Wireless company LightSquared, which has been in the news because of its signals interfering with the GPS (Global Positioning System) signals, has said that the GPS industry should pay to retrofit commercial GPS receivers so they can function in the presence of LightSquared’s signal.
The company has promised to pay up to USD 50 million to retrofit government receivers, but says fixing commercial receivers is the GPS industry’s responsibility.
“They took the calculated risk that we’d never be successful,” LightSquared Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy Jeff Carlisle told The Hill.
He said the GPS industry should have adjusted their receivers years ago to prepare for LightSquared launching its network. “Instead, they spent the money on a lobbying campaign to kill us,” he said.
LightSquared plans to provide high-speed wireless service nationwide, but tests earlier this year revealed its network interferes with GPS devices.
According to LightSquared, the problem is that GPS receivers are “looking into” LightSquared’s spectrum.
To address the interference problem, LightSquared agreed to operate its cell towers on only the lower 10 MHz of its spectrum. But even with this adjustment, its network would still cause problems for some precision GPS devices.
Source: The Hill
