The top screen showing the hydrogen maser and cesium clocks in an adjacent isolated room used for realization of the timescale for research purposes. Students presenting their work to the USNO and Microchip Inc., visitors. (Photo: University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa)

The University of Alabama, with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), has established a program unlike any other in the country. It focuses on positioning, navigation, timing, and frequency (PNTF) as its own discipline, with a special emphasis on precise timing.

The Alabama Collaborative for Contemporary Education in Precision Timing (ACCEPT) is an NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program designed to train the next generation of graduate (master’s and Ph.D.) degree holders in PNTF.

ACCEPT provides interdisciplinary training and education for physics, engineering, mathematics and computer science majors. The school hopes to make it a graduate program eventually. Enrollees are awarded a fellowship that includes a $34,000/yr stipend.

“The ACCEPT program was created because industry and government officials told us they could never find enough people in this field,” said Adam Hauser, the program’s executive director, who is also an associate professor of physics and astronomy at the university. According to Hauser “It is the only program in the nation directly addressing a larger scale workforce development in precision timing.”

Left to right: Dr. LeClair, Dr. Hauser and Dr. Bandi founded and run the ACCEPT PNT program at University of Alabama. (Photo: University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa)

ACCEPT’s Technical Director — also billed as “Time Lord” — is Thejesh Bandi, an associate professor. He reinforces Hauser’s message about the scarcity of focused talent in the area. “This field is greying,” he says. “We need young minds who will also bring in fresh ideas.”

Hauser describes the program as “a flexible multidisciplinary course curricula that includes professional development, and real-world training with our industry and government partners.”

The program’s “interdisciplinary” nature is reflected in the ACCEPT team. In addition to physics and astronomy, faculty from mathematics, electrical and computer, civil, aerospace, and mechanical engineering, as well as the communications and higher education departments, are included.

This diversity of expertise is needed for ACCEPT’s ‘holistic education” approach founded on four pillars.

1. Industry-Directed Curriculum: First, because the goal is to supply qualified graduates to fill critical national needs in industry, the foundational curriculum is based on and will continue to evolve with input from commercial entities in the PNTF space. In addition to several government agencies and labs, the ACCEPT Advisory Board includes representatives from SpectraDynamics, Aerospace Corporation, Raytheon Technologies, Microchip Technologies, L3Harris Technologies, OEWaves, Inc, Safran S.A., Northrop Grumman Corporation and the Resilient Navigation and Timing (RNT) Foundation.
2. Sustained Industry & Community Immersion: The program’s major focus is moving beyond academia. Internships and PNTF professional community events are mandatory. Students attend the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Time and Frequency Division’s time and frequency seminar each year. In their second year, they begin attending the Institute of Navigation’s annual Precise Time and Time Interval (PTTI) meeting. As their research and professional skills mature, they are expected to progress from attendees to poster presenters and speakers.
3. Professional Development: Reinforcing preparation for moving beyond the classroom, ACCEPT trains students to “… effectively work across academic, policy, governmental and industry sectors,” according to Hauser. “They need to be able to advocate as a professional to a larger audience effectively.” This means including students in programs like the university’s Speaking Studio and Capstone Center for Student Success. Communication skills, teamwork and ethics are particular focus areas.
4. Research: Bandi’s Research Quantime Lab is hosted by Professor Patrick LeClair’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. “Research projects for ACCEPT fellows and trainees are designed in conjunction with our government and industrial partners and focus on cutting-edge innovations that solve today’s problems in currently used technologies,” Le Clair said.

The lab strongly focuses on Quantum Engineering research, though there are also opportunities in Characterization and Calibration, Networking and Synchronization, and research into Precision Devices.

Click here for more information about applying for an ACCEPT fellowship or becoming an industry partner.

<p>The post ACCEPT: University of Alabama prepping next generation of PNTF experts first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Admiral Lord Alan West of Spithead has served the United Kingdom as First Sea Lord and led the government’s efforts for counter terrorism and cybersecurity. He has been a member of the House of Lords since 2007 and has stayed engaged with defence and maritime issues. RNT Foundation President Dana A. Goward spoke with him in early September about the UK’s way forward for GPS-like services.

