No DOT GPS Study Needed With LTE Coexistence Agreements Reached, LightSquared Says

LightSquared's agreements with GPS companies Deere and Garmin and its license modification applications before the FCC obviate any need for a Transportation Department Adjacent Band Compatibility Study, LightSquared officials told DOT, FCC, Federal Aviation Administration and NTIA representatives in a meeting described in a commission ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 12-340. The LightSquared agreements and application have it relinquishing terrestrial use of 1545-1555 MHz in its LTE network while seeking shared use of 10 MHz of spectrum used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (see 1512310016). DOT workshops about the adjacent band study helped lead to the details of the coexistence agreements by helping define issues "important to both the DOT and the GPS companies," LightSquared said. That 1545-1555 MHz buffer and other license modifications should protect all other GPS companies' devices and services, LightSquared said, while any aviation concerns will be covered by a LightSquared-proposed condition that it defer to FAA standards. At the meeting, LightSquared also pressed the FCC to issue a public notice by late spring on the coexistence agreements and license modification applications so as to get input from other GPS-related businesses. Among those representing LightSquared was company board member and former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt.