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Senators Task FCC to Find Alternate Spectrum for LightSquared

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There's spectrum for them

msteven3

Apr 11, 2012, 11:43 AM
There's plenty of spectrum LightSquared can use. It's located in the 1700 MHz and 700 MHz bands. Oh, I forgot, they don't have any because they didn't participate in those spectrum auctions, since they got the spectrum they have on the cheap, figuring that they could convert it from satellite-based rtransmission to terrestrial use. So now that they got burned, they want a do-over. Essentially, they bought property on the outskirts of town that was zoned residential and tried to get it zoned commercial, but, since they didn't get it rezoned, they want to do an even swap for much more expensive property in the middle of downtown.

The only question I have is how much they had to pay Kerry and Graham to ask the FCC to find them new spectr...
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JBlaze74

Apr 11, 2012, 12:01 PM
I'm sure LS made a generous contribution to both Mr. Graham's and Mr. Kerry's reelection campaign. I'm certain it is totaly proper and above the boards and had absolutely no influence whatsoever on the senators' decision to speak to the FCC. LMAO
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msteven3

Apr 11, 2012, 1:39 PM
Exactly, since we know Mr. Falcone is a fine, upstanding guy who has never once been accused of any impropriety. 😉
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mycool

Apr 11, 2012, 2:00 PM
Actually, from what I understand (using your analogy), is that they purchased a less expensive piece of property and when they went to go build on it they found out that neighboring businesses had built on part of the land in which they had purchased.

Wouldn't you be upset if you purchased a piece of land from someone only to find out that someone had built on the land even though they should not have?
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JBlaze74

Apr 11, 2012, 2:21 PM
I can see that. I can even sympathize with it. On the other hand, in that analogy, you don't get brand new property. You dispute the property line and have them move what they built. Unfortunately, in this case, the time it would take to get the neighbors to move their stuff would ultimately mean the death of LS. I don't necessarily take issue with granting LS new spectrum so long as they give up all rights to the spectrum they initially purchased. Ultimately, the GPS encroachment issue is going to have to be addressed if anyone is ever going to use the spectrum LS currently holds.
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Jarahawk

Apr 11, 2012, 4:55 PM
Good. That's all they are asking for. It amazes me that people stick up for the GPS industry and treat Light Squared as though they are at fault.
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JBlaze74

Apr 11, 2012, 5:22 PM
Honestly, I think that this entire fubar runs in so many directions that pinpointing the blame is almost pointless. GPS is encroaching. LS is using their spectrum for something other than how it was intended. The FCC should have held a tighter reign on GPS and decided instead to shut down LS. IMO, we can blame all three or choose to blame noone and fix the problem. Spectrum exchange should fix it, crossing my fingers that it does. The question becomes how far behind does this put LS in development and has the damage already been done?
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Globhead

Apr 11, 2012, 6:12 PM
JBlaze74 said:
GPS is encroaching.


No they aren't. If they are, name ONE UNAUTHORIZED FREQUENCY at which a GPS satellite is broadcasting.

LS is using their spectrum for something other than how it was intended.


Bingo. Lightsquared even admits the existence of a problem indirectly by complaining that GPS receivers can't block the interference.

Lightsquared has no excuse for not understanding the simple concept which makes their bad idea unworkable. This is not a new problem, it is a known problem which has been avoided for decades by establishing the rules which Lightsquared wants to ignore.
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jump454

Apr 12, 2012, 8:29 AM
Its not the broadcasting. Its the receivers themselves. They've been over this many times. The gps industry (aka manufactures) should pay them fair market value of there spectrum and then they can use that towards purchasing new spectrum for what they wanna do rather than being handed something they never paid for.
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dlmjr

Apr 12, 2012, 11:03 AM
LS purchased, second hand, cheaply, spectrum that was never intended for terrestrial broadcast.
Plain and simple.

They knew, going in, it was a crap shoot.

They were not granted unrestricted terrestrial use of the spectrum, but rather a waiver of an established rule if they could prove that interference could be overcome.

They did not prove it.

Now they are blaming everyone else for their failture to do due dilligence and testing prior to making the spectrum purchase.

Looks as if they thought if they threw enough money around and whined and bitched enough they could horn in with a terrestrial based network on the cheap without having to purchase terrestrial spectrum.
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Jarahawk

Apr 12, 2012, 5:37 PM
"...they thought if they threw enough money around and whined and bitched enough they could horn in with a terrestrial based network on the cheap without having to purchase terrestrial spectrum."

