Urges Congressional “Support Of Several Provisions That Will Protect Our Nation's Military GPS...

AEA has joined more than 50 other organizations to urge congressional “support of several provisions that will protect our nation's military global positioning system (GPS) devices and satellite communications services from harmful interference.”

In a Nov. 20 letter sent to the chairmen and ranking members of the United States Senate and House Committees on Armed Services, the coalition wrote, “If the Federal Communications Commission’s April 2020 Ligado Order is left in place, it would upend decades of sound spectrum policy, negatively impact a significant cross-section of commercial and federal users who rely on the many different L-band satellite services, and threaten the safety of most Americans.”

Seeking several provisions in the conference agreement of H.R. 6395, the William (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, the coalition letter also stated, “L-Band satellite services are ‘fundamental to the nation’s economy, national security, and continued technological leadership.’ We fully support House Sections 1608 and 1609 and Senate Sections 234, 1083, and 6082, and respectfully request that all five provisions remain in the conferenced version of the legislation.”

The letter also stated, “Given that the National Telecommunications and Information and 14 additional federal agencies have stated their public objection to the Ligado Order, we believe an independent review of the FCC’s decision could alleviate any remaining concerns. Senate Section 234 requires the DOD to engage the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct an independent review. We believe that all sides of this issue would benefit from such an independent analysis.”

FMI: https://aea.net/pdf/Coalition_Letter_re_NDAA_Provisions_FINAL_2020-11-20.pdf