WASHINGTON VIEW

fter three years in Chapter 11, LightSquared, and its CEO Phil Falcone the company whose planned are to maintain a minority role. broadband system It is now unclear, however, if the plan threatened to overload GPS will stand. Areceivers across the United States is pre- Bloomberg reported on May 12 that paring to emerge from bankruptcy. Ergen had filed a challenge to the plan Although the passage of time has in court, alleging the “bankruptcy plan done little to change the issues between gives hedge funds that invested in the -based LightSquared and the broadband company a leg up while GPS community, although the context blocking telecommunications firms from in which some of those issues will be competing with it.” decided has decidedly shifted. The Sen- Even if the exit plan withstands anoth- er challenge, the court’s approval was always just the first of two steps involved in emerging from bankruptcy. Light- Same Issues, Fierce Debate Squared must also convince the FCC to transfer its spectrum licenses to the as LightSquared Bankruptcy Ends; reconstituted company, called, appropri- ately enough, New LightSquared. The transfer request, which will be GPS Spectrum Battle Reappears published for public comment, was sub- mitted to the FCC on April 6. As of mid- DEE ANN DIVIS ate is now under Republican control, May, however, it had not appeared in the federal agencies are counting pennies, Federal Register. the Federal Communications Commis- sion (FCC) has a new chairman, the law Wanna Trade? governing the FCC is being rewritten, In the meantime LightSquared is waiting and the value of auctioned spectrum has on a different FCC decision — this one skyrocketed. on its proposal to modify its spectrum Perhaps most importantly, the heat- licenses. ed fight between the company and GPS The company had originally sought organizations in 2011 instilled a far deep- to repurpose frequencies allocated for er and wider understanding of satellite relatively low-powered satellite signals navigation. Decision makers who were to instead support a network of some unaware of the ubiquitous use of GPS 40,000 broadband ground stations. That — and, more broadly, GNSS — signals broadband capacity was to be sold whole- are now far more familiar with its deep sale, potentially fueling an entirely new integration into the nation’s economy level of competition — an approach that and critical infrastructure. This aware- appeared at the time to inspire strong ness is reinforced daily by fresh worries FCC support. over cybersecurity, signal jamming and LightSquared’s plan, which came satellite vulnerabilities. fully to light late in 2010, also dovetailed neatly with a pledge made by the White Dee Ann Divis has covered Court: Thumbs Up House. The Obama Administration, GNSS and the aerospace On March 26 Bankruptcy Judge Shelley heading into a mid-term election with a industry since the early C. Chapman, after considering a years- damaged economy, had promised to find 1990s, writing for Jane’s long string of proposals, approved an exit 500 megahertz of spectrum for the bal- International Defense plan for the firm that will largely put con- looning, and hopefully job-rich, broad- Review, the Los Angeles Times, AeroSpace Daily and trol of LightSquared in the hands of its band sector. other publications. She was the science and technology investors and pay $1.5 billion to major The project ran aground, however, editor at United Press International for five years, leaving for a year to attend the Institute creditor and broadband rival Charlie after tests confirmed that the Light- of Technology as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. Ergen, president, CEO and of chairman Squared signals would overload the vast of the board of . The Har- majority of GPS receivers. The FCC put binger hedge fund, the primary backer of the project on indefinite hold in Febru-

