Ligado Networks, which the FCC hoped would boost competition for broadband service, has sued the U.S. government, saying it “misappropriated Ligado’s exclusively licensed spectrum to support previously undisclosed Defense Department systems that have been using Ligado’s spectrum without permission.”

Ligado says that with the aid of the Commerce Department and its National Telecommunications & Information Administration, the Defense Department blocked the company from developing the spectrum the Federal Communications Commission granted it to build out terrestrial 5G.

Relying on that exclusive FCC license, Ligado said it invested billions of dollars prepping for the service.

Despite pushback from GPS entities and some federal agencies, the FCC in 2020 unanimously voted to approve Ligado’s application to deploy a low-power terrestrial 5G network in the L-Band satellite spectrum.

Since that time, Ligado has been trying to resolve alleged GPS interference issues that have held up any buildout.

Also Read: Defense Authorization Bill Targets Ligado

But the suit said the issues were instead a concerted campaign to block Ligado from using the spectrum granted by the FCC.

“High-ranking government officials waged a multiyear misinformation campaign against ligado to conceal previously undisclosed defense department systems occupying ligado’s spectrum, block Ligado from deploying spectrum for next-generation terrestrial 5G services.

“This outrageous and unconstitutional attack on an American business by the world’s most powerful institution is contrary to the rule of law and antithetical to the government’s years-long support for the deployment of 5G technology as a vital national priority,” Ligado chairman Ivan Seidenberg said.

For a decade, Ligado, formerly LightSquared, has been trying to launch a terrestrial wholesale wireless broadband service using spectrum initially licensed for satellite.

The Federal Communications Commission’s desire to promote broadband competition continues to run up against the desire of some powerful government agencies and their allies to protect spectrum holdings and incumbent services.

This week, a bipartisan group of powerful senators, including the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel asking the FCC to reverse course on its decision to allow Ligado Networks to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS for terrestrial 5G starting at the end of next month.

“Staying and reconsidering the Ligado Order is necessary to address the imminent risks associated with Ligado’s intention to ‘commence operations in the 1526-1536 Mhz band on or after September 30, 2022,’ ” they wrote. “We remain gravely concerned that the Ligado Order fails to adequately protect adjacent band operations — including those related to GPS and satellite communications — from harmful interference impacting countless military and commercial activities.”

Lead senators on the letter were Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.). Joining them were Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).

Despite pushback from GPS entities, airline and pilot associations in particular, and some federal agencies, notably the Department of Defense, the FCC — including then-commissioner Rosenworcel — voted unanimously in April 2020 to approve an application by Ligado (formerly LightSquared) to deploy a low-power terrestrial 5G network in the L-band satellite spectrum, one of a series of FCC decisions meant to free up more spectrum for 5G.

GPS companies and users had pushed back on the application, saying they could face interference to critical services. FCC engineers, though, said harmful interference could be avoided, including by requiring a guard band of spectrum between Ligado and adjacent-band GPS and a 99% reduction in power levels from Ligado's 2015 application.

Ajit Pai, FCC chairman when the Ligado decision was made, characterized the cries of intereference as fear-mongering.

In 2021, Congress also put some guardrails around the FCC's Ligado authorization by including language in the Defense Authorization Act making it explicit that Ligad cannot interfere with GPS and proceed with its broadband plans.

Ligado has been trying to launch a terrestrial wholesale wireless broadband service using spectrum initially licensed for satellite for over a decade, though back then it was for a 4G network. ▪️

Ligado has signed a deal with spectrum broker Select Spectrum to market its midband spectrum holdings to enterprise customers, particularly in the utility and critical infrastructure sectors.

Select will "identify opportunities for localized access to Ligado’s licensed spectrum in the 1.6 GHz band," including such uses as power grid upgrades and transportation.

Also: Ligado, Rakuten Sign MOU

There has been some speculation that Ligado might sell its spectrum to Verizon, but Ligado CEO Doug Smith told Light Reading last year: "We think, from an enterprise standpoint, there is a great need that we can fill. And that's everything from additional automation, machine-to-machine connectivity, or things like very low latency, high reliability and security that are so important to supporting critical infrastructure."

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed in 2020, put guard rails around an FCC decision that allows Ligado to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS for terrestrial 5G, which came despite pushback from the Trump Administration, aviation groups, and some in Congress. ■

A House version of a bill has been introduced that would mandate that Ligado pay for correcting any interference to GPS equipment that their use of satellite spectrum for a 5G terrestrial network may cause. The lead co-sponsors of the bipartisan bill are Rep. Jim Turner (D-Tenn.) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio).

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed late last year, put guard rails around an FCC decision that allows Ligado to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS for terrestrial 5G, but the bill, the Recognizing and Ensuring Taxpayer Access to Infrastructure Necessary for GPS and Satellite Communications Act (RETAIN Act), would make sure it hit Ligado in the pocketbook if that use creates interference to those critical systems.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced the Senate version last month.

After years of trying and a name change, Ligado back in April secured the FCC's go-ahead despite pushback from the Trump Administration, aviation groups, and some in Congress.

The FCC unanimously voted to approve Ligado's application to deploy a low-power terrestrial 5G network in the L-Band satellite spectrum.

GPS companies and users had pushed back on the application, saying they could face interference to critical services, but FCC engineers said that harmful interference could be avoided, including by requiring a guard band of spectrum between Ligado and adjacent-band GPS and a 99% reduction in power levels from Ligado's 2015 application.

“The RETAIN Act would extend economic protection to any GPS-enabled equipment disrupted by Ligado, finishing the job FCC started with earlier regulatory action,” said another bill co-sponsor, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). “We cannot ignore the economic impact and safety implications that Ligado’s network poses to our nation’s first responders, pilots, local municipalities, and consumers. This bill is a commonsense measure for Virginia’s 8th District and I’m proud to support it.”

"On behalf of the GPS industry, the GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA) is proud to support the House introduction of the bipartisan RETAIN GPS Act," said executive director David Grossman. "This legislation, in addition to the Senate’s RETAIN GPS Act (S.2166), will work to protect civilians, consumers, and small businesses from paying the price for the FCC’s April 2020 decision to authorize the deployment of a nationwide terrestrial wireless network by Ligado Networks. With this legislation, millions of Americans dependent on GPS for agriculture, aviation, construction, municipal and emergency services won’t be left to pay the price when their devices experience harmful interference."

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) has introduced the bipartisan Recognizing and Ensuring Taxpayer Access to Infrastructure Necessary for GPS and Satellite Communications Act (RETAIN Act) to require Ligado to cover the cost of mitigating interference its 5G service might create.

Inhofe has argued that the FCC's approval of that service will "drastically interfere with GPS and satellite communications." He took to the floor of the Senate to make that case and announce the bill.

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed late last year, put guard rails around an FCC decision that allows Ligado to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS for terrestrial 5G, but the Inhofe bill would make sure it hit Ligado in the pocketbook if that use creates interference to those critical systems.

"My legislation ensures federal agencies, state governments and all others negatively impacted by the actions of a private actor are not left holding the bag when it comes to costs – and worse, aren’t put in the position where they have to push the costs onto American consumers," Inhofe told his colleagues.

After years of trying and a name change, Ligado back in April secured the FCC's go-ahead despite pushback from the Trump Administration, aviation groups, and some in Congress.

The FCC unanimously voted to approve Ligado's application to deploy a low-power terrestrial 5G network in the L-Band satellite spectrum.

GPS companies and users had pushed back on the application, saying they could face interference to critical services, but FCC engineers said that harmful interference could be avoided, including by requiring a guard band of spectrum between Ligado and adjacent-band GPS and a 99% reduction in power levels from Ligado's 2015 application.

Ligado and Rakuten Mobile are teaming up on a private mobile 5G network.