Looks as though it is going to work out just fine. 🙂
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planethulk

Apr 14, 2012, 10:27 PM
The thing I like best is how you know everything because of your years of being on the FCC. Could you show us the contract that LightSquared signed so we can get the inside info like you?
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Globhead

Apr 15, 2012, 1:28 PM
There isn't any "inside info" necessary. The FCC publicly discloses the allowed applications for different bands before selling it. They don't wheel&deal and make things up secretly as they go. Any company attempting to spend billions on setting up a network would have to be completely foolish not to look at spectrum charts first to find out if it is legal.

If you think anyone needs an inside scoop to declare that Lightsquared knew in advance what they were working with, then you are completely confused about how all of this works. You may as well claim that we can't assume that Ford knows which side of the road we drive on when they build their vehicles. SHOW ME THE CONTRACT BETWEEN FORD AND THE DOT!
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msteven3

Apr 11, 2012, 5:38 PM
Except that's not what happened.

The spectrum LightSquared acquired was originally licensed for satellite-to-ground transmissions, which operate at a low power level. LightSquared wanted to use it for strictly terrestrial transmissions, which operate at a higher power level, which is why they went to the FCC for a waiver.

Now we get into the interference issue. LightSquared's terrestrial transmissions were found to interfere with GPS receivers. This has nothing to do with the signals being broadcast by GPS satellites encroaching on the frequencies LightSquared wants to use--in fact, they don't, and that has never been alleged by LightSquared. However, what is happening is that GPS receivers can't reject the much stronger LightSquar...
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djdanska

Apr 12, 2012, 9:43 PM
It's not a fair analogy. They bough the spectrum KNOWING they could NOT use it for strictly terrestrial service.
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Vosim

Apr 11, 2012, 6:55 PM
That doesn't work at all, because the spectrum was only leased for satellite use.

It's more like buying property and trying to build on the neighbor's property because, well, the big pink barn you're building doesn't encroach on their view, right? So they should totally be okay with it. And they should also be okay with you building on their land in the first place, even though you don't own it and only own an adjacent property.
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srich27

Apr 12, 2012, 8:37 AM
Actually thats not true at all. GPS satellite are NOT broadcasting outside of their licensed spectrum. Neither is LS, but that's not really the issue here.

Here's an analogy using a piece of the EM Spectrum we're all a bit more familiar with -- Light.

Say a university builds an astronomical observatory. They need a place where they can accurately detect a very weak signal coming from space (starlight in this example). So they purchase a plot of land (spectrum) far away from civilization that is surrounded on all sides by land that is unused, but zoned to be 'dark' (in the case of GPS, its not really dark, but at worst is competing with weak signals pointing AWAY from the receiver/observatory). They build well within the limits of ...
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jump454

Apr 12, 2012, 8:44 AM
You sir, are a genius. Best way to describe what is happening with this hole fiasco. This should be a phone scoop story itself to help the lamens like me understand much better. I wish this site supported thumbs up cause this absolutely deserves one!
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Jarahawk

Apr 12, 2012, 6:46 PM
OMG! 🙄

OMG!

I'm sorry. I am just speechless.

OMG!

OMG!

🤣
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msteven3

Apr 12, 2012, 9:18 AM
Unfortunately, the answer to the question of how LightSquared got this far is pure politics. If you slip cash into the pockets of enough people, you can often get what you want, or, at the very least, have a better chance than someone who doesn't pay.

There was another company that was proposing a very similar scheme about a decade or so ago. It was called NorthPoint, and it proposed to build a series of terrestrial transmitters to broadcast TV and possibly also Internet access. The catch was that NorthPoint wanted to use the same frequencies as DBS. When people began to point out that this would disrupt DirecTV and DISH Network service for many people, NorthPoint first replied that it wouldn't because their transmitters would be plac...
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Jarahawk

Apr 12, 2012, 6:51 PM
You are implying that money changed hands?! I am shocked! I had no idea that lobbyist actually GREASED the palms of politicians. So THAT'S how we can have bipartisanship in this nation. Bribe members of BOTH parties to support the same legislation. Kerry is a democrat and Graham is a republican and yet through the magic of money (allegedly) here they are standing together (holding hands even?) in support of LightSquared.
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