Some See The Attempt As A Payback To A Democratic Donor
Before he was scheduled to testify
before a Congressional oversight committee, General William Shelton
(pictured), who leads the Air Force Space Command, says he was
asked by the White House to change his testimony to make it more
sympathetic to a company trying to place a nationwide wireless
broadband service on frequencies adjacent to the GPS spectrum.
The Pentagon, as well as nearly every, government, commercial,
and private user of a GPS device, could be affected by the service
proposed by LightSquared. The broadband company is proposing a
service that would offer wireless broadband, 4G Internet service to
resellers nationwide. But according to an online report in The
Daily Beast, LightSquared is owned by an investment fund whose
majority partner is Philip Falcone ... who has reportedly
contributed more than $60,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee. Records show he has also given small amounts to
Republicans.
The report indicates that the testimony to be given by Shelton
in a classified hearing was leaked to LightSquared. Subsequently,
the White House asked the general to change his prepared remarks to
say that he supported the Administration's policy for increases in
commercial broadband use, and that the DoD would work in a 90 day
time frame to try to resolve interference issues. LightSquared
denies that it was given access to the General's testimony prior to
the hearing.
LightSquared insists that it is not trying to use politics to
influence the process, but chafes at the fact that its plans have
been delayed for a year by the interference testing. CEO Sanjiv
Ahuja told The Daily Beast that they have been "forced" to
commit $100 million to find a solution to the interference
problem.
Ohio Republican Congressman Mike Turner said in an interview
that, in his view, there was "an attempt to influence the text of
the testimony and to engage LightSquared in the process in order to
bias his (Shelton's) testimony."
Shelton did not change his remarks, and White House officials
said there was never any pressure to make changes, simply a
suggestion. Shelton likened the GPS spectrum to a "quiet
neighborhood", and compared LightSquared's plan to "put(ting) a
rock band in the middle of that quiet neighborhood."
On Tuesday, the FCC placed a notice in the Federal Register that
said LightSquared's plan could not go forward until additional
testing was conducted that proved conclusively that GPS reception
would not be harmed by the company's 4G transmissions. In a report
published by Reuters, LightSquared claims (again, ed) that it has
resolved the GPS interference issue. The company says it has
partnered with an unnamed "leader" in GPS technology, and together
they have come up with a prototype that can provide the same
accuracy as today's devices. LightSquared EVP of regulatory affairs
and public policy Jeff Carlisle said the new prototype "uses
current technology and equipment that is available today and
affordable."
Carlisle on Wednesday repeated his company's claim that
LightSquared is not the problem, but rather places the burden on
the GPS industry for building receivers that do not meet DoD
standards.