The companies said Friday (Feb.12) that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to that effect.

Also Read: FCC Denies Ligado Stay Petition

Essentially the announcement was that they would start this quarter to work with venders and other partners to establish "a timeline" for rolling out a network blueprint and trials, with Ligado leveraging the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP).

They anticipate they will both advance the private network model--connecting multiple locations for enterprise customers--and accelerate the commercial use of the L-Band spectrum. "Ligado’s approach to private networks – which runs on dedicated mid-band spectrum and offers both satellite and terrestrial connectivity – will give customers the scale of a public network and the security and customization of a private one," the company said.

Despite pushback from GPS entities and some federal agencies, the FCC voted unanimously back in April 2020 voted to approve Ligado's application to deploy a low-power terrestrial 5G network in the L-Band satellite spectrum. 

GPS companies and users had pushed back on the application, saying they could face interference to critical services, but FCC engineers said that harmful interference could be avoided, including by requiring a guard band of spectrum between Ligado and adjacent-band GPS and a 99% reduction in power levels from Ligado's 2015 application.

Eventually Congress stepped in to put guard rails around the decision, including an independent investigation of any potential interference and a prohibition on the Defense Department contracting with any company that interferes with GPS.

The FCC has denied a petition to stay its decision to allow Ligado Networks to deploy its network.

The National Telecommunication's & Information Administration last May asked the FCC to stay and reconsider its decision to allow Ligado to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS for a terrestrial broadband network, but the FCC concluded Tuesday that there was no irreparable injury or likelihood of success on the merits of NTIA's challenge, two of the tests for granting a stay and reconsideration of its 2020 Ligado order.

Also Read: FCC Says Senate Ligado Attacks are Fear Mongering

The FCC's unanimous vote last May was conditioned on power limits and a "kill switch" if interference resulted, and based on FCC engineering assessments FCC chair Ajit Pai said at the time made the item good to go. 

But NTIA said that was hardly the case. Based on what it said were the FCC's "unworkable conditions while still uncertain whether GPS receivers critical to national security and public safety would experience remediable harmful interference," NITA said the FCC needed to stay the order and, essentially, go back to the condition drawing board. 

The FCC has decided to stick with the original plan.

“We must continue to move forward to ensure next-generation wireless services are available, and to do so, we must put this long-underused spectrum to its best use,” said Pai in a statement on the decision to deny the stay. “My colleagues and I unanimously adopted the order after more than a decade of delay across several Administrations. That order imposed stringent conditions in order to protect incumbent users, including GPS services and Pentagon operations that operate outside this band, and the technical evidence in our record continues to demonstrate that the FCC made the correct decision. I thank all of my colleagues for voting on this order with dispatch—on the same day it was circulated—and enabling the Commission to reaffirm that order, which is in the best interest of the American people.”

Also Read: Ligado Draws Major Fire in Armed Services Committee

Most of a hundred groups from the American Bus Association to Lockheed Martin to the National Cotton Council also asked the FCC to stay its Ligado decision earlier Tuesday, continuing to argue that it could interfere with GPS and threaten commercial and military aviation.

Most of a hundred groups from the American Bus Association to Lockheed Martin to the National Cotton Council have asked the FCC to immediately stay its Ligado decision, continuing to argue that it could interfere with GPS and threaten commercial and military aviation.

That came in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and the other commissioners. Pai is exiting after today (Jan. 19) so a decision would have to come ASAP.

RELATED: House Armed Services Committee Members Take Aim at FCC's Ligado Decision

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed late last year, put guard rails around an FCC decision that allows Ligado to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS for terrestrial 5G, something the groups pointed out in seeking the stay.

The groups point out that the NDAA: (1) [R]equires an independent technical review of the Ligado Order; (2) requires the Department of Defense (“DoD”) to submit an estimate to Congress of the full range of damages caused by the Order to the Federal government; (3) prohibits DoD from contracting with any entity that engages in terrestrial service in the L-band absent a certification from the Defense Secretary that such service does not cause harmful interference to any DoD Global Positioning System (“GPS”) devices; and (4) prohibits DoD’s use of taxpayer funds made available via the NDAA to mitigate the damages incurred by DoD."

Given the independent review requirement, they argue, the FCC needs to stand down since it would not be able to put "the genie back in the bottle" if Ligado started deploying equipment.

Also Read: FCC Says Senate Ligado Attacks are Fear Mongering

Despite pushback from GPS entities and some federal agencies, the FCC voted unanimously April 20 to approve Ligado's (formerly LightSquared) application to deploy a low-power terrestrial 5G network in the L-Band satellite spectrum, one of a series of FCC decisions meant to free up more spectrum for 5G. But DOD, with the backing of Armed Services Committee members in both houses of Congress, campaigned hard against Ligado and the FCC decision and continue to try to mitigate what they see as the potential interference to critical navigation and positioning systems.

But the language was added to the NDAA to make sure that Ligado does not interfere with satellite communications before proceeding with its plans, plans the groups want to make sure don't proceed by getting the FCC to stay the decision. 

The Senate has overridden President Trump's veto of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)  81 to 13, which also means Congress has put brackets around an FCC decision that allows Ligado to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS for terrestrial 5G. That is according to satellite interests opposed to the FCC's Ligado approval.

Also Read: House Armed Services Committee Members Take Aim at FCC's Ligado Decision

Despite pushback from GPS entities and some federal agencies, the FCC voted unanimously April 20 to approve Ligado's (formerly LightSquared) application to deploy a low-power terrestrial 5G network in the L-Band satellite spectrum, one of a series of FCC decisions meant to free up more spectrum for 5G. But DOD, with the backing of Armed Services Committee members in both houses of Congress, campaigned hard against Ligado and the FCC decision and continue to try to mitigate what they see as the potential interference to critical navigation and positioning systems.

But language was added to the NDAA to make sure that Ligado does not interfere with satellite communications before proceeding with its plans. 

Also Read: FCC Says Senate Ligado Attacks are Fear Mongering 

"This action taken by both chambers of Congress provides a clear signal from a bipartisan majority of our nation’s lawmakers that they are concerned about Ligado’s potential to interfere with vital SATCOM and GPS services across the country," said the Satellite Safety Alliance. "As was made clear via provisions included in the NDAA, Ligado will now be subject to an independent investigation that will ensure a clear look at how Ligado’s service would interfere with vital SATCOM and GPS services. Also included in the bill is a provision that prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from contracting with any company, like Ligado, whose operations may cause harmful interference to a DOD GPS device."

"With the NDAA veto override, Congress has loudly expressed its concerns regarding the FCC’s flawed Ligado order and the resulting interference it is likely to cause to SATCOM services," said the alliance. "Should the independent studies reveal interference as we expect, Ligado will not be able to move forward as it had planned. For years, Ligado (and formerly LightSquared) has been attempting to repurpose and flip satellite spectrum under the guise of advancing 5G technology in America. After over 10 years and millions of dollars wasted on lobbyists and lawyers, this “Ligado is 5G” argument has simply been proven to be a myth.

Also Read: Ligado Defends FCC Decision 

GPS companies and users had pushed back on the Ligado application, saying they could face interference to critical services, but FCC engineers said that harmful interference could be avoided, including by requiring a guard band of spectrum between Ligado and adjacent-band GPS and a 99% reduction in power levels from Ligado's 2015 application.  

Airline interests including plane builders, pilots, air transport companies and airlines including Jet Blue, Delta, and Southwest petitioned the FCC to dismiss the Ligado application.  

But Pai cited the bipartisan support for the item of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr on the one hand and Democrats Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Rep. Doris Matsui of California on the other. 

Ligado has been trying to launch a terrestrial wholesale wireless broadband service using spectrum initially licensed for satellite for most of a decade. Back then it was for a 4G network.  

