DOD, DOT, Commerce Warn FCC About Ligado Effects
FCC approval of terrestrial L-band use by Ligado will result in costs of tens of billions of dollars to GPS users, and lives lost from signal degradation or loss resulting in reduced position accuracy or false position information, DOD, Department…
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of Transportation and Commerce officials told FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Mike O'Rielly, Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, recapped a docket 11-109 posting Monday. They said a conversation with Commissioner Brendan Carr is being scheduled. NTIA said DOD officials presented and discussed classified materials. DOT and Commerce said DOT GPS adjacent band compatibility test results clearly show an interference danger to GPS. They said a single 9.8 dBW transmitter on the National Mall in Washington showed widespread interference across a wide radius of downtown, and general aviation GPS would be affected as much as a kilometer away. They said helicopter terrain awareness and warning systems could be severely harmed. They argued for the 1 dB interference standard, which they said major GPS receiver makers support. They said Ligado's proposed spacing would mean transmitter power would have to be reduced by a factor of 10,000 to protect all existing receivers. The FCC didn't comment Tuesday.