LightSquared Interferes With 75% GPS Devices

I have put out the idea on this blog that I felt that LightSquared was Team Obama's retirement plan. It is widely held by members of the administration and Obama, when he was a senator invested in Skyterra, the company that would become LightSquared after it was acquired by Philip Falcone's Harbinger Capital. As you will remember, the LightSquared scandal erupted when the White House pressured Air Force General William Shelton to change his testimony that LightSquared's use of radio spectrum, originally reserved for satellite use, to be used for terrestrial use would disrupt GPS service. LightSquared has almost tried to laugh off this contention muttering that cheap and not yet developed filters would allow to GPS and broadband services to exist in harmony-end of story. Not so, says the draft report coming from the Defense Department.

The laboratory testing was performed for the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Systems Engineering Forum, an executive branch body that helps advise policy makers on issues around GPS. It found that 69 of 92, or 75 percent, of receivers tested “experienced harmful interference” at the equivalent of 100 meters (109 yards) from a LightSquared base station.

The devices tested include those used for automobile and boat navigation. The forum is to present its results on Dec. 14 in Washington.

Agencies participating in the testing included the Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration, according to the draft summary. Companies participating included GPS makers Trimble Navigation Ltd. and Garmin Ltd., farm-gear maker Deere & Co., and General Motor Co.’s OnStar unit, according to the summary.

This draft now shows that the White House by urging the general to change his testimony, was willing to imperil air traffic control, submarine tracking, missile guidance, plus a host of private sector GPS applications to help LightSquared.

Update: LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja on Monday called for a formal investigation into the leak of a preliminary government report to the media. I have no idea what is so bad. The new wasn't going to get better with age. More.