Ligado opponents are cheering on provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act (NADA)--currently being finalized in Congress, that would put guard rails around an FCC decision that allows Ligado to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS for terrestrial 5G.

In a letter to the leadership of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, over four dozen groups ranging from Accuweather to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association to the National Agricultural Aviation Association backed several Ligado-targeted provisions.

The key provisions are House sections 1608 and 1609 and Senate sections 234, 1083, and 6082. The first two would prohibit the Department of Defense from contracting with any entity that uses the relevant satellite spectrum (1525-1559 MHz or 1625.5-1660.5 MHz) for terrestrial operations or from spending any funds to retrofit GPS devices that suffer interference from Ligado Network. The Secretary of Defense could lift that contract provision if he concluded there would be no harmful interference to a DOD GPS device. Given how much DOD has pushed back, that could be a tall order.

Senate section 1803 requires the DOD to estimate the damages stemming from the FCC's Ligado order while section 6082 gives DOD the authority to seek reimbursement for the damages, which already squares with the FCC Ligado order, which requires Ligado to pay for any damages.

The groups are also suggesting it would be a good idea to add a provision to the bill requiring an independent review of the FCC's Ligado decision, which Senate section would do.

After years of trying and a name change, Ligado back in April secured the FCC's go-ahead despite pushback from the Trump Administration, aviation groups, and some in Congress.

RELATED: House Armed Services Committee Members Take Aim at FCC's Ligado Decision

A unanimous Federal Communications Commission approved the application of Ligado, formerly LightSquared, for a terrestrial 5G broadband network using spectrum adjacent to GPS, one of a series of FCC decisions meant to free up more spectrum for 5G. But DOD, with the backing of Armed Services Committee members in both houses of Congress, campaigned hard against Ligado and the FCC decision and continue to try to mitigate what they see as the potential interference to critical navigation and positioning systems.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) has reportedly put a hold on the renomination of Republican FCC commissioner Michael O'Rielly over the senator's opposition to the FCC's decision to approve Ligado's use of satellite spectrum for terrestrial broadband.

Related: Senate Commerce Hosts Rousing Ligado Debate

In a report in Politico that the hold had been placed, Randolph May, president of free market think tank Free State Foundation, tweeted his disapproval:

The FCC unanimously granted the proposal from Ligado (formerly LightSquared) to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS spectrum for terrestrial broadband so long as it meets various conditions to prevent interference with that adjacent GPS, but that hasn't stopped critics on the Hill and in the Trump Administration from slamming the decision and trying to reverse it, Inhofe among them, as his tweets on the subject this week made clear, saying he would continue to fight the FCC until the decision was overturned.

While Inhofe and others said the Ligado interference threat is too great, the FCC said there are sufficient protections for GPS. 

O'Rielly's nomination was favorably reported out of the Senate Commerce Committee last week for a new, five-year, term on the commission. But a single senator can hold up a full-Senate vote on a nomination.

Such holds are not unusual.

In 2018, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) has put a hold on the renomination of FCC commissioner Brendan Carr, but was is not over anything Carr had done.

It happened to Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who--and this was unusual--eventually had to exit the commission because her term expired before renomination. She was eventually returned to her seat after the political smoke cleared. As with Carr, the hold on her nomination was not related to her or her job performance. Holds can be placed for any reason or no reason and legislators don't have to explain them.

Former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler also saw his nomination held up for months by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

A number of supporters of the FCC's Ligado decision have warned Congress not to try to use the appropriations process--via language in the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)--to undo that decision at the behest of the Defense Department, saying it would be tantamount to sabotaging the FCC's spectrum authority. 

Related: FCC Proposes Approving Ligado Application

The FCC has already unanimously granted the Ligado proposal (formerly LightSquared) to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS spectrum for terrestrial broadband so long as it meets various conditions to prevent interference with that adjacent GPS, but that hasn't stopped critics on the Hill and in the Trump Administration from slamming the decision and trying to reverse it.  

Related: Senate Commerce Hosts Rousing Ligado Debate 

In a letter to congressional leaders, Public Knowledge, INCOMPAS, the Open Technology Institute and others pointed to efforts by the Department of Defense, which said Ligado would cause interference to critical systems like missile guidance, to block the decision. 

"As we write, there are intense efforts underway to do exactly that, via current language in the House and Senate versions of the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that ultimately seek to reverse the FCC’s recent bipartisan and unanimous approval of Ligado Networks’ regulatory plans," they wrote.  

Related: FCC Faces Slew of Ligado-Slamming Petitions

They argued that would give DOD a veto of commercial spectrum authorizations. "While we respect the role of the Armed Service Committees to provide legislative oversight of the nation’s military, by rule of law, commercial spectrum decisions remain the sole authority of the FCC. Congress should not attempt to sabotage that authority..." 

Also signing on to the letter were the California Center for Rural Policy, Center for Rural Strategies, Lincoln Network, Media Alliance, Taxpayers Protection Alliance and Wireless Infrastructure Association. 

The debate over allowing Ligado to use satellite spectrum for a planned terrestrial broadband network rages on. 

In this case, the field of verbal battle was FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly's confirmation hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday (June 16). 

The FCC has already unanimously granted the Ligado proposal (formerly LightSquared), so long as it meets various conditions, but that hasn't stopped critics on the Hill and in the Trump Administration from slamming the decision.  

Related: Ligado Tells FCC NTIA's Petition Fails on All Counts

The issue is potential interference with nearby GPS spectrum used for everything from navigation and timing to surveying and military guidance systems.

The hearing was tailor made for a Ligado debate given that other nominees being vetted at the hearing included Joel Szabat for Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, U.S. Department of Transportation and Michael Walsh, Jr. as general counsel of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

DOT and the National Telecommunications & Information Admininstration, an arm of Commerce and President Trump's chief communications policy advisor, both opposed the Ligado proposal and NTIA has petitioned the FCC to stay and reconsider the decision. 

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the committee stirred up the debate, trying to get one of the three to talk about what the real world implications of GPS interference were before finally getting an example--from Szabat--of a surveyor siting a road or pipeline in the wrong place due to bad data. 

Wicker said he wanted to hear from both sides sitting at the same table. He was clearly trying to figure out whether if there were an interference issue, how soon that would be discovered and what the implications were for something as critical as GPS. 

O'Rielly defended the decision. He said the FCC's engineers had vetted it thoroughly and with the safeguards the FCC put in place at the outset, the middle and the back end, including a kill switch for the Ligado service if it did interfere, he was confident Ligado would not cause harmful interference to GPS. 

Related: FCC Faces Slew of Ligado-Slamming Petitions

He said the FCC had to balance all concerns. "I think what the commission did was put forward a license modification that is well defeneded by the record presented of a 17-year legal battle." He said he believes the item presents sufficient protections "on the front end, the middle and the end" to address the GPS interference concerns that had been raised. "I don't believe it will lead to harmful interference," he said. 

Walsh had plenty to say. He said NTIA "had long expressed the widely held view across the executive branch that Ligado's proposed terrestrial operations in historically satellite spectrum bands pose an unacceptable risk to the critical GPS service." He said there would definitely be harmful interference. 

Wicker asked him for examples of what such interference would mean to consumers, and seemed a bit crestfallen when Walsh said only "interference," then when pressed said he would provide a "detailed, technical" response for the record. 

"Oh, dear," sighed Wicker, though he conceded he had kind of sprung the Ligado "back and forth" on them. He later asked Walsh about what the implications for military might be--Walsh had said there were some, but averred that a public forum was not the place to go into details. 

Related: FCC Proposes Approving Ligado Application

O'Rielly said he was not sure he was right to say it was NTIA's long-held position that it was uniformly opposed. He said he had had previous conversations with multiple people saying NTIA had had a different viewpoint before "the dismissal of an administrator." That was a reference to the exit of former NTIA head David Redl. 