24 InsideGNSS MAY/JUNE 2015 www.insidegnss.com View

LightSquared Lawsuits Linger ary 2012 and the firm filed for protection During the same period that LightSquared was working to emerge from bankruptcy, from its creditors three months later. it and its primary backer, Harbinger Capital Partners, between them sued the fed- LightSquared proposed a spectrum eral government, a number of GPS firms and associations as well as Dish Network swap in September 2012 to ameliorate chairman Charlie Ergen. some of the interference. The firm cur- Though the case against Ergen and most of the allegations against the business rently has licenses for two 10-megahertz community were dismissed, the lawsuit against the government is still active — well, bands of spectrum running from 1526 to if you use the word “active” loosely. The only action since the lawsuit was initiated in 1536 MHz and 1545.2 to 1555.2 MHz for July 2014 has been seven requests for extensions. More activity has taken place at the U.S. District Court. The remaining counts downlink and two 10-megahertz bands against the GPS business community are for negligent misrepresentation and con- at 1627.5 to 1637.5 MHz and 1646.7 to structive fraud and stem from LightSquared’s accusation that the GPS companies 1656.7 MHz for uplink. knew about, but failed to disclose in pre-2010 negotiations with LightSquared, their The company has offered to forego knowledge of and concerns about the “out-of-band reception” of GPS receivers that the use of the most problematic 1545.2 gathered GNSS spread spectrum signals in the MSS band as well as the GNSS L1 band. to 1555.2 MHz band, which is the one The remaining counts leave the parties — Deere & Company, Garmin Inter- closest to the GPS frequencies. It would national, Inc., Trimble Navigation Limited, and the U.S. GPS Industry Council also refrain — for an unspecified amount (USGIC) — open to discovery, Reuters noted in its reporting, which means that of time — from using the other downlink LightSquared could “probe the GPS companies’ books and records.” Any ability to band to allow GPS users to transition. In obtain business or technical data is potentially significant. LightSquared, for exam- exchange LightSquared is asking to be ple, has asserted that the ongoing Adjacent-Band Compatibility Assessment should only test top-selling devices. allowed to share a five-megahertz band Discovery, however, is a blade that cuts both ways, pointed out wireless spectrum (1675 to 1680 MHz) used by the National expert Tim Farrar. If the case continues, LightSquared could find its secrets revealed Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- as well. tion. The firm happens to have rights to use an adjacent five megahertz band, so drew 70 qualified bidders, and raised Squared can use the less troublesome of it would have 10-megahertz block of fre- $41.3 billion in net bids — blowing past the two original downlink bands, it will quencies to balance out its set. the preset reserve of $10 billion and more add between $881 million and $1.22 bil- than doubling the $20 billion experts had lion to the company’s valuation. Money Hits the Airwaves expected. The recent auction results now sug- The FCC has yet to decide but the prac- Even if the FCC elected to forgo an gest much higher numbers and those ticalities of making a straight swap are auction and sell the spectrum directly to suggested by Moelis and go a long way murky given the current budget climate LightSquared, the price would have to be toward explaining the abiding interest and a sudden, recent surge in spectrum far higher than $230 million to prevent in LightSquared’s spectrum, interference values. The sequestration limits that other hopeful owners with broadband issues and all. upended federal spending in 2013 had aspirations from raising a stink. The numbers also put more pressure not been implemented when the com- “The reality is that spectrum is going on the GPS community, which is not pany first proposed the swap in 2012. to be auctioned,” said Tim Farrar of Tele- convinced that the latest LightSquared Now, any such deal is likely to face stiffer com, Media and Finance Associates, Inc., plan will work compatibly on a techni- headwinds. an expert in satellite communications cal basis with GNSS receivers. The challenge was underscored in the and wireless spectrum. president’s fiscal year 2016 budget, which “When you look at what spectrum has Cautious Comments is currently under consideration in Con- sold for this year, it’s hard to imagine that The organizations that posted feedback gress. Even though LightSquared’s pro- it wouldn’t be seen as a giveaway, if they during the FCC comment period on posal has been on the table for several were to give that spectrum or sell that LightSquared’s swap proposal gener- years, the White House factored auc- spectrum to LightSquared for $200 mil- ally expressed their support for finding tioning the band into its budget request, lion,” said Farrar. “It ought to be worth more bandwidth for broadband. They plugging $230 million in anticipated at least $1 billion.” were also generally deeply cautious about revenue into the FCC’s allocation. The good news for LightSquared is the proposal, particularly with regard to And that $230 million estimate is very that high spectrum prices could give the potential problems from having a large likely to be low. company some fiscal elbowroom. A valu- number of handsets operating in the two Auction 97 for “advanced wireless ation prepared by the investment bank uplink bands. services”, a spectrum auction that ended Moelis in 2014, completed before Auction The Department of Transportation this January, underscored just how valu- 97, put the value of LightSquared’s two (DoT), which represents non-military able every megahertz has become. The uplink bands and the potential NOAA users of the GPS system in the National sale of paired frequency blocks, includ- frequencies at $4.8 to $7.2 billion in Executive Committee for Space-Based ing frequencies from 1755 to 1770 MHz, October 2014 dollars. At the point Light- Positioning, Navigation, and Timing