DG: The UK government has been talking for years about the nation’s vulnerability to disruption of space-based signals such as those from GPS and Galileo. What is being done about it?

LW: Unfortunately, the government is not being as transparent as we might like on this. I do know from comments made in the House of Lords that there is a group developing a strategy. Also, that the Cabinet Office — our equivalent of the National Security Council in the United States — is deciding who is to be in charge and how things will be run.

I have heard the strategy group will propose a mix of technologies such as has been discussed in the United States. The idea of having several different systems, I am sure, is so that something interfering with one won’t disrupt them all.

This is all supposed to published in November. But I am concerned that government distractions with COVID, Afghanistan and other issues will delay that.

DG: What about the OneWeb project?  That doesn’t seem to be waiting for a November announcement. And there is talk it may provide GPS-like timing and navigation services.

LW: OneWeb is moving forward, but at present it is only about 5G and making it available more quickly and broadly. There may be a OneWeb Phase 2 that includes modified or additional satellites to provide positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), but that is to be decided.

Admiral Sir Alan West, then First Sea Lord, is pictured with the official chart of anchorages for the International Fleet Review. (Photo: DP Kilfeather’s book Trafalgar 200 Through the Lens, Queen Elizabeth II 80th Birthday Edition, CC BY-SA 2.5)

DG: How about the UK rejoining Galileo?

LW: Actually, that makes a lot of sense from a practical point of view for both the UK and Europe. Unfortunately, there were a lot of hurt feelings on the continent with Brexit, some EU leaders seemed to be in punishment mode, and expulsion from Galileo was part of the fallout. I think that in due course as tempers cool, we will fully re-engage with the European Space Agency.

DG: So, no UK project for a GPS equivalent?

LW: The government allocated £90 million to that, which enabled a thorough look at the idea but was woefully inadequate to even start a project. Doing a British version of GPS or Galileo would be hugely expensive and doesn’t make sense. There are better, cheaper ways of getting what we need.

DG: And what does the UK need? What is the goal?

LW: We need several things.

First, we need a global capability that is ours, or that we are closely partnered in, to support the UK’s worldwide military and economic interests.

We also need to have something in place so that, even if space is denied to us — and that is getting to be more and more of a threat each day — we can keep our industries, critical infrastructure and economy going at home.

And third, we need a resilient PNT capability as a foundation for current applications, and to build on for such things as autonomy, intelligent transportation, and the like.

DG: So how do you get there?

LW: For the global bit, the OneWeb, and perhaps an even closer partnership with the United States on GPS.

At home, we definitely need a sovereign capability for when space is denied by solar weather or our adversaries. Also to be a check on space signals because our adversaries and criminals are spoofing them more and more.

I have always thought eLoran was a good choice. The UK pioneered its development and had the world’s first operational system in 2015. It is really hard to interfere with the signal, and there are other features that could be added to it that would make it even more robust.

There was a very interesting report called MarRINav put out last year about what UK maritime needs to ensure it can navigate regardless of whether the satellites are working or not. They came up with a reasonably inexpensive combination of systems anchored by eLoran.

By the way, it is interesting that the MarRINav study was funded by the European Space Agency. They seem to understand that satellites are not the be all and end all for PNT services.

DG: That all seems pretty straightforward and the right thing to do. What’s standing in the way?

LW: Well, so few people understand the problem. The population as a whole is almost completely unaware. At some level government understands all 13 of our critical infrastructure sectors could be impacted, but the people senior enough to drive action have dozens of other issues to deal with that probably seem more urgent.

DG: I wonder what it will take to make it seem urgent enough.

LW: Let’s hope the wakeup call is something short of a national disaster.

<p>The post Galileo, OneWeb and the UK’s sovereignty way forward first appeared on GPS World.</p>

On May 10, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on navigation efforts n the Department of Defense (DOD). Among its findings were that the department regularly fails to establish validated navigation and timing requirements for systems and instead defaults to the capabilities of GPS. Also, that alternate positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) efforts are not prioritized, and sometimes actively opposed, by forces within DOD.

One of the report’s more startling recommendations is that the department change its focus from GPS as the central pillar of its PNT strategy going forward in favor of resilient technologies.