Szabat said from DOT's testing--which the FCC did not put much store by--there was definitely harmful interference to at least three categories--1) surveying, 2) anything space-based (POTUS is high on his new Space Force so that could be a flashpoint); and 3) timing (the precise timing of loch and dam openings or bank vaults, for example). He said those are the most sensitive and would be the most interfered with most often.  

He also said there could be interference, perhaps harmful, to general navigation, GPS in cars and general aviation. 

He did concede that Ligado has protected cellular service and commercial aviation would not receive harmful interference.

 Related: FCC Says Senate Ligado-Related Attacks Are 'Baseless Fearmongering'

Szabat said the FCC's proposed guard band would help against interference, but not enough. 

Wicker wrapped it up by asking whether there was a middle ground where people of good will could land. O'Rielly said he hoped so; Walsh said he was always willing to try, but did not seem hopeful for the prospect. Szabat said was an optimist" but feared that physics stood between those people of good will. "I do not see a way in which anything approaching the Ligado proposal can succeed without interference to GPS." 

He said either the FCC was going to get more broadband at the expense of GPS, or GPS at the expense of a fourth broadband system. 

Ligado Networks said NTIA has not made its case against the company's proposed new broadband service. 

That came in its opposition to the Trump Administration's request that the FCC stay (and reconsider) its order to allow Ligado to launch a terrestrial broadband service adjacent to GPS spectrum. 

The National Telecommunications & Information Administration, the White House's chief communications policy advisor, is concerned that Ligado will interfere with GPS navigation, missile guidance and more, and petitioned the FCC to stay its order. 

The FCC voted unanimously to allow Ligado to proceed, conditioned on power limits, a "kill switch" if interference resulted, based on FCC engineering assessments FCC chair Ajit Pai said made the item good to go.  

But NTIA said that was hardly the case: Based on what it said were the FCC's "unworkable conditions while still uncertain whether GPS receivers critical to national security and public safety would experience remediable harmful interference," NITA said. The FCC needs to stay the order and, essentially, go back to the condition drawing board.   

To grant the stay, the FCC would have to conclude that NITA was likely to prevail on the merits, would suffer "irreparable harm" absent a stay, that the stay would not hurt other parties, and that a stay is in the public interest.   

Ligado told the FCC Friday (May 29) that NTIA's petition met none of those benchmarks.  

“NTIA’s extraordinary request to stop the FCC’s decision from taking effect is outrageous," the company said. "Because NTIA did not win on the merits, it has instead tried to turn routine policy disagreements into a lockdown of the FCC’s regular and proper process. The FCC’s order does not harm NTIA; rather, it is NTIA that would harm Ligado and the American public by halting the company’s progress toward building industrial 5G networks that will enhance economic competitiveness, create jobs and protect our national security.”

The Trump Administration has asked the FCC to stay and reconsider its decision to allow Ligado to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS for a terrestrial broadband network, exhibiting a clear divide with top House Republicans. 

That came in two FCC filings from the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), the White House's chief communications policy adviser.  

Saying it was filing "on behalf of the executive branch," NTIA said Ligado "should not be permitted to deploy its network until NTIA’s Petition for Reconsideration or Clarification (Petition) is addressed and executive branch concerns of harmful interference to federal government and other GPS devices are satisfactorily resolved." 

NTIA was referencing a petition for reconsideration it had filed saying the FCC needed to conduct further testing and the order at least modified to prevent harmful interference. 

The FCC voted unanimously to allow Ligado to proceed, conditioned on power limits, a "kill switch" if interference resulted, based on FCC engineering assessments FCC chair Ajit Pai said made the item good to go. 

But NTIA said that was hardly the case: Based on what it said were the FCC's "unworkable conditions while still uncertain whether GPS receivers critical to national security and public safety would experience remediable harmful interference," NITA said the FCC needs to stay the order and, essentially, go back to the condition drawing board.  

To grant the stay, the FCC would have to conclude that NITA was likely to prevail on the merits, would suffer "irreparable harm" absent a stay, that the stay would not hurt other parties, and that a stay is in the public interest.  

NTIA said its petition meets that four-part test.

Some top House Republicans have sided with the FCC. But there is plenty of division in Congress over the issue.

The FCC got letters from members of both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, and from both sides of the aisle, asking it to stay the decision and/or rethink it. 

At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing three weeks ago, chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said a few powerful people had rushed a hasty decision over the weekend (referring to the FCC) that the President (a big DOD fan) was not clued-in on, something he said he knew first hand was the case. 

Airline companies and other GPS interests are filing seven separate petitions to the FCC Thursday (May 21) to rethink its decision to allow Ligado to launch a terrestrial broadband network using L-band satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS spectrum. 

The FCC decision was unanimous, came with conditions including power level limits and a "kill switch," and was based on FCC engineering and testing that FCC chairman Ajit Pai has assured Congress makes it feasible to both boost terrestrial 5G broadband and protect sensitive GPS receivers used for navigation, missile guidance and much more. 

Ligado, formerly LightSquared, has been trying to get the FCC to let it use satellite spectrum for terrestrial service for almost a decade.  

But groups including the Airline Pilots Association, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Carglo Airline Association, Lockheed Martin and others are telling the FCC that its decision ignored or disregarded evidence that Ligado would cause harmful interference. 

They said that the argument that Ligado is providing a 5G service is an easily disproved claim given that "[t]he L-band is not included in any internationally-recognized 5G standard, the spectrum is not harmonized regionally or globally for 5G, FCC’s 5G FAST Plan does not include Ligado or L-Band spectrum, nor does the company have enough contiguous spectrum." 

Related: FCC Says Senate Ligado-Related Attacks Are 'Baseless Fearmongering' 

“Uninterrupted access to GPS is essential not only for our industry, but also for the American people, our national security, and the strength of the U.S. economy," said the Aerospace Industry Association, one of the other groups filing a petition. "This access is now threatened by the FCC’s decision to grant Ligado Networks’ application, despite years of evidence and the concerns outlined by several federal agencies about potential interference."  

Almost three dozen members of the Senate from both sides of the aisle and led by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, are calling on the FCC to stay and reconsider the Ligado decision.

Related: Some House Republicans Say Ligado Decision is Done, Move On 

But on the House side, some Republicans are saying the decision was good, is done, and folks need to move on.

House Energy & Commerce Committee Republican says it is time to move on after the FCC voted unanimously to allow Ligado to launch a terrestrial broadband network in spectrum adjacent to GPS, saying it was appropriate to defer to the FCC's subject matter expertise on the issue. 

“After hearing from many stakeholders, the FCC made its decision to grant Ligado’s application," they said in a statement released Tuesday (May 19). "This application has been tested, reviewed, revised, and tested again. The FCC is required by law to determine if technology proposals are in the public interest, and we must trust that in making this decision, the FCC took every position into consideration to come to this conclusion." 

Releasing the statement were Committee ranking member Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta (R-Ohio), and Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), joined by Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee ranking member John Shimkus (R-Ill.). 

The Department of Defense and GPS industry execs have continued to push back on the decision, saying they do not trust that Ligado can operate without threatening to interference with crucial guidance and navigation systems. 

FCC: Senate Ligado-Related Attacks Are 'Baseless Fearmongering' 

"These decisions will only get more difficult as technologies develop, but we need to trust the expert agencies who make spectrum decisions," they said. "The Energy and Commerce Committee takes seriously its authority and responsibility to oversee spectrum management activities of all agencies." 