26 InsideGNSS may/june 2015 www.insidegnss.com

IGM_24-33.indd 26 5/21/2015 9:37:08 AM (PNT), underscored the worries about approve the handset proposal at issue in public notice-and-comment rulemaking the handsets. the Public Notice. Again, to the Depart- proceeding in which established spec- In a letter submitted through the ment’s knowledge, there has not been any trum protection criteria and all relevant National Telecommunications and robust interagency effort to examine or public policy issues can be considered to Information Administration (NTIA), test LightSquared’s proposal, to probe determine the parameters in which the DoT noted a lack of data on the pro- the underlying assumptions or to con- spectrum can be safely used.” posed handsets and assumptions about sider feasible alternatives. Furthermore, how many handsets there would be. The at least with respect to potential GPS Capitol Hill impact of the handsets on aviation need- interference, the Department notes that As it happens a bill now before Congress ed to be more full assessed, the agency this is not solely a government concern, would emphasize just that approach. said, including doing analyses with dif- but one in which a variety of individuals The Federal Communications Commis- ferent airframes and looking at handsets and organizations, including many in the sion Process Reform Act of 2015 seeks to operating at maximum power as opposed private sector, have a stake.” make the FCC process more transparent. to average power. A number of those who submitted Among its many provisions are mini- DoT also argued for a closer exami- comments asked that the matter be evalu- mum comment periods — something nation of assumptions made about GPS ated through a full rulemaking process. that could have eased the initial tension receiver antennas and an analysis of An ad hoc approach was “precisely what between LightSquared and the GPS com- the potential adverse effects that Light- has impeded LightSquared from provid- munity when the company’s proposal Squared user equipment on the ground ing its initially proposed service in the was first published in 2010. or at the gate could have on aircraft either first instance,” wrote the GPS Innovation The bill (S. 421) has already been sub- in flight and/or on the ground. Alliance (GPSIA). mitted to the Senate, and the House was “In light of these concerns,” the letter “Instead,” GPSIA suggested, “these scheduled to debate a draft of the bill, said, “the Department questions wheth- issues should be considered in a broader which appears to be the same as the Sen- er the Commission has the necessary spectrum planning process,” GPSIA sug- ate measure, as this publication was going and sufficient information before it to gested, “in the context of a transparent to press.

Recreate real world conditions GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS and SBAS One touch record/replay of RF signals Signal simulation software available Free library of worldwide recordings and simulations

www.insidegnss.com MAY/JUNE 2015 InsideGNSS 27 WASHINGTON VIEW

One of the bill’s proponents is Greg Congress and the FCC are not, howev- craft is in motion,” the company wrote, Walden (R-), one of two lawmak- er, where the major action is at this point. “and reliant on GPS for navigation or ers leading an effort to rewrite the Tele- The real sparring has been taking place other critical flight functions.” communications Act of 1934, which gov- at a series of workshops and standards A summary of the consensus view erns the FCC. Walden is chairman of the meetings. said the concern about using a six-decibel Subcommittee on Communications and margin for ground operations had been Technology under the Committee on ABC Skirmishes raised with FAA, which responded that Energy and Commerce and his involve- The Adjacent-Band Compatibly Assess- using six decibels was “applicable due to ment improves the chances the bill will ment, now being conducted by the DoT’s flight operations safety and regularity either be passed or incorporated into the John A. Volpe National Transportation considerations” — that is, not just safe larger rewrite of the Telecom Act. Systems Center in Cambridge, Massa- operations but also efficient operations. Changes in the Telecommunica- chusetts, aims to head off future interfer- Regularity is a concept embedded in the tions Act won’t necessarily affect