700 MHz Awarded to Public Safety - Now What?

Lumped into this weeks Payroll Tax Cut bill was an allocation of the long contested 10 MHz of spectrum referred to as the 700 MHz D Block.  The future of the D block has been in limbo since the 2008 spectrum auctions, but  this week Congress and the Obama Administration finally passed legislation that allocated the D Block to Public Safety for the construction of a nationwide LTE network.    Congress also kicked in an additional $7 billion of tax payer dollars to build the network and another $300 million for R&D for the network.

But you can be sure, that much like ObamaCare, there are sill many unknowns.  And public safety representatives are already saying $7 Billion isn't enough!  No one has yet thought or talked about where the money will come from to operate and maintain the system (but that money has to come from only one source and that is the US Taxpayer)  and nobody yet knows who is in charge of planning, designing, and managing the network buildout and operation.

However I am sure that this topic will dominate next weeks discussion at IWCE and for many months to come in the various halls of the lobbyist and equipment manufacturers who will no doubt play a major role in shaping the success of the network.

I expect the Public Safety Industry hasn't seen this much excitement since the 800 Re-banding plan was announced a few years ago.  BTW, anyone know how re-banding is going?  It's finished, right?

Marc

Upper 700 MHz Band Plan - The Public Safety D Block

The Public Safety D Block is actually two 5 MHz blocks of spectrum in the Upper 700 MHz band between 758 MHz to 763 MHz and 788 MHz to 793 MHz as shown below:

The LightSquared Whine Continues as the Commission suspends their waiver to use the 1.6 GHz band

After a very long and very public battle the Federal Communications Commission finally agreed that the laws of physics indeed could not be repealed, even with Obama's magical powers, and notified LightSquared that their waiver to use the 1.6 GHz spectrum will be suspended indefinitely thus ending LightSquared's plan to build a wholesale terrestrial based LTE network in the 1.6 GHz band. 


The surprise in this announcement is that the Commission actually did the right thing and went against the political pressure of LightSquared.   


But don't think that just because the FCC has ruled that this is the last you will hear from LightSquared.  Within hours of the announcement by the Commission, LightSquared launched their,  "we have been a victim of pure politics" campaign.    


Jeff Carlisle, LightSquared’s executive vice president for regulatory affairs and public policy, wrote on the company’s blog this week that the GPS industry had apparently become “too big to fail,” seeking protection from the federal government for its own mistakes.

“GPS manufacturers have been selling devices that listen into frequencies outside of their assigned spectrum band — namely into LightSquared’s licensed band,” Mr. Carlisle wrote. “The GPS industry has leveraged years of insider relationships and massive lobbying dollars to make sure that they don’t have to fix the problem they created.”

LightSquared's whine continued threatening legal acton and ramping up its lobbying efforts to attempt to gain access to spectrum for their network through a spectrum swap with federal agencies.  

The saga continues but never underestimate the power of having powerful friends (the President of the United States) as an investor in your company trying to make a $20 + billion spectrum play!  

Marc

Swimming Eagle of Baton Rouge

You just don't get to see this very often, watch to the end and enjoy the awesomeness of this bird!

Thanks to a great friend from my days at Aramco for sending this!

Marc

"ITS A CRISIS SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE IF WE DON'T ACT NOW!

Apparently LightSquared lobbyists have been unsuccessful in getting the laws of physics repealed, and have now shifted to the "Its a crisis, someone is going to die if we don't act now" tactic to attempt to entice the FCC to rule in their favor.

In an article in Urgent Communications Jeff Carlisle, LightSquared’s executive vice president for regulatory affairs and public policy, warned the public safety industry,  “The satellite company, in and of itself, is not sustainable over the long term — we know that,” Carlisle said. “It’s too small of a market to support the capital investment needed to launch a new satellite every 15 years. This is why you see a lot of satellite companies that have gone through restructuring.”  he then goes on to warn, "As long as we have a viable business, we will always be committed to our public-safety solutions,” . . . “We’ve got cutting-edge technology that nobody else has, and we’ll continue to be committed to that. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find our way through this thicket and make sure that this capability will be provided into the future.”  One presumes that Carlisle was referring to the push to talk satellite service that public safety agencies sometimes depend on, but but if you carefully read Carlisle's comments I am not sure that is what he means at all.


But none the less, the message is clear, LightSquared is clearly using the "ITS A CRISIS someone is going to die if we don't act now" tactic in an attempt to coerce the public safety industry and their unions to lobby for LightSquared.  


In reality, LightSquared has lost the technical argument (the facts), lost the legal argument, and has now entered the speak loudly an forcefully part of their campaign to get their spectrum repurposed!


I know LightSquared doesn't particularly like to answer practical questions about its network deployment but here are two questions, relative to the push to talk satellite argument they are now making, I am posing  to LightSquared:


1. How is the low powered push to talk satellite system used by public safety going to co-exist in a high powered (relatively) terrestrial based LTE network, without having those pesky laws of physic's repealed?


2.  When LightSquared's terrestrial network is fully deployed and operational why would LightSquared continue to invest millions every 15 years to launch a new satellite to support a market that LightSquared has admitted is ". . . too small of a market to support the capital investment needed to launch a new satellite every 15 years."? 


Marc

LightSquared poised to lobby for the Obama Administration to repeal selected the laws of physics!

From today's addition of Fierce Wireless,

LightSquared, whose principal investor is a very large Democratic Party supporter, has once again had the door shut on their plan to re-purpose spectrum allocated for satellite communications into a nationwide wholesale network, when yet another study group has concluded that the laws of physics do apply and  that the network, if it were ever to be built, would essential destroy the effective use of GPS in the United States.