Shimkus cited both his military background and the fact that he has been engaged in the debate between tech and defense for almost a decade, Ligado (formerly LightSquared) has been trying to get access to the satellite spectrum for that long. "[T]he reality is after extensive testing by engineers and unanimous approval by the FCC, the defense community’s claim that a land-based, low-power transmission with guard bands would render the GPS unusable strains credibility. Allocating finite spectrum while preventing interference is a delicate task, but it’s one that must continue to be carried out by the appropriately specialized agency with oversight by the committees of jurisdiction," he said.   

Related: FCC, Ligado Draw Major Fire in Armed Services Committee 

But there is plenty of division in Congress over the issue.  

The FCC got letters from members of both the House and Senate Armed Services Commitees, and from both sides of the aisle, asking it to stay the decision and/or rethink it.  

The House members said their committee is pushing DOD to share as much spectrum for 5G as possible, but not if it is a national security threat.   

The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, James Inhofe (R-Okla.) held a hearing on the decision and was clearly unhappy with it. He said the issue boiled down to risk and that that risk should not come at the benefit of one company and its investors. He appeared convinced that Ligado's service would interfere with GPS, including military guidance systems. He said such interference with GPS would hurt the entire economy. At the end of the day, economic security is national security," he said. 

The Defense Department has gone on the offensive against the FCC when it comes to protecting GPS spectrum, with the aid of some powerful members of Congress and the pilot who engineered the “Miracle on the Hudson,” and the president could even get into the issue.

A unanimous Federal Communications Commission approved the application of Ligado, formerly LightSquared, for a terrestrial 5G broadband network using spectrum adjacent to GPS, just the latest in a series of FCC decisions meant to free up more spectrum for 5G. But DOD, with the backing of Armed Services Committee members in both houses of Congress, is clearly not giving up a campaign against Ligado and the FCC decision, and one key committee chair suggested the commander in chief could take the field.

Ligado’s attempt to launch some form of competitive broadband service dates back almost a decade, when it was going to be 4G and a satellite-based system with a terrestrial component. But it has morphed on its long journey, and the push for 5G and new broadband competition came along at an opportune time.

The DOD, like other government agencies — the FCC in the current case — tends to be protective of its spectrum, which has created an ongoing tension with the FCC as the regulator tries to find ways to free up or share swaths currently in government hands in its race to beat China and be first to 5G.

RELATED: House Armed Services Committee Members Take Aim at FCC's Ligado Decision

In fact, citing that Trump mandate, Republican FCC commissioner Michael O’Rielly wrote to the president last month, suggesting DOD had become the Department of Spectrum Defense, saying it was “exceptionally reluctant to part with one single megahertz. Simply put, every excuse, delay tactic and political chit is used to prevent the repurposing of any spectrum.”

O’Rielly included praise for both Trump and his efforts to boost the military, but said freeing up 5G did not threaten that legacy or the national defense. But while the president has made winning the race to 5G a priority, he is also historically deferential to the military.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai could be forgiven for thinking he had administration backing, since both Attorney General Bill Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said publicly they supported the Ligado petition, as had a pair of powerful Democrats, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Rep. Doris Matsui of California.

In the past, when the FCC and DOD have butted heads over spectrum, some compromise has been reached. But there was no compromise with DOD on the Ligado proposal, which was clear from the language of the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee at a hearing on the issue.

Rarely is such language by a Republican aimed at a Republican FCC chair.

At the hearing, Armed Services Committee chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said of the FCC: “They waited until the whole world was distracted by the COVID-19 virus, and when everyone was looking the other way, and unannounced to the public, in total secrecy on a weekend, passed the most controversial licensing [proposal] in the history of the FCC.”

Inhofe said every government agency as well as the airlines, farmers and truckers opposed the item “and the FCC knew it,” which was why there was a rushed vote to the benefit of one company and its investors.

The FCC could have waited and voted during its teleconference meeting, but it has also voted on many items before those meetings, including the unanimous Ligado item.

“A few powerful people made a hasty decision over the weekend, in the middle of the national crisis, against the judgment of every other agency involved and without clueing the president in on any of this,” Inhofe said. “I’ve had conversations with him on this and I can assure you that’s the case.”

The pushback has grown since the FCC voted to approve the Ligado application. Following the Senate hearing, Capt. Chesley (Sully) Sullenberger, the US Airways pilot who landed his disabled plane on the Hudson river in January 2009, cited Multichannel News’s coverage of the hearing in a Twitter post stating his opposition to the FCC decision.

“GPS is critically important to our national security and our economy,” Sullenberger said in the May 7 tweet. “Yet the [FCC] has approved a private company’s use of frequencies that will interfere with GPS. This wrongheaded and dangerous decision must be reversed.”

RELATED: FCC: Senate Ligado-Related Attacks Are 'Baseless Fearmongering'

Following that hearing, almost two dozen members of the House Armed Services Committee from both sides of the aisle wrote Pai and the other commissioners to express their “deep concern.”

They said that while Ligado has argued that DOD assessments of harmful interference from its broadband network are not based on any testing data, they want to make sure that commissioners have independently confirmed that fact, preferably via a classified briefing.

The House members said they are pushing DOD to share as much spectrum for 5G as possible, but not if it is a national security threat.

Meanwhile, the FCC continues to maintain that at the power levels it has approved for Ligado, far lower than it asked for, GPS will be protected.

‘Fearmongering’ Charges

A spokesperson for the chairman labeled the Senate Armed Services hearing criticisms of the decision “fearmongering.” The suggestion — by Inhofe — that all the government agencies opposed the decision, for example, was “blatantly false,” given the support from Barr and Pompeo.

“Given all of the untrue statements being made at the hearing, it is difficult to know where to begin,” said a spokesman for Pai, who said the suggestion that DOD and others had been blindsided by a decision for which a draft was provided last fall was “preposterous.” 

Almost three dozen members of the Senate from both sides of the aisle and led by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, are calling on the FCC to stay and reconsider its decision to allow Ligado to launch a terrestrial broadband network adjacent to GPS satellite spectrum. 

That came in a letter Friday (May 15) to all five FCC commissioners. The senators said the FCC's decision's impact would be "devastating [to] our military and countless industries that rely on its signals. 

Related: FCC, Ligado Draw Major Fire in Armed Services Committee 

“We urge the Federal Communications Commission to immediately stay and reconsider their Order on this matter, more fully consider the technical concerns raised by numerous federal agencies and private sector stakeholders, and outline a path forward that adequately addresses these concerns," they said. 

The letter follows a hearing in Inhofe's committee this last week that featured top DOD figures, joined by Inhofe, slamming the FCC and the decision. 

At the hearing, Inhofe said the issue boiled down to risk and he said that risk should not come at the benefit of one company and its investors. He appeared convinced that Ligado's service would interfere with GPS, including military guidance systems, and said such interference with GPS would hurt the entire economy. At the end of the day, he said "economic security is national security."  

The FCC is pushing back hard on Republicans and Democrats and military brass who were sharply critical of the commission at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday (May 6).

The hearing featured only Department of Defense witnesses arguing the FCC had recklessly and hastily approved a "bait and switch" plan by Ligado to launch a terrestrial broadband service that would, by definition interfere with critical GPS systems like missile guidance and aircraft positioning.

"Given all of the untrue statements being made at the hearing, it is difficult to know where to begin," said a spokesman for FCC chairman Ajit Pai.

"For example, the repeated claim that federal agencies unanimously oppose our order is blatantly false, as our decision has been endorsed by the Secretary of State and Attorney General."

Related: FCC Approves Ligado Terrestrial Broadband Service

One Republican at the hearing did ask the witnesses about the support for the program by Attorney General Bill Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whether their position had changed and why they would have supported the Ligado decision if it were such a threat. There was no response.

