[aprssig] Terrestrial Threat to GPS Has Now Hit The Mainstream Media.

[Steve Noskowicz]

I don't know if any of these tell, but at least one manufacturer presented data to the FCC showing this interference capability and they ignored it and went forward.  I'll see if I can find that one agan.

The term I used was: Infinitesimal wisdom.

BPL. this, then the 440 band...  I guess you just follow the money.
-- 
 73, Steve, K9DCI   



--- On Thu, 4/7/11, John L. Wilson <jwilson at ncfcomm.com> wrote:

> Date: Thursday, April 7, 2011, 7:35 AM

> I found this article today.  It
> includes a video describing the issue and
> has links to other sources of information.
> 
> http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=206519&#msgs
> 
> Monty Wilson, NR0A
> jwilson at ncfcomm.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: aprssig-bounces at tapr.org
> [mailto:aprssig-bounces at tapr.org]
> On Behalf
> Of Stephen H. Smith
> Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2011 4:30 AM
> To: TAPR APRS Mailing List
> Subject: [aprssig] Terrestrial Threat to GPS Has Now Hit
> The Mainstream
> Media.
> 
> News of the terrestrial wireless broadband network that
> threatens to
> overload and block GPS receivers, that I posted about
> around a month ago has
> now hit the mainstream media.
> 
> [The issue, if you missed my original post, is that the
> FCC, in it's
> infinite idiocy, has authorized a terrestrial network to be
> built in
> spectrum directly adjacent to the 1575 MHz GPS frequency.
> This spectrum,
> previously used for satellite communications, will now have
> 10s of thousands
> of ground-based transmitters radiating signals millions of
> times stronger
> than those from satellites, which will cause major
> overloading,
> desensitizing or blocking of GPS receivers in many areas.]
> 
> AP News via Yahoo! News
> 
> <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110406/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_gps_threats>
> 
> 
>   Planned wireless Internet network threatens GPS
> 
> By JOELLE TESSLER, AP Technology Writer Joelle Tessler, Ap
> Technology Writer
> - Wed Apr 6, 3:02 pm ET
> 
> WASHINGTON - A new, ultra-fast wireless Internet network is
> threatening to
> overpower GPS signals across the U.S. and interfere with
> everything from
> airplanes to police cars to consumer navigation devices.
> 
> The problem stems from a recent government decision to let
> a Virginia
> company called LightSquared build a nationwide broadband
> network using
> airwaves next to those used for GPS. Manufacturers of GPS
> equipment warn
> that strong signals from the planned network could jam
> existing navigation
> systems.
> 
> A technical fix could be expensive - billions of dollars by
> one estimate -
> and there's no agreement on who should pay. Government
> officials pledge to
> block LightSquared from turning on its network as scheduled
> this year unless
> they receive assurances that GPS systems will still work.
> 
> The stakes are high not only for the GPS industry and its
> users, but also
> for those who would use LightSquared's network. In
> approving it, the Federal
> Communications Commission seeks to boost wireless
> competition and bring
> faster and cheaper Internet connections to all Americans -
> even in remote
> corners of the country.
> 
> LightSquared and the FCC both insist the new network can
> co-exist with GPS
> systems. But device makers fear GPS signals will suffer the
> way a radio
> station can get drowned out by a stronger broadcast in a
> nearby channel.
> 
> The problem, they say, is that sensitive satellite
> receivers - designed to
> pick up relatively weak signals coming from space - could
> be overwhelmed
> when LightSquared starts sending high-power signals from as
> many as 40,000
> transmitters on the ground using the airwaves next door.
> 
> "The potential impact of GPS interference is so vast, it's
> hard to get your
> head around," said Jim Kirkland, vice president and general
> counsel of
> Trimble Navigation Ltd., which makes GPS systems. "Think
> 40,000 GPS dead
> spots covering millions of square miles in cities and towns
> throughout the
> U.S."
> 
> One of the biggest risks is to the GPS navigation systems
> used by about 40
> percent of commercial and private planes. Backup systems
> that rely on
> ground-based radio signals are not as accurate and have
> coverage gaps. Some
> older private planes have no backup at all.
> 
> With GPS interference, a pilot "may go off course and not
> even realize it," 
> said Chris Dancy, a spokesman for the Aircraft Owners and
> Pilots
> Association.
> 
> LightSquared's network could also undermine the Federal
> Aviation
> Administration's multi-billion-dollar program to upgrade
> the nation's
