceptable risks to life
and property. It is imperative that the LightSquared system not be
deployed unless it can be guaranteed that the existing GPS system
is fully protected from radio interference."
GAMA's President and CEO, Pete Bunce, added, "GPS was first
launched more than 30 years ago and is relied upon by all sectors
of aviation - military, commercial and general aviation. It is an
extremely reliable part of our nation's air transportation system
and will play an even more critical role in the modernized Next
Generation Air Transportation System, which will address the
nation's need for expanded air traffic capacity while providing
greater safety and accuracy. Any system that threatens the
reception of GPS signals could have a catastrophic affect upon the
extensive ground and air infrastructure that has already been
deployed and paid for by operators and the U.S. taxpayer."
GAMA, Garmin International, Cessna Aircraft Company and other
GAMA member companies are members of the Coalition to Save Our GPS
.
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