"Moreover," said the spokesman, "the Department of Defense (and every executive branch agency that is part of the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee) was given our draft decision last autumn, so the assertion that they were blindsided by it this April is preposterous. More importantly, nothing said today changes the basic facts that the metric used by the Department of Defense to measure harmful interference does not, in fact, measure harmful interference and that the testing on which they are relying took place at dramatically higher power levels than the FCC approved.

"The bottom line here is that the FCC made a unanimous, bipartisan decision based on sound engineering principles" the spokesman said. "We stand by that decision 100% and will not be dissuaded by baseless fearmongering." 

The battle between the FCC and the Hill over allowing a new terrestrial broadband service adjacent to GPS spectrum is heating up.  

Related: FCC Says Senate Ligado Attacks are Fear Mongering 

In the wake of a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the subject that saw the FCC hammered by legislators, military brass, and even iconic pilot Sully Sullenberger, almost two dozen members of the House Armed Services Committee from both sides of the aisle have written to FCC chair Ajit Pai and the other commissioners--the vote to approve the Ligado broadband service was unanimous, though the two Democrats only concurred--to express their "deep concern." 

Lead Signatories on the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Multichannel News, were Sen. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, and Michael Turner (R-Ohio) ranking member.  

Related: Ligado Defends FCC Decision 

They said that while Ligado has argued that DOD assessments of harmful interference from its broadband network is not based on any testing data, they want to make sure that the commissioners have independently confirmed that, preferably via a classified briefing. 

The House mbmers said their committee is pushing DOD to share as much spectrum for 5G as possible, but not if it is a national security threat.  

An FCC spokesperson said the commission had received the letter and was reviewing it. 

They want responses to the following within three days: 

• "Please provide copies of the legal analysis that led the commissioners to their determination despite the unanimous concerns of the national security community, and whether that decision is consistent with the FY17 NDAA requirement to resolve concerns of widespread interference with GPS devices prior to permitting the commercial use of this spectrum. 

• "Did each commissioner receive a briefing from the Department of Defense on the classified test data contained in the classified report of DoD testing to accompany the Department of Transportation Adjacent Band Compatibility Assessment from April of 2018? 

• "For Commissioners Rosenworcel and Starks, you issued a joint statement of concurrence, indicating a less than full endorsement of the approval and said the decision was a close call. Do you believe the concerns of the national security community were adequately addressed? Additionally, you expressed concern about the spectrum decision making process. Were there any specific aspects of this decision that concerned you?"

Despite pushback from GPS entities and some federal agencies, the FCC voted April 20 to approve Ligado's application to deploy a low-power terrestrial 5G network in the L-Band satellite spectrum.  

Related: FCC Approves Ligado Terrestrial Broadband Service 

GPS companies and users had pushed back on the Ligado application, saying they could face interference to critical services, but FCC engineers said that harmful interference could be avoided, including by requiring a guard band of spectrum between Ligado and adjacent-band GPS and a 99% reduction in power levels from Ligado's 2015 application.  

Airline interests including plane builders, pilots, air transport companies and airlines including Jet Blue, Delta, and Southwest petitioned the FCC to dismiss the Ligado application.  

But Pai cited the support for the item of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr on the one hand to Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Congresswoman Doris Matsui of California on the other. 

Ligado, formerly LightSquared, the company has been trying to launch a terrestrial wholesale wireless broadband service using spectrum initially licensed for satellite for most of a decade. Back then it was for a 4G network.  

The FCC is pushing back hard on Republicans and Democrats and military brass who were sharply critical of the commission at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday (May 6).  

The hearing featured only Department of Defense witnesses arguing the FCC had recklessly and hastily approved a "bait and switch" plan by Ligado to launch a terrestrial broadband service that would, by definition interfere with critical GPS systems like missile guidance and aircraft positioning. 

"Given all of the untrue statements being made at the hearing, it is difficult to know where to begin," said a spokesman for FCC chairman Ajit Pai.  

"For example, the repeated claim that federal agencies unanimously oppose our order is blatantly false, as our decision has been endorsed by the Secretary of State and Attorney General." 

Related: FCC Approves Ligado Terrestrial Broadband Service 

One Republican at the hearing did ask the witnesses about the support for the program by Attorney General Bill Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whether their position had changed and why they would have supported the Ligado decision if it were such a threat. There was no response. 

"Moreover," said the spokesman, "the Department of Defense (and every executive branch agency that is part of the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee) was given our draft decision last autumn, so the assertion that they were blindsided by it this April is preposterous. More importantly, nothing said today changes the basic facts that the metric used by the Department of Defense to measure harmful interference does not, in fact, measure harmful interference and that the testing on which they are relying took place at dramatically higher power levels than the FCC approved. 

"The bottom line here is that the FCC made a unanimous, bipartisan decision based on sound engineering principles" the spokesman said. "We stand by that decision 100% and will not be dissuaded by baseless fearmongering."   

The FCC's decision to allow a new terrestrial broadband service alongside spectrum for critical GPS uses drew fire from both sides of the aisle, as well as top military brass and one famous pilot, in a hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee Wednesday (May 6). 

Even the iconic Sully Sullenberger weighed in on the decision, and he was not happy. 

The Committee held a hearing Wednesday on the FCC's decision last month to allow Ligado networks to launch a terrestrial broadband service, a service that the Department of Defense and other agencies have argued could interfere with key GPS tech in adjacent spectrum.  

The military brass in attendance had not changed their marching orders or their target, and the committee's chairman and ranking member were clearly in bipartisan agreement with DOD. 

Related: FCC Approves Ligado Terrestrial Broadband Service 

The hearing was essentially a chance for DOD to air its grievances. In fact, the witnesses were all from the defense side of the argument, though the committee made no pretense to it being other than hearing from the Department of Defense--an admiral, a general, an undersecretary and the DOD CIO--about their spectrum policy and concerns with the impact of the FCC decision and Ligado on national security. 

Ligado took some issue with the fact that there were no witnesses scheduled from Ligado or from the FCC at the hearing. 

The hearing was conducted under social distancing guidelines as the Senate returned to work during the pandemic, which included masks and cleaning supplies at people's seats. 

Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) approved a couple of thousand military appointments with the voice vote and the stroke of a pen before weighing in on the issue. 

In a bad sign for Ligado, he was clearly impressed by the witnesses, saying it was one of the most impressive and said the issue "could be damaging to the country if something went wrong."  

He said the issue boiled down to risk and said that risk should not come at the benefit of one company and its investors. He seemed convinced that Ligado's service would interfere with GPS, including military guidance systems. He said such interference with GPS would hurt the entire economy. At the end of the day, economic security is national security." 

Inhofe said the issue was not winning the race to 5G, which he supported, but with that national security.   

He said a few powerful people had rushed a hasty decision over the weekend (referring to the FCC) that the President (a big DOD fan) was not clued-in on, something he said he knew first hand was the case.  

Ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) opposed the FCC decision and said the hearing was essential, though he understood why some might want them to be looking at something COVID-19 related in their return to a pandemic-changed country.  

Reed was no happier with Ligado and potential GPS interference, or with the FCC for granting the license, which he said was problematic for a number of reasons, including that it did not recognize the complexity of defense systems and the difficulty of replacing a GPS card. "I don't believe the FCC decision is in the public interest," he said.   

Michael Griffin, under secretary of defense for research and engineering, said that GPS was designed under the expectation that ground-based transmitters would not be allowed because they drown out weak GPS signals. Now, he said, Ligado would be transmitting loud signals right next door.  

He also said the replacement of GPS equipment due to Ligado would give China an opportunity to replace some of that equipment. 

Allowing Ligado next door would mean GPS receivers would trying to listen for the rustle of leaves through the noise of 100 jets all at once. And he said that comparison was actually favorable to Ligado because he could not fit more than 100 jets on the chart he was displaying.  

He said it will cost hundreds of billions of dollars and decades of time to replace GPS equipment to deal with that disparity. 