The Institute of Navigation (ION) and Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation (RNTF) are hosting a webinar to discuss the report with two of its authors on June 15 at 11 a.m. ET. Two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee staff have also been invited as panelists.

After a panel discussion moderated by Dana A. Goward, president of the RNT Foundation, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions of the panelists.

The event is open to the public, but attendees must register in advance.

<p>The post Controversial GAO report on DOD nav webinar June 15 first appeared on GPS World.</p>

The report called for an architecture that included signals from space in the L-band, terrestrial broadcasts in the ultra high frequency (UHF) and low frequency (LF) spectra, and a fiber backbone to synchronize and feed precise time to terrestrial transmitters.

The demonstration project and report were mandated by Congress in legislation passed in late 2017 and funded in early 2018. Delays within the administration resulted in the project beginning in early 2019.

Monty Johnson of OPNT demonstrates precise time transfer through 100 kilometers of spooled fiber-optic cable. (Photo: RNT Foundation)

Demonstrations

Of 21 firms that offered to demonstrate their wares, 11 were selected. They were:

• Echo Ridge LLC and Satelles Inc. Satellite-based PNT technologies using the S and L bands, respectively.
• OPNT B.V. and Seven Solutions S.L. Fiber-optic time transfer using the White Rabbit Precision Time Protocol technology.
• TRX Systems Inc. Dead reckoning technology with inertial measurement units and localized map matching supplemented with ultra-wideband beacons.
• Hellen Systems LLC and UrsaNav. eLoran that uses LF transmissions.
• Serco Inc. Medium frequency R-mode.
• NextNav LLC. Metropolitan beacon system using UHF frequencies.
• PhasorLab Inc. and Skyhook Wireless Inc. Both use Wi-Fi frequencies. Phasorlab uses a dedicated network of transmitters. Skyhook leverages existing Wi-Fi access points.

Five of the demonstrations were conducted at Joint Base Cape Cod, with the remainder at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia.

Timing demonstrations were assessed for system:

• coverage (service availability) within an “appropriate area” (wireless systems only)
• accuracy and stability across an appropriate area
• long-term accuracy and stability of time transfer to a fixed location
• time transfer availability and accuracy to a fixed location under challenged GPS signal conditions.

Positioning was evaluated for:

• coverage within a defined region
• 2D and 3D dynamic positioning service availability and accuracy
• availability and accuracy of static positioning
• long-term availability and accuracy of static positioning
• long-term availability and accuracy of static positioning under challenged GPS signal conditions

DHS work referenced

The report also mentions an earlier set of demonstrations done by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In December 2018, DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate performed the work through the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute. The project “demonstrated a combination of position and timing use cases for dynamic vs. static and indoor vs. outdoor applications, along with a time-transfer use case for critical infrastructure applications.” Systems from Locata Corp, NextNav, and Satelles were evaluated.

The DoT report says that eLoran was not part of the DHS effort because of the lack of transmitters in the area. However, “DHS had previously studied eLoran performance under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Harris Corporation and UrsaNav and had an understanding of its capabilities.”

A report of DHS’ December 2018 work is not publicly available, though DOT says it was used to inform their efforts.

The only publicly available information from DHS about the eLoran CRADA seems to be a 2016 press release. A presentation and other information  is available on the UrsaNav website.

Findings

The 437-page DOT report is filled to the brim with detailed information about the project, individual technologies, and demonstration results.

The Executive Summary says that, in addition to the findings from the DHS December 2018 effort (which were not listed), the DOT demonstration had four key findings:

1. All TRL-qualified vendors offered showed PNT “performance of value” and one showed value in all scenarios.
2. Neither eLoran company succeeded in the Static Basement Timing scenario.
3. R-mode ranging did not meet the minimum technical readiness level (TRL) of 6.
4. Deployment effort and coverage (infrastructure per unit area) are significant cost factors.

Addressing the needs of critical infrastructure owners and operators, the report concluded the needed “technologies are LF and UHF terrestrial and L-band satellite broadcasts for PNT functions with supporting fiber optic time services to transmitters/control segments.”

Reactions and way forward

Government officials and industry observers alike have welcomed the report, though it does leave some questions on the table.