Light- ence issues by letting companies know in International Civil Aviation Organiza- Squared, but changes over in the Senate advance the power limits by which they tion Safety Oversight Manual. need to abide in order to avoid interfer- The six-decibel disagreement, The Adjacent-Band ing with GPS. explained Farrar, is about the size of the DoT will first determine masks, that safety margin. Compatibly Assessment is, a set of power limits by frequency, “One of LightSquared’s arguments aims to head off for the bands near the GPS L1 signal. In has always been that no one will notice future interference thesecond phase it will do the same for anything much,” said Farrar. “They [avi- frequencies near new GPS signals such as ation officials] can say, ‘OK. This is what issues by letting L5 and those near bands being used by we need to guarantee everything will be companies know in other satellite navigation constellations. okay,’ and LightSquared will say, ‘Well, advance the power “Step 1 is basically protecting all that is overly conservative and nobody is the existing receivers that are used for going to notice if we go a bit over that.’” limits by which they civilian applications and then Step 2 is LightSquared also wrote that it agreed need to abide in order looking into the future at what receivers with the FAA’s approach of using “change to avoid interfering might evolve into,” said Chris Hegarty, in position error as its key measurement co-chairman of RTCA Special Commit- to certify compliance with its GPS stan- with GPS. tee 159 which deals with GPS issues, in a dards, underscoring the fundamental 2013 interview. role of this measure in determining might. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-), RTCA Inc. is a nonprofit association whether harmful interference is present.” who was tapped to head the Judiciary that coordinates volunteers developing Volpe, it noted, chose to use change Committee when Republicans took consensus-based technical standards in the noise floor as its key performance control of the chamber. He was one of for the Federal Aviation Administra- indicator (KPI) for the task of defining 33 senators who sent a letter to the FCC tion (FAA). It became involved when the adjacent band mask. asking it to rescind a conditional waiver aviation officials asked for expert advice “This is a critical distinction,” Light- granted to LightSquared early in 2011. He on six technical questions for the study. Squared said in its dissent. “A position also conducted a high profile investiga- The FAA is working on the portion of the error analysis appropriately focuses on tion into whether the White House was assessment that deals with certified avia- whether any kind of interference would playing favorites with the firm’s proposal. tion receivers; Volpe will handle the rest. actually result in a GPS receiver report- That is not to say that New Light- The group, with the exception of ing a material change in position per- Squared will be approaching Wash- LightSquared, reached consensus in ceptible to the pilot or avionics system ington unarmed. LightSquared spent March. Given the time constraints and receiving the data (as defined in the FAA/ $1.14 million on lobbying last year and unlikelihood of agreement, LightSquared RTCA standards), and thus whether the $160,000 during the first quarter of 2015, was invited to submit a minority report interference actually qualifies as harm- according to lobbying disclosure forms. with its views to the FAA along with ful interference. A 1 dB increase in the New LightSquared’s incoming board the committee’s results. LightSquared’s noise floor, on the other hand, has never also has a couple of serious players. The report suggested a significant number of been shown to correlate with any kind of chairman, according to court records, technical changes to the overall study as predictable impact on the data reported will be Ivan Seidenberg, a former chair- well as the FAA portion, including not by GPS receivers.” man and CEO of Verizon Communica- using a six-decibel safety margin in all The FAA, however, does not use actu- tions Inc. Joining him will be Reed Hunt, cases. al position error by itself as its key metric, who was FCC chairman from 1993 to “The 6 dB safety margin should be Hegarty recently told Inside GNSS. 1997. applied only to use cases where the air- “In the presence of interference at the