Griffin also said it is a myth that Ligado is not crucial to the buildout of 5G 

General John W. Raymond, chief of space operations, United States Space Force, and commander, U.S. space command, said GPS capability is irrelevant if receivers on the ground can't process them, and those signals are Less than a millionth of a billionth of a watt, he said, requiring a noise-pristine environment, the "quiet car" as it were.  

He said the Ligado ground emitters will interfere with GPS, and the FCC-adopted buffer zone won't mitigate the interference risk. Bottom line, he said, the Ligado service puts space capabilities at risk.  

He strongly opposed the use of the spectrum for terrestrial emitters, which he said would cede ground in the new space race to Russia and China. 

President Trump is a big fan of the space force, which he created. 

Dana Deasy, chief information officer at DOD, said that the FCC and Ligado had played bait and switch, that the risks of allowing the Ligado service far outweigh any benefits, and the FCC needs to reverse the decision.  

Retired Admiral Thad W. Allen said he had talked to his friend, Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger--who safely landed his disabled plane on the Hudson river--about the impact of the Ligado service on the aviation industry. Sully called it "wrongheaded and dangerous," he said. 

Update:Sullenberger retweeted this story following the hearing, making even clearer his continued unhappiness with the FCC's decision:

[embed]https://twitter.com/Captsully/status/1258505171874623489[/embed]

Ligado added new meaning to the phrase "remote hearing," weighing in by letter since it was not included in a hearing Wednesday (May 6) about its own new service.

The Senate Armed Services Committee scheduled a hearing Wednesday afternoon on the FCC's decision last month to allow Ligado to launch a terrestrial broadband service that DOD has argued could interfere with key GPS tech in adjacent spectrum.

Related: FCC Approves Ligado Terrestrial Broadband Service

Ligado took some issue with the fact that there were no witnesses scheduled from Ligado or from the FCC.

In fact, the witnesses were all from the defense side of the argument, though the committee made no pretense to it being other than hearing from the Department of Defense--an admiral, a general, an undersecretary and the DOD CIO--about their spectrum policy and concerns with the impact of the FCC decision and Ligado on national security.

In a letter to the committee in advance of the hearing, Ligado said it was "unfortunate that members of the Committee will not have the opportunity to hear from any witnesses from Ligado, whose spectrum is at issue, nor from the FCC, whose decision is the subject of your hearing and will only hear from witnesses representing one perspective."

Ligado said the FCC's decision had been mischaracterized and that the FCC's order does protect GPS from interference thanks to "unprecedented conditions" imposed by the FCC, which it has "willingly accepted." Those include requiring a guard band of spectrum between Ligado and adjacent-band GPS and a 99% reduction in power levels from Ligado's 2015 application.

Ligado pointed out that the FCC order recognized that GPS merits the highest interference protection, which is what it will get, including 24/7 monitoring and a "stop buzzer or kill switch."

Had Ligado been testifying, it suggested, it would have made the following points in addition to the FCC's extra conditions:

➢ "The FCC’s Order does not change or otherwise affect the allocation of spectrum to GPS devices.

➢ "The FCC’s Order does not affect the rules governing the protection of GPS devices from interference from Ligado or any other licensee operating in the L-band.

➢ In the Order, the FCC applied its same rule to protect radionavigation devices such as GPS that it has used since 1984; this is the same rule that the Department of Commerce relies on to regulate federal users."

The Free State Foundation agreed with Ligado that it was a shame the committee didn't get to hear from all sides, tweeting:

[embed]https://twitter.com/FSFthinktank/status/1258082051334569984[/embed]

Despite pushback from GPS entities and some federal agencies, the FCC has unanimously voted to approve Ligado's application to deploy a low-power terrestrial 5G network in the L-Band satellite spectrum. 

Related: FCC Proposes Approving Ligado Application

The item was circulated last week by FCC chairman Ajit Pai. 

“I thank my colleagues for coming together on a bipartisan basis to support Ligado’s application,” said Pai in a statement. “The vote at the Commission reflects the broad, bipartisan support that this order has received, from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr on the one hand to Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Congresswoman Doris Matsui of California on the other. This vote is another step forward for American leadership in 5G and advanced wireless services.” 

GPS companies and users had pushed back on the application, saying they could face interference to critical services, but FCC engineers said that harmful interference could be avoided, including by requiring a guard band of spectrum between Ligado and adjacent-band GPS and a 99% reduction in power levels from Ligado's 2015 application. 

Airline interests including plane builders, pilots, air transport companies and airlines including Jet Blue, Delta, and Southwest last week petitioned the FCC to dismiss the Ligado application. 

Ligado, formerly LightSquared, The company has been trying to launch a terrestrial wholesale wireless broadband service using spectrum initially licensed for satellite for almost a decade. Back then it was for a 4G network. 

"Ligado thanks the Commissioners for moving promptly to approve the order regarding our applications," said Ligado President Doug Smith. "We greatly appreciate their unanimous support as well as the expert engineering analysis determining that a terrestrial network can be deployed in the L-band to advance our country’s economic and security interests while fully protecting GPS. Our spectrum can be very instrumental in the transition to 5G, and we look forward to utilizing satellite and terrestrial services to deploy customized private networks and deliver innovative, next-generation IoT solutions for the industrial sector."

“The GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA) is deeply disappointed by today's decision, which appears to ignore the well-documented views of the expert agencies charged with preserving the integrity of GPS, specifically on the critical issue of what constitutes harmful interference to users of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)," said that group. "GPSIA has consistently advocated for adoption of the 1 dB Standard as the only reliable mechanism that provides the predictability and certainty to ensure the continuation of the GPS success story, with the support of the Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation and numerous other federal agencies. The 1 dB Standard for radiofrequency-based services is critical for GNSS. The FCC’s press release refers to conditions placed on Ligado's application to prevent harmful interference and GPSIA and its members intend to carefully review the details of today's order while continuing to vigorously advocate for promoting, protecting and enhancing GPS."

FCC chair Ajit Pai still has a fight on his hands when it comes to his proposal to allow Ligado to launch its long-sought terrestrial broadband network using L-band satellite spectrum. 

Airline interests including plane builders, pilots, air transport companies and airlines including Jet Blue, Delta, and Southwest have petitioned the FCC to dismiss the Ligado application, which the chairman has proposed to approve and circulated an order to that effect for a vote by the other commissioners. 

Related: AG Barr Praises FCC Ligado Item as Helping Beat China to 5G 

In the petition to dismiss, a copy of which was obtained by Multichannel News, they said: "For nearly a decade Ligado Networks LLC (“Ligado”) has subjected the FCC to a steady barrage of waiver requests, license modification applications, amendments to those applications, and ex parte presentations, all attempting to abandon its dwindling satellite business in order to gain the Commission’s blessing for its constantly evolving terrestrial wireless business plans that seem more attuned to political expedience than a response to actual market needs."

Groups comprising aviation, satellite and weather information companies, along with government agencies, have pushed back on Ligado's plan, citing potential interference to GPS in adjacent bands and saying the company has never sufficiently addressed those interference concerns. 

They said that rather than approve the application after almost a decade, the FCC should dismiss it and move on. 

"The Commission should put an end to this constant, fruitless distraction, and allow the parties to refocus their efforts on operating their businesses, as well as the affected federal agencies missions, and productively supporting the public interest. 

In a separate petition, Accuweather. the American Meteorological Society and others in that space also petitioned for dismissal of Ligado's "oft-evolving proposal." 

Pointing to recent killer tornadoes in the Southeast, they told the FCC: "The public and numerous industries rely on timely and accurate predictions to make criticaldecisions about life and property. Any degradation to the data used for these forecasts reduces the ability for people and industries to stay safe in severe weather."

