Ligado LTE Plans See Mounting Criticism, But Company Pushes Back
Various parts of Ligado's LTE plans face spectrum-related opposition, which raises the risk of financial challenges for the company, said satellite consultant Tim Farrar in a blog post Wednesday. Farrar said there are indications the Federal Aviation Administration will heavily…
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limit power levels in the 1527-1537 MHz downlink band, and the Department of Transportation may put even tighter limits; and there are efforts by the earth science community to prohibit an auction of the 1675-1680 MHz spectrum used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Iridium is trying to block use of the 1627.5-1637.5 MHz uplink band, and the 1647-1657 MHz uplink band likely can be paired only with 1527-1537 MHz low-powered downlinks. He also cited a column Tuesday in The Hill by Robert McDowell of Cooley in which the former FCC commissioner said Ligado's LTE plan, like the one proposed in 2010 by its predecessor LightSquared, "still causes harmful interference to already-licensed neighbors such as satellite services providers, NOAA’s weather service and the aviation industry" and should be rejected by the FCC. Farrar said Ligado has the finances to last into next year and continue lobbying, but the FCC may come to a decision this month given Chairman Ajit Pai's indication the agency plans to answer petitions within one year and Ligado's application and petition were put on public notice April 22, 2016. The agency didn't comment. Ligado in a statement Wednesday said McDowell -- whose firm represents Iridium -- made an "outdated and inaccurate characterization" of its satellite/terrestrial network and noted that McDowell, when testifying in 2014 as an expert witness in LightSquared's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, indicated GPS coexistence with Ligado's LTE network was technically feasible. McDowell told us Wednesday his 2014 testimony was about FCC process and timing issues, not about out-of-band emissions concerns in the 1627.5-1637.5 MHz band, and that Ligado's LTE plans still haven't resolved those. Ligado outside counsel Gerard Waldron of Covington & Burling said DOD indicated at a DOT workshop last month on adjacent band compatibility that it was comfortable with Ligado's LTE plans. A final DOT report is due later this month, Waldron said.