One is about other national PNT needs. The congressional tasking was to report on GPS backup technologies for critical infrastructure and national security. The Jan. 14 report focuses on critical infrastructure needs. Information on national security requirements, some of which is classified, was provided to Congress separately by DHS and the Department of Defense.

“Economic and homeland security are sometimes considered by agencies and Congress as subsets of national security, sometimes not,” according to one analyst. “So, we don’t know if the needs of first responders, delivery services, civil government agencies, and other essential users were ever formally considered. The good news is that the combination of systems identified, if implemented and made available to all, would likely meet the needs of most.”

Other open issues are about implementing the report’s recommendations.

Some have been quick to point out that the demonstrations were to inform the government, not part of a procurement.

“If this was for an acquisition, it would have been done differently,” said one government retiree.  “Rather than having vendors set up and operate the equipment, government evaluators would have been much more hands on. And they would have made every effort to do all the trials at the same location.”

Going forward, cost will also an important factor, as mentioned in the report’s key findings. “Depending on who you want to serve and where, the costs of different technologies vary by orders of magnitude,” said one provider.

Reaction from those involved with the demonstration project has been generally upbeat with praise for DOT’s effort and anticipation of more progress.

Typical were comments from Ganesh Pattabiraman, CEO at NextNav, who appreciated the real-world scenarios DOT used in the project. Regarding next steps he said, “We look forward to working with Congress on implementing the report’s recommendations.”

<p>The post DOT report: L-band, UHF, LF and fiber PNT needed to protect US first appeared on GPS World.</p>

The Joint Research Center in Ispra, Italy, is the preferred demonstration site. (Photo: European Commission)

The European Commission is undertaking a GNSS backup technology demonstration, much like the one completed by the U.S. Department of Transportation earlier this year. Companies from many countries outside the European Union, including the United States, are eligible to participate. Responses are due by Jan. 13, 2021.

A tender issued on Oct. 26 says that the goal is for the commission to better understand available non-GNSS PNT technologies. Also, they are interested in services that can provide positioning and navigation, and/or time.

Completely Independent from GNSS

Since the intent is to provide a backup for GNSS during an outage, all offered technologies must be completely independent. Specifically, they must have “no common points of failure with GNSS.”

Some industry observers have opined that this eliminates any space-based capabilities from consideration. Coronal mass ejections from the sun have long been considered a threat to satellites. Others have wondered if networked-based solutions could be also excluded because of frequent use of GNSS for synchronization, billing and other applications.

Another requirement is that offered technologies be capable of covering the entire EU territory, including inland waters. While this might seem to rule out fiber-based timing systems, advocates say that is not necessarily the case. They contend a fiber network supporting dispersed transmitters would serve both fixed and mobile applications, and reach users for whom connecting to a fiber node is not feasible.

Other requirements listed in the tender for offered technologies include:

• Resilience to GNSS jamming, spoofing, and unintentional interference
• Technical readiness levels of 5 or more for positioning and navigation, 6 or more for timing
• Able to perform for at least a day during a loss of GNSS
• Positioning accuracy < 100 m horizontal, or timing accuracy < 1 microsecond relative to UTC
• If timing is included, it must be traceable to UTC

The Demonstration

A webinar for potential offerors was held on Nov. 4. Although it was not recorded, the slides shown are available at the RNT Foundation website. One update to the slides is a new email replacing the one of the first slide. All inquiries should be sent to the project leader at Ignacio.ALCANTARILLA-MEDINA@ec.europa.eu.

Up to seven companies, presumably each demonstrating different technologies, will be accepted into the program.

The preferred demonstration site is the European Commission’s Joint Research Center in Ispra, Italy. Recognizing that transporting equipment and traveling to Italy might be a challenge for many companies, the tender states’ commission personnel are willing to travel to other locations to see systems demonstrated.

The JRC Ispra campus covers 170 hectares with 100 buildings and 36 km of roads. It provides state-of-the-art laboratories, smart city infrastructure (grids, homes, mobility), and varied topography with urban, semi-urban, rural and woodland areas. (Image: EC)

Information on All Technologies Sought

Unlike the European Space Agency’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP), companies from outside of the EU are invited to respond to the tender and could be selected. This reflects the commission’s desire to include as many technologies and collect as much information as possible.

