It would appear that this long, drawn-out battle between LightSquared, the FCC, and the GPS industry may finally be coming to a close. Although reps from LightSquared claim the company is still determined to find a solution, many experts agree that LightSquared’s chances of survival are dimming with each passing day. The company has struggled to find a way to transmit their powerful broadband signals without interfering with nearby GPS signals. “While we would not commit to saying it is the end of the road for LightSquared,” explained Wells Fargo Securities industry analyst Jennifer Fritzsche, “we believe it will be an extremely tough slog for the company to show value in the spectrum it holds.”
“NTIA, the federal agency that coordinates spectrum uses for the military and other federal government entities, has now concluded that there is no practical way to mitigate potential interference at this time,” said Tammy Sun, an agency spokeswoman. “Consequently, the commission will not lift the prohibition on LightSquared.” Despite LightSquared’s cries of foul-play, Sun adds, “the commission clearly stated from the outset that harmful interference to GPS would not be permitted.”
LightSquared has been quite vocal about their disappointment in the FCC‘s decision. “In this case, the government decided to choose winners and losers. Politicians, rather than engineers and scientists, dictated the solution to the problem from Washington,” said Sanjiv Ahuja, LightSquared’s CEO. “To leave this problem unresolved is the height of bureaucratic irresponsibility and undermines the very principles that once made America the best place in the world to do business.”
LightSquared has repeatedly suggested that the problem lies with overly sensitive GPS signal receivers. They even suggested outfitting existing receivers with devices to make them less sensitive to other signals from nearby spectrums. Unfortunately, the solution was considered impractical by policy makers. “Interference of the GPS signal would have cost American small businesses billions of dollars to retrofit their current devices — adding yet another significant cost burden that would cause more harm to our already unstable economy,” explained Sam Graves (R-Mo.), House Small Business Committee Chairman. He adds that he had hoped “that we can find a way to have a win-win on this issue.”
