REGULATORY UPDATE >>
The Wireless Report
FCC enforcement in force; FAA rules on drones By John A. Prendergast, Managing Partner, Blooston Law (jap@bloostonlaw.com)
of the 1526-1536 MHz, 1627.5-1637.5 MHz, and 1646.5-1656.5 MHz bands. The draft Order is conditioned to reflect these technical requirements. The order also requires Ligado to protect adjacent band incumbents by reporting its base station locations and technical operating parameters to potentially affected government and industry stakeholders prior to commencing operations, continuously monitoring the transmit power of its base station sites, and complying with procedures and actions for responding to credible reports of interference, including rapid shutdown of operations where warranted.
John Prendergast
FCC Approves Ligado 5G Network Despite Concerns About Interference to GPS The FCC has approved satellite service provider Ligado’s application to deploy a low-power terrestrial nationwide network in the L-Band that will primarily support 5G and Internet of Things services. The approval has bipartisan support among the Commissioners, despite concerns in the industry about interference to GPS signals. Certain aspects of central station operations depend on GPS. The Ligado proposal grew out of the failed efforts of Lightsquared, which was the subject of AICC comments several years ago. The project had festered for years in a cloud of controversy; and the FCC’s approval decision comes amid objections from 13 different government agencies, including DOD, Homeland Security, DOJ, FAA and NASA among others. All are concerned about interference to important military and safely-related communications that TMA Dispatch | Summer 2020
rely on GPS signals. According to the Press Release, Ligado has amended its application in recent years to significantly reduce the power levels of its base stations from 32 dBW to 9.8 dBW (a reduction of 99.3%), in order to address interference concerns. However, certain studies purport to show that even at the reduced power level proposed by Ligado, interference will still affect GPS receivers, since such receivers must be able to receive relatively weak signals from distant satellites. Interference could impair the ability of GPS to provide the precise timing needed for certain military applications, as well as synchronized Internet and mobile communications. Ligado has also committed to providing a significant (23 megahertz) guardband using its own licensed spectrum to further separate its terrestrial base station transmissions from neighboring operations in the RadionavigationSatellite Service allocation. As such, Ligado is now only seeking terrestrial use
TV Channel Repacking Process Puts Television Signals Closer to Central Station Frequencies: Diligence Required Certain TV broadcasters have started to send notices to Part 90 licensees, including central station alarm radio licensees, about the relocation of their television signal to spectrum immediately adjacent to the central station frequencies in the 460-466 MHz band. The most recent notices indicate that in the coming weeks, these broadcasters plan to change their television broadcast operations to Channel 14 (470-476 MHz). Alarm company licensees that receive such notices will want to immediately begin monitoring their frequencies for interference, and take action to enforce their protection rights. Some TV stations have been reassigned to channel 14 as part of the broadcast incentive auction and related “repacking” of television operations into a smaller portion of the broadcast band, so that the FCC could sell the remaining [34]
