How The FCC Plans To Destroy GPS – A Simple Explanation

Ugh, c'mon, people. The FCC isn't planning to destroy GPS. I hate the FCC as much as the next guy on the Internet, but that's too ridiculous for consideration.<p>What they're trying to do is balance the legitimate right that one user has to a piece of spectrum, with the legitimate right that a lot of users have to some that's adjacent. They'd be looking at nothing but an endless series of lawsuits if they told LightSquared that they couldn't use their spectrum (which they have a license to), particularly since LightSquared has a proposal which -- yes, on paper, but what's on paper matters -- says they'll not interfere with GPS.<p>It looks much more like the FCC is giving LightSquared an opportunity, either to show that they can make the system workable, or to come up with enough rope to hang themselves, one way or the other. If LightSquared can't resolve the interference issues, then the FCC will have a much better case for an enforcement action than they currently do. (Although an enforcement action might require a rule change, because it's not clear that they would actually be in violation of the rules; front-end overload is typically the receiver's problem, not the transmitter's.)<p>I'm all for spectrum users being vigilant, and perhaps GPS users need an organization analogous to the ARRL (which protects the Amateur Radio spectrum, and successfully defeated the shitty BPL implementations that were kicking around a few years ago) to nip these things in the bud. But the conspiracy-theorizing is a bit rich.

While an interesting article which does a good job of breaking down the technical details AND citing industry, it doesn't seem to me the FCC is "Planning to destroy GPS".<p>This sounds a lot more like the FCC not entirely understanding the ramifications of what they approved and/or a company trying to take advantage of licensing loopholes which have unforeseen consequences.<p>Yes, the FCC fucked up here but it isn't time to bring out the tin foil hats yet.

I'm a licensed (technically "certificated") private pilot and this is article is bullocks.<p>Aviation, both general and commercial, relies increasingly on GPS integrated avionics to navigate the rigidly defined airspace that instrument rated pilots refer to as "the system."<p>GPS has become so prevalent that the decades old method of navigation using VOR (VHF omnidirectional frequency) radials is going the way of that which came before it, ADF ("Automatic" Direction Finder).<p>Even the smelly old 1965 Piper Cherokee I fly sometimes has a Garmin GPS unit in it. The guy that taught me to fly has a 1947 Cessna 140 with a GPS unit. It's become ubiquitous in general aviation and is a de-facto requirement in commercial aviation.<p>GPS isn't going anywhere because it's too crucial to one of the major facets of the national transportation system.

Meanwhile, the FCC's enforcement chief just put out a press release decrying cell/GPS jammers saying they "create safety risks".<p><a href="http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0209/DOC-304575A1.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0209...</a>

(sigh) The article was written by an alarmist moron trying to push his own agenda, and most likely, pushing it for his own profit.<p>The only real problem is GPS equipment manufacturers intentionally cut corners and costs by <i>FAILING</i> to implement proper bandpass filters.<p>When the LightSquared towers get turned on, and customers who bought incorrectly designed garbage from the likes of Garmin, the result will be simple: The equipment makers will get sued in massive class action law suits for selling broken equipment. And yes, the manufacturers deserved to be sued for cutting corners on bandpass filters and selling junk since THEY HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN the adjacent spectrum frequencies could be used at any time.

It's possible the LightSquared transmitters will be far more directional than the Garmin test gives them credit for. They may not run full power all the time anyway.<p>Regardless, it's generally the responsibility of the receiver to ignore signals in another part of the same band, and this is a different band entirely. Perhaps some receivers are built as cheaply as possible and don't have the best filters. If they all break, well, their customers should know not to trust that brand again. Any other policy amounts to no one ever being able to establish new radio service on its own part of the spectrum, on the theory that some other defective other equipment might fall over.<p>Personally, I think it's far more interesting the prospect of having a network of 20,000 steerable-beam transmitters approved for 15KW ERP each at 1.5GHz. 300MW is about half the output of a typical electrical power plant. If those were networked that could make one hell of an antisatellite weapon, phased-array radar illuminator, or maybe even an SDI-type directed energy weapon.<p>If the military isn't behind this, well they should be. &#60;conspiracy theory&#62;Maybe that's why the FCC is fast tracking it so much.&#60;/conspiracy theory&#62;

Doesn't the military still rely heavily on GPS? I have a hard time believing they'd tolerate any kind of interference with such a crucial system.

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Would this affect the upcoming Galileo platform too? Does it use similar frequencies?

That site looks pretty spammy. You sure this isn't just an attempt to build links?

I thought GPS was spread spectrum which would make it resistant to these kinds of interference? After all, GPS satellites broadcast at the same frequency <i>as each other,</i> that's the genius of how GPS works.

Has the FAA said anything about this? I would hope that they would be concerned about the impact on aviation GPS.

I'm looking forward to a VOR/DME receiver in my phone to make up for the loss of GPS.