FCC to approve 5G network despite military saying it will harm GPS
Pai says power limits and guard band will prevent interference with GPS. …
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The Federal Communications Commission is set to approve a new 5G cellular network despite claims from the Department of Defense that it will interfere with Global Positioning System (GPS) services.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai today asked fellow commissioners to approve an “application to deploy a low-power terrestrial nationwide network in the L-Band that would primarily support 5G and Internet of Things services.” The application is from Ligado, formerly known as LightSquared, which for nearly a decade has sought permission to build a wireless network using frequencies near those used for GPS. A previous failure to obtain FCC approval helped push LightSquared into bankruptcy.
The FCC said its draft order would “ensure that adjacent band operations, including GPS, are protected from harmful interference.” Pai said the FCC has “compiled an extensive record, which confirms that it is in the public interest to grant Ligado’s application while imposing stringent conditions to prevent harmful interference.” He continued:
Although I appreciate the concerns that have been raised by certain Executive Branch agencies, it is the Commission’s duty to make an independent determination based on sound engineering. And based on the painstaking technical analysis done by our expert staff, I am convinced that the conditions outlined in this draft order would permit Ligado to move forward without causing harmful interference. For example, the draft order would authorize downlink operations at a power level that represents a greater than 99 percent reduction from what Ligado proposed in its 2015 application.
The base-station power reduction is “from 32dBW to
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