Pai has said that with the conditions the FCC is imposing on Ligado, and based on FCC engineering reviews, the service can launch without harmful interference given the power levels involved.

FCC chair Ajit Pai's circulation of an item approving Ligado's long-standing request to launch a terrestrial broadband service using satellite spectrum drew a immediate response Thursday from interested observers inside the Beltway, including the attorney general.  

The FCC has been vetting one or another variation of that proposal for most of a decade--the company was originally called LightSquared--and what was initially billed as a 4G service is now promoted for 5G and IoT. 

GPS users, including federal agencies like the Department of Defense, had complained of potential adjacent band interference from the Ligado proposal, but Pai said the FCC has determined a conditioned approval can promote that 5G use of midband (L-band) spectrum without harmful interference. 

But at least one head of a federal agency, attorney General Bill Barr was pleased and urged the other FCC commissioners to follow Pai's lead.  

“I applaud FCC chairman Pai's proposal to make available L-band spectrum, to be used together with C-band spectrum, for deployment of advanced wireless services, including 5G," he said in an emailed statement. "As I said in my speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, swift FCC action on spectrum is imperative to allow for the deployment of 5G. This is essential if we are to keep our economic and technological leadership and avoid forfeiting it to Communist China. Freeing up L-band spectrum for use in tandem with the C-band, as the Chairman proposes, should greatly reduce the cost and time it will take to deploy 5G throughout the country and would be a major step toward preserving our economic future. I hope the full Commission moves forward quickly."

CTIA suggested the lengthy process had been an issue. 

“We're pleased to see that the FCC has managed to cut through the red tape to make a decision on Ligado," said CTIA SVP and general counsel Tom Power. "This multi-year process reveals the challenges at play in our nation’s spectrum policy and the need for stronger support for new commercial wireless services. We need to all learn lessons from this process and ensure that decisions on key spectrum bands like lower 3 GHz occur in a more expedited and collaborative manner.” 

“I commend chairman Pai for circulating a draft order to approve Ligado’s applications, which will make much-needed mid-band spectrum, specifically L-band spectrum, available for terrestrial use," said Competitive Carriers Association president Steven Berry. "This long-awaited, positive progress comes at a critical time for all Americans, particularly those in rural areas, who are relying on mobile connections and services more than ever before. Mid-band spectrum provides real opportunities for deploying next-generation technologies, and competitive carriers are eager to access this valuable resource to expand and enhance their networks. I thank the chairman for taking steps to approve the applications and look forward to continued work to bring robust mobile broadband to all corners of the US as quickly as possible."

Michael Calabrese, a member of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration's Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC), said the move was long overdue and was not happy with the power limits and other conditions the FCC put on the proposal to try and accommodate federal agencies. 

“The Ligado order should have been adopted years ago," he told Multichannel News. "While it’s heartening that Chairman Pai is standing up to unreasonable federal agency efforts to block more efficient uses of spectrum, the compromises needed to overcome the balkanization and NIMBYism that afflicts the Trump administration’s incoherent spectrum policy are disheartening. 

“Like the 5.9 GHz band, where the Department of Transportation continues to block a full reallocation, Ligado’s spectrum is now saddled with conditions that will severely limit its utility. In both cases, the FCC did what politics allowed, but not what the agency would have done based purely on the technical and economic merits.” 

In another effort to use midband spectrum for 5G, FCC chair Ajit Pai has proposed granting the application of Ligado Network's (née LightSquared) application to use "fallow" L-band spectrum for its hybrid satellite/mobile broadband network. 

Pai circulated a draft order approving, with conditions, Ligado's application to deploy a low-power terrestrial broadband network in the L-band that would support 5G and IoT Services. 

The company has been trying to launch a terrestrial wholesale wireless broadband service using spectrum initially licensed for satellite for a decade. Back then it was for a 4G network. 

"This draft order would both promote more efficient and effective use of our nation’s spectrum resources and ensure that adjacent band operations, including the Global Positioning System (GPS), are protected from harmful interference," the FCC said. 

The issue has been sensitive GPS receivers being interfered with by in-band LightSquared (now Legado) transmissions that prompted an outcry from GPS users, including many government agencies, and prompted the FCC (several FCCs ago) to put an indefinite hold on the proposal. 

"After many years of consideration, it is time for the FCC to make a decision and bring this proceeding to a close,” said Pai. “We have compiled an extensive record, which confirms that it is in the public interest to grant Ligado’s application while imposing stringent conditions to prevent harmful interference." Those include power levels 99% lower than Ligado proposed in a 2015 application and the commitment to provide a guard band using Legado's own licensed spectrum. Ligado must also protect adjacent-band incumbents by "reporting its base station locations and technical operating parameters to potentially affected government and industry stakeholders prior to commencing operations, continuously monitoring the transmit power of its base station sites, and complying with procedures and actions for responding to credible reports of interference, including rapid shutdown of operations where warranted." 

Pai said he appreciated the concerns by federal agencies, but based on the FCC's engineering and with the conditions, he said he was convinced the service could be approved without causing "harmful interference." 

"We commend chairman Pai for his leadership and his vision, and we look forward to engaging with the other Commissioners to drive this process forward," said Ligado president Doug Smith. "Since the very beginning of its long, comprehensive and collaborative analysis of the technical issues presented by Ligado’s application, the FCC’s dedicated staff has repeatedly shown its commitment to science-based, engineering-driven decision making, and chairman’s Pai’s circulation of the Order regarding our license modification applications is the most recent example of this. 

"The central importance of mid-band – especially our lower mid-band – to 5G is well-known. As Ericsson and Nokia technical studies on our proposed network deployment have shown, the superior propagation characteristics of our spectrum will improve mobile 5G coverage – both outdoor and indoor – and in doing so, accelerate the deployment of 5G networks. Ligado is committed to the twin goals of protecting GPS while delivering highly secure and ultra-reliable communications to accelerate next-generation technologies and the Industrial Internet of Things." 

Some federal agencies may have issues with the proposal, but attorney General Bill Barr was pleased and urged the other FCC commissioners to follow Pai's lead. 

“I applaud FCC Chairman Pai's proposal to make available L-band spectrum, to be used together with C-band spectrum, for deployment of advanced wireless services, including 5G," he said in an e-mailed statement. "As I said in my speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, swift FCC action on spectrum is imperative to allow for the deployment of 5G. This is essential if we are to keep our economic and technological leadership and avoid forfeiting it to Communist China. Freeing up L-band spectrum for use in tandem with the C-band, as the Chairman proposes, should greatly reduce the cost and time it will take to deploy 5G throughout the country and would be a major step toward preserving our economic future. I hope the full Commission moves forward quickly.” 

“I am pleased to see Chairman Pai circulate a draft order to finally allow for commercial deployments in the L Band," said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). "Throughout the history of commercial mobile communications, the U.S. has been solutions-oriented, favoring evidence-based testing and technology innovation to promote efficient spectrum usage. As the U.S. works to lead the world in 5G innovation – and as we work to promote wider coverage here in the U.S – it’s all the more important to ensure valuable mid-band spectrum is put to use.

“Ligado, a Virginia company, has endured years of back-and-forth as the issue has been studied and re-studied. I encourage the Commission to approve this draft order expeditiously.”

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) called on the rest of the commissioners to reject Pai's proposal.

“New technology is vital to America’s economy, national security, and to our aerospace and defense industry," said the AIA. "However, the government has a responsibility to help ensure it is deployed in a way that does not jeopardize the work of our armed forces or the safety of the American people. Today’s announcement disregards the serious concerns raised by various government agencies about the harmful impacts to GPS. We urge the FCC to reject the Chairman’s proposal and adequately protect the GPS network that underpins our nation’s military operations and the safety of our airspace.”