Blue Sky Pushes for Further NPRM on Globalstar LTE Plans

Given the unresolved questions about Globalstar's planned LTE network, the FCC should launch a further rulemaking on opportunistic public use of Wi-Fi channel 14 in areas where Globalstar doesn't deploy terrestrial low-power services, said Blue Sky Information Services in a filing Tuesday in docket 13-213. In its filing, Blue Sky cited close to 20 questions it said need addressing, including how Globalstar's network operating system would work and be funded, how the company accurately can site its duplex user terminals without GPS receivers, whether the company has seen spectrum re-use benefits under the auxiliary terrestrial component (ATC) regime, and whether the FCC should use build-out deadlines to prevent spectrum warehousing. Blue Sky also said the FCC might want to revisit the original ATC authority rules and gating requirements and how gating rules subsequently were changed. "Perhaps the most prudent path forward would be to fix what was wrong the first time, before creating additional opportunities for failure a second time," Blue Sky said. Globalstar didn't comment.