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 .

FMI: www.saveourgps.org