The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is officially asking for feedback on a proposal by Ligado Networks to repurpose frequencies near the GPS band for a terrestrial broadband network. The long-delayed public notice and comment period is a step in the approval process, although there is no assurance that Ligado's plan for a new wireless service — which may still cause interference to GPS receivers — will get the go-ahead.
The current proposal is similar to ones made when the firm was still called LightSquared but has a few additional elements. Of the two 10-megahertz bands closest to the GPS frequencies Ligado would formally abandon the 1545–1555 MHz downlink band, leaving it the 1526–1536 MHz band for downlinks. It would also reduce the effective isotropically radiated power (EIRP) limit for this band from 42 dBW to 32 dBW.
Ligado has also requested that it be allowed to share the 1675.0–1680.0 MHz band now used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It already has the frequencies from 1670.0 to 1675.0 MHz. Sharing would give it a total of 10-megahertz to make up for the frequencies it is abandoning.
Uplinks would be in the bands 1627.5–1637.5 MHz and 1646.5–1656.5 MHz. A host of limits on power and out-of-band-emissions apply to the various frequency ranges. A summary of the overall proposal can be found in the appendix on page 10 of the Ligado submission to the FCC.
The deadline for filing comments and denial petitions is May 23. Oppositions are due June 6 and replies June 16. The International Bureau dockets with the relevant filings and comments are IB Docket No. 11-109 and IB Docket No. 12-340.
Air Force Wary of GPS Interference From LightSquared's Successor - Bloomberg
The Air Force command that operates U.S. military satellites remains concerned that mobile broadband service proposed by the former LightSquared Inc. will interfere with GPS signals, its top official said.
General John Hyten, head of the Air Force Space Command, voiced his wariness before a House Armed Services panel Tuesday as the company, now called Ligado Networks LLC, tries to revive prospects to become a U.S. mobile provider.
LightSquared rebrands as Ligado Networks but spectrum plans remain cloudy - FierceWireless
After emerging from bankruptcy and settling interference disputes with three GPS vendors, LightSquared is rebranding as Ligado Networks. But Ligado's precise strategy for leveraging its spectrum has yet to be determined.
LightSquared concluded nearly three years of bankruptcy protection last March after it won approval for a restructuring plan and was placed in the hands of multiple investment groups. It later forged separate agreements with Deere, Garmin and Trimble, ending long-running legal disputes over interference concerns between LightSquared's proposed service and GPS equipment.
LightSquared launched in 2010 with the goal of building a wholesale nationwide LTE network that customers could use to provide their own wireless services. It inked roughly three dozen customers before the FCC revoked its conditional license to operate in the L-band, citing unresolved concerns over interference and forcing LightSquared into bankruptcy.
On December 31, 2015, New LightSquared (hereinafter referenced as Ligado, its new name) 1
submitted new applications to modify the ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) of its L -
band mobile -satellite service (MSS) networks (hereinafter, “Applications”), and withdrew a prior request filed in 2012. 2 In the Applications, Ligado proposes that certain additional operational restrictions, in the form of license conditions, be placed on its ATC authorization in an effort to address interference concerns that have been raised by the Global Positioning System (GPS) industry in these proceedings. 3 Ligado also proposes another license condition to address interference concerns relating specifically to the aviation sector’s use of GPS. 4 These conditions are consistent with agreements that Ligado recently has reached with three companies (Deere & Company, Garmin International, Inc., and Trimble Navigation Limited) in the GPS industry. 5 Ligado states that adoption of these license modifications and specified conditions would enable the Commission to determine that Ligado could proceed with deploying its terrestrial broadband network. 6 Through this Public Notice, we seek comment on Ligado’s Applications.