Limited funding for the demonstration, pandemic travel restrictions, the need for infrastructure to support wide-area signals, and other obstacles may prevent some companies from participating in this effort. The commission’s overall goal, though, is to get information about as many technology options as possible.

So, while not stated in the tender, the commission is eager to hear from technology companies, even if they do not want to be considered as a part of demonstration project. All are invited to contact project leader Ignacio Alcantrailla-Medina. All information is welcome, though most important are a technology’s performance, technical readiness level (TRL), and if it can be deployed in the European Union.

We understand that, as is the case in the United States, solutions delivering timing are of particular interest.

Combining the data from the demonstration project with other information gathered, the commission hopes to be able to identify a way forward with alternative PNT in Europe by the end of 2021.

<p>The post Europe seeks alternative PNT services, deadline Jan. 13 first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Image: RNT Foundation

A new white paper sponsored by the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation (RNT Foundation) discusses the need and implementation of a reliable and resilient national timing architecture that will include space-based assets. This system-of-systems architecture — GNSS, terrestrial eLoran broadcasts and fiber — is essential to underpin today’s technology and support development of tomorrow’s systems, according to the executive summary of A Resilient National Timing Architecture.

“Everyone in the developed world needs precise time, all the time, whether they know it or not,” said Marc Weiss, one of the paper’s authors and an internationally recognized expert on timing and synchronization. “It is a foundation of every networked technology, digital broadcast, and most navigation systems, to name just a few critical uses.”

Three Paths to Precise Time

“Precise time is so important that everyone needs at least three independent methods of getting it. So, if one, or even two, fail it is not a national disaster,” said Pat Diamond, co-author of the paper. “Our proposed architecture calls for precise time via GNSS, terrestrial eLoran broadcasts and fiber.” Diamond is a long-time network designer, developer, and entrepreneur. He is also a member of the U.S. National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board.

Diamond also pointed out that these three methods should be the backbone for timing distribution in the U.S., but won’t be the only methods. “What we are describing is a baseline architecture that will be added to,” he said. “It is a starting point. We envision in the paper additional distribution methods like time from other satellites, user clocks, and so on, all being part of the mix.”

Government Leadership

The U.S. federal government has a leadership interest and responsibility in all of this, according to the paper. Nations have long recognized the military and commercial advantages of determining and distributing precise time. Great Britain’s Longitude Act of 1714 was really about developing a chronometer to support safe navigation of Royal Navy and British merchant fleet. In the United States, the U.S. Naval Observatory has been keeping and distributing a national time scale time since 1845.

“Just because the feds have an important leadership role, doesn’t mean they have to build and own a bunch of systems,” said Dana A. Goward, the paper’s third co-author and executive director of the RNT Foundation. “There are a variety of ways these systems can be established. Public-private-partnerships, subscription contracts like the FAA did with their air traffic ADS-B system, and cooperative agreements are all examples. As we move forward with 5G telecommunications and perhaps even timing and navigation, it will be increasingly important to have a rock solid timing infrastructure to support it all.”

The National Timing Resilience and Security Act of 2018 requires the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish a terrestrial system to backup GPS timing services by December of this year. While the department does not appear to be on track to meet that goal, it completed a technology demonstration program for GPS backup technologies earlier this year. Two companies demonstrated timing distribution by fiber. Another two demonstrated eLoran.

Many Pieces Already in Place

One of the benefits of the proposed architecture is that much of what is called for is already in place, according to the paper. “We already have fiber networks, NAPs (network access points). eLoran is mature and has been deployed by the Brits. And the U.S. government owns enough former Loran-C sites to establish a nationwide eLoran network,” Diamond said. “All we need is a bit of money and some engineering work to put this all together.”

<p>The post Precise time for all: Paper calls for resilient national timing first appeared on GPS World.</p>

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) approval of a long-standing request by Ligado Networks continues to be controversial. The request was to make terrestrial broadcasts on a frequency near that used by GPS. Broadcasts which, according to analyses by the departments of Defense and Transportation, will interfere with GPS reception for many users.

Now it looks as though Congress is ready to move beyond talk and enact one or more pieces of legislation. These would require an independent technical review of the FCC’s decision and place limits on the ability of Ligado Networks to use the license it was granted.

