Garmin Continues Push on GPS/Broadband Interference Claims

Garmin continues to voice worries on GPS interference from operations in adjacent bands. General Counsel Andrew Etkind met with FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and with Commissioner Ajit Pai chief of staff Matthew Berry, the GPS company said in ex parte filings posted Wednesday in docket 12-340 (see here and here). Garmin said Etkind talked up a proposed Transportation Department study of adjacent band interference -- which was heavily criticized by LightSquared, which wants to operate a wireless broadband network in adjacent spectrum (see 1510160022) -- and provided copies of GPS Innovation Alliance testimony submitted earlier this month in a House Communications Subcommittee hearing on improving federal spectrum systems. In that testimony, the GPSIA said using satellite spectrum for broadband poses big technical challenges since mobile broadband uplink transmissions "can be billions of times stronger" than low-power transmissions such as used by a Global Navigation Satellite System, and "attempts to attribute GNSS interference issues mainly to poor receiver design are misguided." GPSIA also said receiver regulation would "impede innovation," and "a more straightforward approach" would be to group similar spectrum uses together -- "a 'zoning' approach to spectrum management as opposed to a 'good fences make good neighbors' approach that requires the FCC to engage in extensive rule making and standards development." For GPS, GPSIA said, that would mean "avoiding authorization of high powered uses in this band now or in the future."