Tim Warren

The Federal Aviation Administration voiced uncertainty in a July 12 document over how well LightSquared’s revised rollout plans would mitigate potential interference with some GPS services used by civil aircraft. The FAA responded to questions from the Executive Office of the President’s Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee’s National Coordination Office. Under LightSquared’s new plan, it would begin terrestrial broadband service only in the lower part of the L-band to help reduce interference problems with GPS devices. LightSquared still needs approval from the FCC on the plan and the agency is now reviewing the LightSquared proposal and has requested public comment.

The FCC’s decision over who has liability for Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) violations committed by a third party is expected to have a significant effect in the world of telemarketing and telemarketers’ contracts with retailers, observers said. The FCC was asked earlier this year by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Cincinnati, to weigh in on the law’s ambiguities for a case on who is ultimately responsible for TCPA violations by telemarketers hired by Dish Network. A lower court dismissed the original claims, but the plaintiff appealed (CD Jan 3 p5). The FCC isn’t tasked with reviewing the specifics of the case, only interpreting parts of the law the appeals court considered vague.

Frequent updates at the FCC by News Corp. and the addition of internal watchdogs are good ways to guard against the kind of illegality in the U.S. that continues to swirl around the company and its newspapers in the U.K., said industry executives. News Corp. closed its News of the World newspaper two Sundays ago after it was revealed its reporters hacked into the phone systems of politicians and private citizens. The FBI and Justice Department have reportedly opened investigations into the scandal after several U.S. lawmakers pushed for increased scrutiny based on potential violations of the Federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (CD July 14 p7). News Corp. recently hired Williams & Connolly, a prominent Washington, D.C., criminal defense firm, as the legal stakes of the scandal continue to grow.

News Corp.’s withdrawn bid for British Sky Broadcasting leaves the would-be acquirer with a large amount of cash on hand, potentially clearing the way for other media purchases, said industry executives. Another try at the U.S. satellite TV market seems unlikely, but a content acquisition is possible, they said. News Corp. said Wednesday it won’t bid for the 61 percent of BSkyB it doesn’t own, as controversy over phone hacking by a News Corp.-owned newspaper continues to heat up in the U.K.

Sprint’s continued vigilance in protecting its long-time claims against the mobile satellite service companies DBSD and TerreStar could be a headache for Dish Network as it moves forward in buying those S-band licensees out of bankruptcy. Sprint is trying to recoup more than $200 million in costs the wireless company took on when clearing broadcast auxiliary spectrum (BAS) from the 2 GHz band. The issue could also come up again once the FCC asks for comment on the transfer of control of either company to Dish, said an industry executive.

The FCC overextended itself in its order changing spectrum rules for mobile satellite services when it weighed in on the responsibility for receivers that pick up signals outside of their allocated spectrum, said the U.S. GPS Industry Council and CTIA. The industry groups filed petitions for reconsideration or clarification on the order, based in part on the agency’s take on the role of incumbent users with receivers that pick up signals outside their spectrum. The order was part of the commission’s effort to increase terrestrial broadband use of spectrum allocated for MSS (CD April 7 p6).

The decision whether LightSquared can begin terrestrial-only service will likely come through the International Bureau rather than be a call by the full FCC, an agency spokesman said Thursday. The bureau wasted no time in asking for comments on a working group study of LightSquared interference with GPS signals filed Thursday, signaling the importance of the proceeding to the commission. The public notice asks about LightSquared’s revised roll-out plans that revolve around the company beginning beginning service in the lower part of its L-band spectrum (http://xrl.us/bkygmf). Interested parties have until Aug. 15 to file comments. The inter-bureau spectrum task force will review the study and comments, though the decision was on track to come out of the International Bureau, said the spokesman.

More testing is likely needed before LightSquared moves forward on revised plans to offer terrestrial wireless service in just the lower part of the L-band, government officials and GPS users said Thursday during a joint hearing with the House Aviation and Maritime Transportation subcommittees on GPS reliability. Lawmakers and executives also voiced concern over the FCC’s handling of LightSquared’s proposed plans, asking for more involvement from the Federal Aviation Administration and Defense and Transportation departments when considering spectrum use that affects GPS. Meanwhile at a House Appropriations Committee markup, members agreed to an amendment requiring the FCC to address GPS interference concerns.

The satellite business continued its revenue growth streak in 2010, largely on the back of satellite services, the industry’s largest sector, the Satellite Industry Association said. At the end of Q3 -- the most recent data available -- industry employment had fallen 2.7 percent since the end of 2009, SIA said in its annual study. It was done by Futron Corp. using surveys of 80 companies, 40 of which are SIA members, and publicly available data and research, and is at http://xrl.us/bks9s8.

LightSquared will propose initially only using the lower 10 MHz of the L-band spectrum the company has access to as a way to deal with interference problems with GPS services, it said Monday. The proposal, which includes the acceleration of a LightSquared agreement with Inmarsat, would allow LightSquared to begin service further away from spectrum used by the GPS industry. LightSquared made the decision after “early test results indicated that one of LightSquared’s 10MHz blocks of frequencies poses interference to many GPS receivers,” the company said. The GPS industry has expressed concerns over such plans in the past (CD June p9).