Congressional interest has been fueled both by member concerns and a regular drumbeat of input from constituents. The recently formed Keep GPS Working Coalition is just one example. It was created from a larger group of more than 70 companies and organizations across a broad swath of industries that has gone on record against the decision and has been supporting congressional action.

National Defense Authorization Act

A primary vehicle for congressional action looks to be the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2021. Unlike other “annual” legislation that often gets sidetracked or delayed during election years, Congress has passed an NDAA for each of the past 59 years. As such, it is a particularly powerful tool.

This is doubly so in this case, as the member of Congress that has been the most outspoken critic of the FCC’s decision is Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK). He chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee that has direct responsibility for the NDAA.

The Senate version of the NDAA has several provisions that directly address the FCC’s decision.

Responding to conflicting claims about the findings of government and private tests, the bill requires the Defense department to contract with the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine for an independent technical review.

Evaluating Potential Impact on GPS

Among other things, the review will compare the different methods of evaluating the potential impact on GPS services from Ligado’s transmissions, and determine which of those was the most effective in guarding against any harm.

The bill also prohibits the Defense Secretary from spending any money to comply with the FCC’s order until the Congress has been given an estimate of the total cost to the department of coping with Ligado’s transmissions.

While the FCC order requires Ligado to modify or replace any government receivers impacted by its operations, the Defense department and others have said this is only a small fraction of the overall costs they would incur.

The bill requires the Defense Department estimate to consider a much larger scope of costs including:

• To upgrade, repair, or replace potentially affected receivers
• To modify, repair, or replace equipment, pares, associated ancillary equipment, software, facilities, operating manuals, training, or compliance with regulations, including with regard to the underlying platform or system in which a capability of the Global Positioning System is embedded; and,
• For personnel of the department to engineer, validate, and verify that any required remediation provides the Department with the same operational capability for the affected system prior to terrestrial operation in the 1525 to 1559 megahertz or 1626.5 to 1660.5 megahertz bands of electromagnetic spectrum.

The House version of the NDAA also provides that:

“The Secretary of Defense may not enter into a contract, or extend or renew a contract, with an entity that engages in commercial terrestrial operations using the 1525–1559 megahertz band or the 1626.5–1660.5 megahertz band unless the Secretary has certified to the congressional defense committees that such operations do not cause harmful interference to a Global Positioning System device of the Department of Defense.”

RETAIN GPS and Satellite Communications Act

Senator Inhofe has also announced he will introduce stand-alone legislation when Congress returns from summer recess. His “Recognizing and Ensuring Taxpayer Access to Infrastructure Necessary for GPS and Satellite Communications Act,” or “RETAIN GPS and Satellite Communications Act,” would require Ligado to modify or replace any receiver, including those used by private citizens, that would be impacted by Ligado’s operations.

This modification would be required before the FCC’s order allowing them to transmit could come into force. Most observers opine that the number of impacted civil receivers in the U.S. is so great that this would effectively deny Ligado use of the frequency.

Introduction of the RETAIN GPS and Satellite Communications Act was planned for before the summer recess. Its delay until after was likely to provide more time to recruit co-sponsors.

GPS Interference a ‘Niche’ Issue

One observer commented that “GPS and the FCC Ligado order are really niche issues. As time goes on, more and more members of Congress will hear about it from constituents and be appalled.”

The delay will also allow time for the mammoth NDAA bill to clear Congress. RETAIN GPS would then have more chance for the spotlight.

Many industry observers have opined that regardless of congressional action, Ligado will struggle to find a successful 5G or other business model that will generate a significant revenue stream from the spectrum.

As public concern continues to grow and Congress responds with legislation, it may turn out that Ligado finally won the battle at the FCC but ended up losing the war.

Photo of the U.S. Capitol/RNT Foundation.

<p>The post Congress makes moves against FCC’s Ligado decision first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Dozens of private-sector interests will file Petitions for Reconsideration of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recent order to allow Ligado Networks to rezone its satellite spectrum holdings for terrestrial mobile use and “flip” them for a profit, according to the Washington, D.C.-based communications firm Glen Echo Group.