It has been rumored however that the LightSquared lobbyists have a proposal ready for Congressional action that will appeal the laws of physics that are apparently stopping LightSquared's system roll out!  An unnamed source has indicated that Democrats in Congress are ready to fast track this legislation and the President, an investor in LightSquared, will sign it into law as soon as it hits his desk.

Marc

 LightSquared faces new roadblock after U.S. study finds GPS interference

By Phil Goldstein

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Wholesale LTE provider LightSquared faces new challenges to its plans to deploy its network after a federal advisory panel said on Friday that LightSquared's proposed network continues to interfere with GPS receivers and that no further testing is needed as a result. However, LightSquared sharply criticized the advisory board's work as "unfair and shrouded from the public eye" and threatened potential litigation over the issue. In a letter to the sent to Lawrence Strickling, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is conducting tests of LightSquared's network, the National Space-Based Position, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board said that testing of both LightSquared's original network plans and subsequent modifications show that LightSquared's proposed terrestrial network still presents harmful interference to GPS receivers. The panel advises the federal government on GPS issues. "There appear to be no practical solutions or mitigations that would permit the LightSquared broadband service, as proposed, to operate in the next few months or years without significantly interfering with GPS," Ashton Carter, deputy secretary of defense, and John Porcari, deputy secretary of transportation, wrote in the letter. "As a result, no additional testing is warranted at this time." The decision of the advisory panel is not binding, and the NTIA is still conducting its own analysis. The NTIA said the panel's recommendation with "help inform" its decision before it makes its recommendations to the FCC. LightSquared blasted the advisory panel as being too close to the GPS industry and for not testing filtering solutions proposed by LightSquared to mitigate GPS interference. "LightSquared today urges the government, under the leadership of the FCC and NTIA to recommit to a fair and transparent process," Terry Neal, a LightSquared spokesman, said in a statement. "Test results must be re-evaluated by unbiased officials and engineers. Testing must proceed in cooperation with all parties--LightSquared, government end-users, and GPS manufacturers--to ensure effective and appropriate guidelines are in place." Meanwhile, while LightSquared's network sits in regulatory limbo, the company keeps on signing up wholesale customers. LightSquared inked a wholesale deal with Hometown Telecom, a carrier specializing in low-cost long distance calls to India. The deal is LightSquared's 37th wholesale agreement.

LightSquared in a panic based on PNT Board Recommendation

Looks as if LightSquared has decided that since the science is against them on the interference issue with GPS receivers they will now argue "conflict of interest" about one member on the PNT Advisory board.  I suppose the old adage from the legal community that goes, "if the facts are against, you argue the law, if the law is against you, speak loudly and forcefully!  It seems that the LightSquared folks will be raising their voice very soon!  Notice that the article does not mention the fact that the LightSquared Chairman happens to have very close ties with and raised funds for the election of the current President.

Marc
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1. LightSquared urges probe of GPS advisory board member

By Phil Goldstein

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Wholesale LTE provider LightSquared is urging a probe of a federal GPS advisory board member, arguing that he has a conflict of interest because he also serves on the board of Trimble, which is opposed to LightSquared's network deployment plans. LightSquared filed a petition late Wednesday with NASA Inspector General Paul Martin over the board member, Bradford Parkinson, sometimes referred to as the "father of GPS" for his role in developing the technology for the military. Parkinson serves as the vice chairman of the National Space-Based Position, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board, which advises the federal government on GPS issues, and also serves as a board member for Trimble, which is part of a coalition of companies that have argued LightSquared's terrestrial network would cause harmful interference to GPS receivers. In December, results of GPS testing conducted by the advisory board were leaked to the media and showed continued interference from LightSquared's network.  In its petition, LightSquared said Parkinson may have violated federal conflict of interest rules, and argued that if LightSquared's network deployment is approved by regulators, Trimble could be hurt financially because the company would need "to address the problematic design and manufacturing process that has resulted in its high-precision receivers looking into LightSquared's spectrum." Trimble is part of a group formed last March called the Coalition to Save Our GPS, which has argued that LightSquared's network will cause harmful interference and that its signal will overwhelm GPS receivers and precision-based GPS receivers in particular. LightSquared has repeatedly argued that GPS device makers are at fault because their receivers have been designed to look into LightSquared's L-band spectrum. Government testing conducted under the auspices of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is still ongoing to determine if all GPS interference concerns have been resolved. Coalition spokesman Dale Leibach told Reuters that Parkinson's role as a GPS expert allowed him to serve at both the advisory board and Trimble. "It appears that LightSquared has now run out of solutions and has nothing left but baseless allegations about process," Leibach said. Pressure is mounting on LightSquared to get approval from regulators at the NTIA and FCC. Last week Philip Falcone, the head of the hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, which is the chief backer of LightSquared, met with FCC officials to press the company's case and argue for its plans to mitigate interference. Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) has given LightSquared an extension until Jan. 31 to get FCC approval for its network, a condition of their 15-year, $9 billion network-hosting deal. However, Sprint has quit installing LightSquared equipment into its Network Vision network upgrade due to the situation. Meanwhile, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said he is requesting information from GPS companies about their contacts with the White House and regulators. The requests for information are part of a deal Grassley struck to get the FCC to turn over similar info about LightSquared's dealings with the government. Grassley has been investigating the conditional waiver the FCC granted LightSquared in January 2011 to allow its wholesale customers to deploy terrestrial service.