On 2012-01-31 20:20 , HIPAR wrote:
> On Jan 31, 4:51 pm, Alan Browne<alan.bro...@FreelunchVideotron.ca>
> wrote:
>> http://tinyurl.com/7qcutem
>>
>> --
>> "We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty."
>> Douglas Adams - (Could have been a GPS engineer).
>
> I occasionally post on CNet using my HIPAR screen name. Here's my
> comment there:
>
> I'm really tired of the who's at fault arguments. This topic has been
> discussed ad nauseam. Let's get to a reality check of this ever more
> annoying issue.
>
> Lightsquared claims they have the law on their side so GPS user will
> just need suck it in and shut down their operations. Only
> Lightsquared's most naive (or paid) supporters will contend GPS
> equipments aren't legally entitled to operate as they do now.
>
> The FCC is asking for the public to sanction this nonsense! No they
> aren't.
>
> Well, apart from DoD who cannot voice its argument because of national
> security, Lightsquared must get past the FAA. So forget about your
> Garmins, TomToms and cell phones; they aren't germane.
Nobody said that was the point. OTOH, telecommunications operators,
surveyors, marine navigators (esp. in major ports, rivers, Great Lakes)
and others have serious skin in the game too that would be expensive to
update. Imagine sending people up the thousands of cell towers, each
with 3 or more GPS receivers, to replace them?
(American Towers alone has over 20,000 cell phone towers in the US, each
supporting 3 or more cell companies; CCI 24,000; SBA: 6,000)
> Aircraft navigation is the most critical GPS application. That
> equipment just cannot be redesigned, modified or replaced without
> triggering lengthy and expensive test and certification issues.
GPS adoption in aviation has been slow and steady, a retrofit would not
offset the overall sched by all that much. Cost is another thing. Some
receivers that I'm familiar with could be rotated out for retrofit -
again, this would not be cheap at all. In some cases, it would actually
be an opportunity to replace early 12 channel receivers with more
advances LAAS-in-the-box receivers. Not cheap mind you.
> There's no way GPS dependent NEXGEN airspace will be abandoned just so
NEXTGEN has been 5 years away for the last 15 years and that trend will
continue[1]. The FAA just does not have the money, at all, to do what
should have started in the 90's.
[1]: Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but it is so drawn out that a few
years to retro GPS on existing installations would not affect NEXTGEN at
all. It's an operator cost issue.
> Lightsquared can operate. So, the administration will need to find its
> stooge to sign off on relaxing the performance requirements for
> certified avionics while assuming that would be accepted by
> international standards bodies.
The FCC indeed needs to back out, say they were wrong and re-license the
L^2 spectrum to space based downlink only (or very high gain antenna,
large array, tight beam upward on the lower of the 2 freqs).
Even if they need to compensate L^2 to some degree (what's a billion or
2 to this government?)
It could be the whole FCC gambit is to slam the door, get sued and blame
it all on Obama.
(Solyndra anyone?).
> Lightsquared can modify its band plan, partner with filter/antenna
> designers and conduct its own testing but it just won't help them.
> What's missing is a logistical timeline for designing, testing and
> certifying Lightsquared hardened safety-of-life avionics. That's why
> EXCOM contends there is no reasonable expectation they can operate
> within the next few years.
>
> Back to the FCC .. they know they're in a pickle and just cannot say
> NO. After all, they bent over backwards blindly issuing wavers to make
> Lightsquared happen. So they protract expecting Lightsquared to either
> go bankrupt or bought out before making a NO ruling 'in the public
> interest'.
>
> Ligtsquared/Sprint and the rest of the telcos mixed up in this can put
> a positive spin on the latest FCC delaying actions but money and time
> is expiring.
Which means they are being stupid. Sprint is not. They are bailing in
6 weeks.
Or perhaps the L^2 end game is to sue the FCC and the administration and
the FCC are just waiting to time it right to reduce the flack on Obama
(or increase it to help nail his coffin... who knows).
Carl Icahn's hedge fund, Andrew Beal and a hedge-fund run by David
Tepper are already buying up L^2 debt at a good discount. $1.6B to date
(face value) at some steep discounts. Perhaps they see the value in the
downlink spectrum that L^2 are sitting on.
--
"We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty."
Douglas Adams - (Could have been a GPS engineer).
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