On Jul 28, 1:20*pm, Sam Wormley <sworml...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Get a Move On: July 30 Deadline for FCC/LightSquared Comments
>
> >http://www.gpsworld.com/gnss-system/...july-30-deadli...
>
> July 18, 2011
>
> The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will accept public comments
> on the LightSquared interference with GPS issue until July 30, and
> replies to those comments until August 15, 2011. After the public
> comment period is closed, the FCC can render a decision at any time.
>
> To file comments with the FCC: Comments may be filed electronically
> using the Internet by accessing the ECFS:http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/.Follow the instructions provided on the
> website for submitting comments. First, click “Submit a Filing.” Once
> the following screen comes us, in the first box labeled "Proceeding
> Number" enter 11-109. You'll then be required to enter identifying
> information into the form and add your comments. In completing the
> transmittal screen, ECFS filers should include their full name, U.S.
> Postal Service mailing address, and IB Docket No. 11-109.
>
> Supply information on how you use GPS and what would happen if GPS
> became unavailable or unreliable. GPS World suggests including comments
> that state LightSquared's operations and GPS are fundamentally
> incompatible and that the FCC should not permit LightSquared to use its
> mobile satellite services frequency for terrestrial broadcast. You may
> wish to add that the FCC’s own Technical Working Group tasked with
> investigating this issue, and the Departments of Defense and
> Transportation, all agree on this.
>
> It may further be worth adding that GPS is an important, if not vital,
> resource for a wide range of users — not just yourself or your industry
> sector. These include many life- and safety-critical applications.
>
> The FCC has to date exhibited a bias on the issue in favor LightSquared.
> It certainly feels a lot of pressure from President Obama’s
> administration to further the U.S. National Broadband Plan, which
> includes improving Americans' accessibility to high-speed wireless
> connectivity to the Internet. FCC chairman Julius Genachowski has
> publicly stated his strong intent to implement this agenda. *Recently,
> after 2 ½ weeks on the job, the new FCC Wireless Telecommunications
> bureau chief Rick Kaplan said “We need to make sure we aren't locking
> out valuable spectrum because of inefficient transmission” — a clear
> reference to the LightSquared/GPS interference issue.
>
> A spate of news stories since March have either touted or confirmed a
> $20 billion deal between Sprint and LightSquared that puts a powerful
> amount of money as well as added political pressure and wireless
> industry weight behind the little company that has yet to show a true
> product or service.
>
> Further unsubstantiated rumors connect the maneuvering to a second deal
> for another company’s spectrum swatch, or even an FCC-mediated swap of
> licenses, to get LightSquared’s powerful terrestrial signal away from
> troublesome interference with the GPS signal from satellites in space.
> But none of this can be confirmed, nor should it be relied upon. GPS
> World editor Alan Cameron addresses this aspect in an upcoming
> editorial, “A Pawn in Their Game.”
>
> *From the official June 20 announcement of the FCC comment period:
>
> “The technical working group [tasked by the FCC to “to address potential
> interference issues “] effort identified significant technical issues
> related to potential LightSquared operations in the upper portion of the
> L-Band, which is most proximate to the band used by GPS. Over more than
> three months, the technical working group tested more than 130
> representative devices in seven different receiver categories, in a
> number of different test environments. The tests demonstrated
> potentially significant interference between LightSquared operations in
> the upper portion of the band and various GPS receivers. The tests also
> identified some interference issues in the lower 10 MHz portion of the
> band. The overall conclusion of the testing is that transmissions in the
> upper 10 MHz channel —the channel nearest to the 1559-1610 MHz GPS band
> — will adversely affect the performance of a significant number of
> legacy GPS receivers.“
>
> For a PDF of the full announcement, click here.
>
> http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Rele.../2011/db0630/D...
I dispatched my comment. I'm fully aware that this issue will not be
decided by public comments. It's more like 'You have no basis to
gripe if you didn't go on the record'. So when the FCC finally
trashes GPS, I have 'Griping rights'.
--- CHAS
Linear Mode
