BoatUS Sounds the Alarm about GPS Fiasco
Published: Tuesday, September 8, 2020
By: Norm Schultz
“Tough Luck!” That’s what the Federal Communications Commission seems to be saying to all recreational boaters who rely on the accuracy of GPS, and the Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is leading the effort to bring the issue to the attention of the nation’s boaters.
A controversial FCC order threatens the reliability of millions of GPS units now in use. A decision last April 22 gave a mobile satellite services operator, namely Ligado Networks, a private equity company, approval to build and operate a land-based industrial 5G (fifth generation) wireless network that will negatively impact the reliability of the nation’s GPS and be a menace to boating safety.
Specifically, a BoatUS investigation has determined Ligado’s slice of licensed “L-Band” spectrum, designated for space-based navigation and communications, is located near lower frequency bands. These are the bands used by hundreds of millions of GPS units for public safety, health, government, transportation, military, commerce, agriculture and more.
BoatUS is a founding member of the recently launched Keep GPS Working Coalition. Their study indicates that as the Ligado network is rolled out, instances of signal interference will rapidly increase. The ugly bottom line for current GPS users will be either purchase a new GPS unit or suffer the likelihood of continued interference.
According to the coalition, the FCC’s decision totally disregarded mountains of evidence highlighting the interference issue. It also ignored established technical standards. Further, the FCC relied only on limited studies with vague and impractical criteria to access the interference. To top things off, this extremely dangerous move was made during the COVID-19 pandemic with a final decision circulated only among the five FCC commissioners, while we stakeholders were dealing with the unprecedented health crisis!
If that’s not enough, this will make your jaw drop: The commission also ignored serious concerns from the federal government and agencies including the departments of Defense, Transportation, Commerce, Interior, Justice, and Homeland Security. Also, NASA, the National Science Foundation, Federal Aviation Administration, and the U.S. Coast Guard all expressed concerns. Hello?!
“With this decision,” says David Kennedy, BoatUS Manager of Government Affairs, “the FCC is permitting one private company to upend the entire reliability of GPS. It’s unfathomable that the lone federal caretaker of our national radio spectrum shows such disregard, even after admitting there are cases where federal and private GPS users will suffer harmful interference. It’s a message that, in essence, says ‘tough luck.’ You are on your own.”
Here’s even more to make you cry out “what the hell are they thinking?!” Ligado’s former name was LightSquared. You may remember back in 2010 the FCC suspended consideration of a LightSquared proposal to use its licensed spectrum for a 4G LTE network citing unresolved concerns over radio spectrum interference with GPS. It forced the company into bankruptcy. But in May of this year, Ligado announced $100 million in new funding from unnamed sources. Can a leopard change its spots?
A move by a federal agency that results in the loss of a reliable GPS signal should not be allowed to stand. Any signal loss or interference resulting in a misdirection at a critical navigational point is a safety concern of the highest order for every vessel operator relying on this popular and widely used technology.
Along with BoatUS, four other organizations representing thousands of companies and millions of Americans have launched a new coalition to protect end users of GPS. For background and more information, go to: KeepGPSWorkingCoalition.com.
Reprinted with permission from Soundings Trade Only.
This article also appeared in the Fall Issue (Sep/Oct) 2020 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine and a version of this article was previously released on July 9.
tags: Law & Politics, Navigation, safety
