[BC] Lightsquared vs FCC

[J.G. Gillivan]

Might be of interest...

LightSquared suffered a possibly fatal blow today when the FCC said it would indefinitely suspend the company's effort to build a national wireless broadband network using satellite spectrum.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a Department of Commerce agency tasked with overseeing military and government spectrum use, determined that the LightSquared's interference with other devices, including GPS devices, was unavoidable.
"Based on NTIA's independent evaluation of the testing and analysis performed over the last several months, we conclude that LightSquared's proposed mobile broadband network will impact GPS services and that there is no practical way to mitigate the potential interference at this time," the NTIA_said_in_a_letter_(PDF) to the FCC.
Based on those findings, the FCC said it would "suspend indefinitely" the startup's conditional waiver to operate. "The commission clearly stated from the outset that harmful interference to GPS would not be permitted," the FCC said. "Consequently, the commission will not lift the prohibition on LightSquared."