Petitioners will ask the FCC to reconsider its decision, which has generated widespread opposition within the administration, on Capitol Hill and from other aviation and satellite spectrum users. Petitioners include:

• Airline Pilots Association
• Association of Equipment Manufacturers
• Aviation interests (including the Cargo Airline Association, the International Air Transport Association and Airlines for America)
• Iridium Communications
• Lockheed Martin
• Trimble
• RNT Foundation

The petitioners argue the FCC’s Order ignored or improperly disregarded the great majority of evidence, including technical analyses submitted by parties showing harmful interference, and relied instead on “easily disproven claims that Ligado will provide a so-called 5G service,” the Glen Echo Group stated in a press release.

“The L-band is not included in any internationally recognized 5G standard, the spectrum is not harmonized regionally or globally for 5G, FCC’s 5G FAST Plan does not include Ligado or L-Band spectrum nor does the company have enough contiguous spectrum,” the release stated.

Airlines for America. “Airlines for America (A4A) strongly supports a broad industry coalition that has led at least 32 U.S. Senators from both sides of the aisle to urge the FCC to stay and reconsider granting Ligado Networks’ petition to repurpose critical frequency spectrum for ‘5G’ terrestrial communications services. The FCC’s rushed order in April ignored testing protocols intended to protect critical users likely to be impacted, including aviation uses of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) for navigation, and satellite communications. Beyond industry opposition, the U.S. Department of Defense also strongly opposed the FCC’s action.

“A4A is joining other industry constituents in directly petitioning the FCC to reverse its course, the effects of which could impact the safety of the flying public and impact operations, especially harmful outcomes in the recovery period following the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Aerospace Industries Association. The association represents more than 300 companies.
“Uninterrupted access to GPS is essential not only for our industry, but also for the American people, our national security, and the strength of the U.S. economy. This access is now threatened by the FCC’s decision to grant Ligado Networks’ application, despite years of evidence and the concerns outlined by several federal agencies about potential interference. With this motion, we are banding together to urge the FCC to reconsider this decision and allow safety and data to drive their decision-making on spectrum.”

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents some 290 airlines or 82% of global traffic said, “Approving Ligado’s spectrum for 5G poses a strong risk of interference with GPS signals, including the potential interruption of GPS signals at low altitudes. The FCC should reverse this decision.”

Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). President Capt. Joe DePete said, “Throughout its report and order, the FCC uses words like ‘possible’ and ‘feasible’ when talking about whether Ligado can operate. These are not the words you would want to hear your Captain use when talking about successfully completing your flight the next time you are sitting in the cabin. Aviation requires certainty and guaranteed performance from its systems. The FCC’s hasty, arbitrary, and incorrect decision will set a disastrous precedent that will impede ongoing work on spectrum sharing. The Ligado decision must be reversed immediately.”

Aviation Spectrum Resources Inc. “In jointly filing a petition for reconsideration of the FCC’s recent decision on Ligado Networks’ proposal, ASRI joins the wider aviation community in expressing our view that the decision is based on a fundamentally flawed interpretation of the data that have been presented to the Commission. Among other deficiencies, the FCC’s decision ignores the FAA’s reservations cited by the Department of Transportation, having implications for many low-level aircraft operators including helicopters and UAVs. The FCC Order also seems to acknowledge the mounting evidence that aviation safety satellite communications will receive interference, but it relies on the completion of private negotiations to resolve these questions while giving Ligado a green light to proceed, rather than requiring specific mitigations itself. ASRI believes the FCC should revisit its decision in conjunction with aviation experts to ensure the safety of air transport, medivac and other essential aviation operators are not affected by this decision.”

Iridium Communications. CEO Matt Desch said, “The FCC’s Ligado action prioritizes economic windfalls to a few speculators over safety of life, national security and important private sector companies whose customers would be most upended by their harmful interference.”

RNT Foundation. President and Director Dana A. Goward said, “The FCC treated this like a commercial communications issue instead of a decision about safety-of-life navigation. They didn’t even consider the overall cost to the public in lost lives and property.”

In addition to private sector interests, 14 federal agencies and numerous Republican and Democratic members of Congress oppose the FCC’s decision in favor of Ligado.

Feature image: A-Digit/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images

<p>The post Seven petitions call on FCC to reverse Ligado order first appeared on GPS World.</p>