LightSquared's Plan B, Out for Comment

The Federal Communications Commission has requested comment on a Petition for Rulemaking filed by LightSquared seeking a new co-primary allocation permitting non-Federal terrestrial mobile use of the 1675-1680 MHz band.

You remember LightSquared – the company that wanted to deploy a tower-based wireless broadband network in the 1545-1555 MHz satellite downlink portion of the L Band, close to GPS frequencies. GPS users objected, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) which administers federal spectrum, decided GPS interference concerns could not be overcome, whereupon the FCC pulled LightSquared’s tentative authorization. With its recent Petition for Rulemaking (and other documents filed in late September), LightSquared seeks a work-around to its GPS headache (and possibly a Hail Mary to resurrect the company, which is now in bankruptcy). LightSquared’s idea is to pair its existing and as-yet-uncontroversial authorizations for two 10 MHz uplink bands, at 1627.5-1637.5 MHz and 1646.7-1656.7, with a downlink (and terrestrial) channel at 1670-1680 MHz. This band is farther removed from GPS frequencies than LightSquared’s old request. The lower half of the band, at 1670-1675 MHz, is allocated for non-Federal fixed and mobile uses, and has been auctioned; LightSquared, through a subsidiary, has made arrangements to lease this segment. No problem there. But the upper half of LightSquared’s proposed band, at 1675-1680 MHz, is not, at first glance, a good home for a high-powered cellular-type network.

Comments are due on December 10, 2012, and reply comments on Boxing Day, December 26. If the FCC decides to proceed, it will solicit further comments by way of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.