Start-Up Faces GPS Issue, LightSquared Sets Way to Build Network Without Crippling Positioning System

June 21, 2011 at 11:07 am | Posted in Space Law Current Events | Leave a comment

by Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz with the blog faculty
Source: Wall Street Journal

By Roger Cheng
LightSquared, a start-up attempting to build an alternative high-speed wireless network, proposed a plan on Monday that it believes will allow it to operate without crippling Global Positioning System, or GPS, signals and equipment.

LightSquared, which is owned by Philip Falcone’s Harbinger Capital Partners LLC hedge fund, proposed using another block of spectrum that wouldn’t interfere with GPS signals, which could potentially hobble navigation systems on planes or with equipment used in agriculture and surveying. The company said the plan allows it to proceed with its original schedule to roll out the network.

“This is a solution which ensures that tens of millions of GPS users won’t be affected by LightSquared’s launch. At the same time, this plan offers a clear path for LightSquared to move forward with the launch of a nationwide wireless network,” LightSquared Chief Executive Sanjiv Ahuja said in a statement.

However, the group representing the parties that have raised the GPS issue, known as the Coalition to Save Our GPS, was critical of the plan. More…