"Falcone’s Wireless Plan Concerns Mount Over GPS Interference
Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Philip Falcone’s LightSquared Inc. wireless-communications venture is facing mounting resistance to a proposal that it be allowed to operate mobile phones on its network that don’t rely on satellites.
LightSquared has asked the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to let its customers use terrestrial-only phones, such as those used by rivals Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. The aircraft industry is among a growing group who say relaxing the rules may put additional pressure on global- positioning services.
“The LightSquared proposal will result in an unreliable GPS signal reception,” according to letters to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski from Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH and the National Business Aviation Association trade group, posted on FCC’s website today.
LightSquared says the waiver is essential to meeting government deadlines for building out its network. Falcone agreed last year to FCC conditions that he employ a combination satellite-terrestrial network for up to 100 million Americans by the end of 2012 and 260 million by 2016. He’s committing billions to compete against Verizon, AT&T Inc. and Clearwire Corp. in providing the service.
Last week, the U.S. Commerce Department also said Falcone’s waiver request raises “significant interference concerns” on GPS and some maritime and aviation emergency communications, according to a letter from Lawrence Strickling, assistant secretary of communications and information.
Tom Surface, a LightSquared spokesman, said in an e-mail he didn’t have an immediate comment. LightSquared, based in Reston, Virginia, is backed by Falcone’s Harbinger Capital Partners hedge fund.
--With assistance from Todd Shields in Washington. Editors: Ville Heiskanen, Peter Elstrom
To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Bensinger in New York at gbensinger1@bloomberg.net "
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