HDTV Almanac - Trouble Brewing for Wireless Broadband

[alfredpoor]

Let me start by explaining how this relates to HDTV. A growing number of U.S. consumers are turning to the Internet for some or all of their video content. Consumers are also becoming accustomed to getting the content they want, where they want, when they want. This means that we are growing to expect broadband [...]

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[alice]

Now this is an interesting article.

Unfortunately the other thing the public
from all this wonderfulness is that it
is cheap or free.

[Roger Halstead]

There's quite a story behind LIghtSquared's use of this particular chunk of spectrum. First they couldn't afford the cost of the regular spectrum used by broadband so they took the approach of using a satellite system with ground station augmentation, which is permitted. However they have a ground based system with a planned installed base of over 40,000 transmitters authorized to run up to 45 KW each with satellite augmentation. These have been shown to cause interference to GPS as far as 30 miles distant and to completely block GPS some where between 3 and 5 miles. Initially LightSquared took the approach it was up to the other services to fix the problem as their signals were clean and did not encroach into the other services allocations. What they did not take into account, or neglected, was extremely strong signals right beside receives listening to very weak satellite signals and what is called receiver overload, or adjacent frequency interference.

LightSquared was pushing this approach and has taken on some pretty large investors that could amount to billions of dollars over the next decade or so if I understand correctly. Their advertising spin goes on as if they are going to peacefully coexist with GPS when it's been shown that is some where between highly unlikely to nigh on to impossible. Then they announced a frequency shift that needed the couple extra weeks before the report was turned in. The frequency change "appears" to be one of those "smoke and mirrors" campaigns as I read it.

This project was opposed by the department of defense, department of homeland security, FAA, and other communications organizations from the start, but it is also one of the current administrations pet projects (broadband for every one) with the FAA appearing to be pushing for it.

LightSquared was given the goahead to to start implementing or installing gear with the expectations they were going to be able to do what they claimed. They have invested a sizable amount in ground based equipment and are taking on investors as if this is just going to proceed, but finally the FCC had to back off and tell LightSquared they were going to have to prove they would not interferer with the other services. Also it appears the FCC was cheerleading the project which appears to be a conflict of interest. BTW IF I have it correctly, LightSquared was put in charge of the study to prove whether they interfered and they were the only ones to communicate the findings to the FCC.