> air-traffic control system, which is based on World War
> II-era radar
> technology.
> 
> The new GPS-based system is more precise and lets planes
> fly more direct
> routes. That will save airlines time, money and fuel and
> cut pollution. It
> is also key to accommodating projected increases in airline
> traffic by
> enabling planes to fly safely closer together.
> 
> Public-safety officials, too, are nervous about
> LightSquared because they
> rely on GPS to track and dispatch police cars, fire trucks
> and ambulances.
> Many 911 systems also use GPS to help locate people.
> Disruptions could delay
> responses to emergencies, said Harlin McEwen, an official
> with the
> International Association of Chiefs of Police.
> 
> Even the Pentagon has expressed concern as it relies on GPS
> to guide planes,
> ships, armored vehicles, weapons and troops.
> 
> LightSquared plans to compete nationally with super-fast,
> fourth-generation
> wireless services being rolled out by the likes of AT&T
> and Verizon
> Wireless. 
> It won't sell directly to consumers, though. Instead,
> LightSquared will
> provide network access to companies including Leap
> Wireless, parent of the
> Cricket phone service, and Best Buy, which will rebrand the
> service under
> its own name.
> 
> LightSquared has its roots as a satellite-phone operator,
> so its airwaves
> historically have been reserved primarily for satellite
> communications. FCC
> rules adopted in 2003 allowed the company to back up those
> signals with
> ground-based wireless service, but only to fill in coverage
> gaps.
> 
> In January, however, the FCC gave LightSquared permission
> to use its
> airwaves for a broader, conventional wireless data network.
> Although the
> company will continue to offer satellite service too, it
> plans to cover at
> least 92 percent of Americans by 2015 with high-power
> wireless signals
> transmitted by base stations on earth.
> 
> Until now, GPS receivers haven't had much trouble filtering
> out noise in the
> adjacent airwaves because it consisted mostly of low-power
> signals beamed
> from space. But GPS manufacturers warn that will change
> once there is a
> major ground-based broadband network next door.
> 
> Both LightSquared and the FCC say further testing is needed
> to determine the
> true extent of any interference. The FCC is requiring
> LightSquared to
> participate in a study group with GPS manufacturers and
> users.
> 
> LightSquared won't be allowed to start operating its
> network until the
> government is satisfied that any problems are addressed,
> FCC spokesman Rob
> Kenny said.
> 
> "We have every reason to resolve these concerns because we
> want to make sure
> there is a robust GPS system," LightSquared executive vice
> president Jeffrey
> Carlisle said.
> 
> Dan Hays, a consultant with the firm PRTM, insists the
> technical solution is
> straightforward: GPS devices need to include better filters
> to screen out
> the LightSquared signals.
> 
> Estimates on the costs of a fix, however, range widely.
> 
> Hays believes it will cost no more than $12 million - or 30
> cents per device
> - to install better filters in roughly 40 million
> standalone GPS units made
> worldwide each year. Cell phones, he said, will be fine
> because they don't
> rely solely on GPS to determine location and have better
> filters anyway.
> 
> But Tim Farrar, a consultant with TMF Associates, insists
> cellphones need
> upgrades, too - raising the annual cost to as much as $1
> billion.
> 
> Tens of billions of dollars of existing equipment may also
> need to be
> replaced, Farrar said.
> 
> GPS manufacturers insist that neither they nor their
> customers should have
> to pay.
> 
> That's because GPS receivers were designed to screen out
> low-power signals
> next door, and now the government is changing the rules,
> said Scott Burgett,
> software engineering manager with Garmin Ltd.
> 
> But Hays said GPS receivers are "eavesdropping on signals
> outside of where
> they are supposed to be" - in LightSquared's space.
> 
> That was not a problem - until now.
> 
> Moreover, LightSquared and the FCC say the GPS industry
> should have been
> preparing for a ground-based network nearby since the FCC
> first allowed
> backup wireless systems in that space in 2003.
> 
> The real dilemma, Hays said, is this: "This is a situation
> where the
> neighbor built the fence too far over the property line and
> may not have
> realized it at the time. Now the other neighbor wants to
> build a pool and
> there is not enough space. So the question is: who has to
> pay to move the
> fence?"
> 
> ___
> 
> Associated Press Writer Joan Lowy in Washington contributed
> to this report.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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