30 InsideGNSS MAY/JUNE 2015 www.insidegnss.com mask levels, all the performance requirements must be met for the receiver,” he explained. “Position accuracy is just one of … TO BE EVEN BETTER! many performance requirements that the equipment needs to satisfactorily achieve in the presence of the specified maximum levels of interference.” Chasing GPS Receiver Standards LightSquared also recommended that the FAA’s approach should become the model for the rest of the assessment study Lundvold Photo: Sindre — suggesting that, as for certified aviation receivers, receiver standards would be a good thing. “FAA’s analysis,” wrote LightSquared, “and thus (RTCA’s Working Group-6’s) input to the FAA, assumes standards for GPS receivers that RTCA and the FAA had previously set for the function of certified GPS receivers — forward-looking minimum performance standards, as expressed in required receiver masks, that all GPS devices certified for use in aviation applications must meet.” “While not specifically open for discussion in WG-6’s work,” the company added couple of pages later, “it is nevertheless Certain missions demand unsurpassed precision, important as a part of the overall DoT Study process to empha- stability and reliability. Having perfect control size that RTCA’s recommendations, and FAA’s eventual analy- and fully understanding the smallest detail is sis, are based upon standards for GPS receivers that RTCA and what it takes to be a world leader. the FAA had previously set for the function of certified GPS receivers.” With this in mind, we developed the Inertial “By contrast,” LightSquared continued, “the Volpe Center’s Measurement Unit STIM300, a small, utra-high current plan is to establish a mask retroactively, and solely performance, non-GPS aided IMU: to limit power in bands of commercial spectrum adjacent to GPS based on the poorest performing GPS devices. The • ITAR free Volpe Center is not intending to establish (or recommend to • Small size, low weight and low cost the regulators of commercial spectrum) a set of minimum, forward-looking performance standards for the GPS devices • Insensitive to magnetic fi elds it is studying. Rather, it plans to develop its mask based on a • Low gyro bias instability (0.5°/h) backwards-looking approach that seeks to protect all receivers, • Low gyro noise (0.15°/√h) regardless of relevance or criticality of use case. • Excellent accelerometer bias instability (0.05mg) “Thus, while the FAA/RTCA approach can reasonably be • 3 inclinometers for accurate leveling shown to have the effect of encouraging receivers to be more resilient and safer (particularly as such standards are updated STIM300 is the smallest and highest performing, over time), the Volpe Center’s approach inevitably drives to commercially available IMU in its category, protecting the worst performing devices and does not encour- worldwide! age development of more resilient receivers.” It would not be the first time that receiver standards have been suggested. A miniature IMU In 2012 then-FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who Weight: 0,12 lbs (55g) was widely seen as an advocate for LightSquared, tasked the Volume: 2,0 cu. in. (35cm3) FCC’s Technological Advisory Council with studying the role Available now – contact us to discuss your application of receivers and providing “recommendations on avoiding obstacles posed by receiver performance to making spectrum available for new services,” according to a post by the National Association for Amateur Radio. The GPS community fiercely opposed standards at the time as a hindrance to innovation and a threat to the future of the When size, performance and robustness matter millions of GPS receivers already installed and in operation. Now, the idea of receiver standards may have lost energy within the FCC. Tom Wheeler, Genachowski’s replacement as [email protected] • www.sensonor.com www.insidegnss.com MAY/JUNE 2015 InsideGNSS 31 WASHINGTON VIEW Your ONE Source for GNSS Products and Solutions FCC chairman, took a decidedly different tack when addressing a 2014 workshop on protecting GPS. Introducing the OxTS xNAV550 “Today is about federal and nonfederal leaders coming Boxed GNSS-Aided INS or OEM Board Set together to discuss successful industry-driven collaborations and GPS receiver performance. These are not abstract issues,” Wheeler said. “But let me also be specific about what today is not. It is not about FCC-mandated receiver standards. Rather it is about the best way to protect GPS operations in the context of evolving technology and adjacent spectrum activities.” Redrawing the Battle Lines Both LightSquared and members the GPS community have stressed their willingness to work toward solutions, although  Dual GNSS receivers  Compact, lightweight, from just 365 grams their respective positions to not appear to have gotten much  2 cm real-time position accuracy closer. If anything the two sides seem to be girding for battle  Tactical grade IMU – 0.05° roll/pitch in ever more distant corners.  4 GB of storage for automatic data logging Even so, the respective positions of the company and GPS  OxTS post-processing software included advocates do not appear to have gotten much closer. If anything  No export restrictions the two sides seem to be farther apart than ever. LightSquared, for example, said in a March workshop held Contact us about integrating the by the ABC Assessment team that agreement was not essen- xNAV550 into your applications tial. When it comes to decisions on activities in commercial sectors of the spectrum the “FCC has exclusive jurisdiction,” said Geoff Stearn, vice-president for spectrum development at LightSquared. +1-703-256-8900 • 800-628-0885 The “only purpose of any such study,” he said of the ABC www.NavtechGPS.com Assessment, “is to inform FCC regulatory action.” In fact, the company asserted that “the established process is for agencies to ask the FCC to conduct such studies.” That assertion set off a furious exchange between the Light- Fall 2015 GNSS, Squared representatives including Stearn, and Don Jansky, a former associate administrator for the NTIA and president of INS-Kalman Jansky-Barmat Telecom. Their exchange, in part: Courses Jansky: The FCC is not the final arbiter of the emissions. There is joint responsibility with NTIA. These agencies and Announced NTIA do not report to FCC. They have a separate regulatory November 2 – 6, Washington, D.C. Area regime. And they have joint responsibility, particularly for the GPS band. So, they are not the final arbiter of what is the NEWLY EXPANDED COURSE! 556: Inertial Systems, Kalman Filtering, and GPS/INS Integration. Instructors: Dr. Alan regulatory aspect regarding emissions. You should understand Pue and Mr. Michael Vaujin. Immerse yourself in the that. I don’t think you understand how spectrum management fundamentals and practical implementations that fuse works in the United States. GPS receiver measurements with strapdown inertial LightSquared: I don’t want to continue the debate. I under- navigation. stand that that’s the NTIA’s view. The Communications Act invests the responsibility to regulate commercial enterprises, 346: GPS/GNSS Operations for Engineers and Technical which is LightSquared, with the Federal Communications Professionals. Instructor: Dr. Chris Hegarty. Commission. A comprehensive introduction to GPS system concepts, Jansky: That may be for LightSquared, but it isn’t for the design and operation, plus an introduction to DPGS and Kalman filtering. United States. LightSquared: We’re talking about rules that would affect Visit our website for complete details, or contact Carolyn McDonald at [email protected] LightSquared. Jansky: We’re talking about rules that would impact GPS. The next scene in the drama will be played out on a Wash- ington stage. The Adjacent-Band Compatibly Assessment team +1-703-256-8900 • 800-628-0885 www.NavtechGPS.com will hold another workshop there on June 19.

32 InsideGNSS MAY/JUNE 2015 www.insidegnss.com