GPS World, April 2011

THE SYSTEM Save Our GPS Coalition Forms Representatives from a variety of industries and companies have formed the Coalition to Save Our GPS to resolve what it terms a serious threat to the national positioning navigation and timing service the FCC conditional waiver to Lightsquared allowing expansion of terrestrial use of the satellite spectrum immediately neighboring that of GPS potentially causing severe interference to millions of GPS receivers GPS is essential to Americans every day its in our cars the airplanes in which we fly and the ambulances police There must be a reasonable opportunity for public comment of at least 45 days on the report produced by the working group cars and fire trucks that help keep us safe Its also used in many industrial applications and even synchronizes our wireless computer and utility networks the group stated LightSquareds plans to build up to 40000 ground stations transmitting radio signals one billion times more powerful than GPS signals as received on earth could mean 40000 dead spots each miles in diameter disrupting the vitally important services GPS provides The Coalition www SaveOurGPS org includes representatives from aviation agriculture transportation construction engineering surveying and GPS based equipment manufacturers and service providers Initial members of the coalition are the Aeronautical Repair Stations Association Air Transport Association Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials American Rental Association Associated Equipment Distributors Association of Equipment Manufacturers Case New Holland Caterpillar Inc Edison Electric Institute Esri Garmin General Aviation Manufacturers Association Deere Company National Association of Manufacturers OmniSTAR and Trimble More members are expected to join in the near future The following is from a statement issued by the coalition In The unusual waiver granted in January to LightSquared by the FCC the usual FCC process of conducting extensive testing followed by approvals was not followed Instead the process was approve first then test Additional safeguards are needed so the coalition recommends The FCC must make clear and the NTIA must ensure that LightSquareds license modification is contingent on the outcome of the mandated study The study must be comprehensive objective and based on correct assumptions about existing GPS uses rather than theoretical possibilities The FCC should make clear that LightSquared and their investors should not proceed to make any investment in operating facilities prior to a final FCC decision or at least make it explicit that they do so at their own risk While this is the FCCs established policy it failed to make this explicit in its order Further the FCCs and NTIAs finding that harmful interference concerns have been resolved must mean resolved to the satisfaction of preexisting GPS providers and users Resolution of interference has to be the obligation of LightSquared not the extensive GPS user community of millions of citizens LightSquared must bear the costs of preventing interference of any kind resulting from operations on LightSquareds frequencies This is a matter of critical national interest There must be a reasonable opportunity for public comment of at least 45 days on the report produced by the working group 7HFKQLFDO HDGHUVKLS H DUH 7RN R HQSD 7 WKH WHFKQRORJ OHDGHU IRU FU VWDOV DQG 7 2 V IRU 36 DSSOLFDWLRQV 2XU RVFLOODWRUV DUH WKH XOWLPDWH FRPELQDWLRQ RI VPDOO VL H ORZ SKDVH QRLVH ORZ K VWHUHVLV DQG JUHDW VWDELOLW RYHU WHPSHUDWXUH 2XU SURGXFWV FDQ EH IRXQG LQ WKH OHDGLQJ VPDUW SKRQHV DURXQG WKH JOREH 6KRXOGQ W RX NQRZ DERXW XV 7 PHULFD DQNHU 5RDG 6DQ RVH ZZZ WHZDPHULFD FRP GPS World April 2011 www gpsworld com 16