Walden Hosts LightSquared/GPS/FCC Pow-Wow
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., hosted a discussion with LightSquared, GPS device makers and the FCC, according to ex parte filings (http://xrl.us/bmha3w and http://xrl.us/bmha32) and interviews with participants. Tuesday’s meeting points to a more hands-on approach to the controversy and one of the few public displays of interest on the issue by Walden. While other House committees have called hearings to look at the LightSquared debate over GPS interference, the House and Senate Commerce committees so far have taken a behind-the-scenes approach to the controversy (CD Sept 22 p6).
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The groups described the various controversial pieces of LightSquared’s terrestrial service rollout plans for Walden, said participants. For instance, GPS interests said they were concerned with the company’s references to eventual use of the upper 10 MHz of the L-band. LightSquared spoke about what it believes are design flaws in precision GPS receivers. Walden organized the meeting, and the discussion was largely focused on the technical aspects, said Jim Kirkland, positioning solutions company Trimble general counsel and a leader in the Coalition to Save Our GPS. The discussion did touch some on the legal issues, though Walden’s focus was on the technical issues involved, participants said.
Commerce Committee Democrats didn’t attend. “We were not invited, nor did the Republican committee staff let us know about the meeting with LightSquared, members of the GPS community, and the FCC,” a Democratic House aide said.
Walden was “well versed on this issue and spectrum matters generally,” said LightSquared Executive Vice President Jeff Carlisle. Having such meetings in front of decision makers can help both sides focus on the issues at hand, such as the GPS industry’s need for clarity on LightSquared’s plans for the upper 10 MHz and future costs, said Carlisle. The meeting was generally cordial, said participants.
The meeting at the Capitol Visitor Center lasted a little over an hour and was largely informal and unstructured, participants said. Industry attendees included representatives of LightSquared, Trimble, Garmin and Deere and their outside lobbyists and lawyers. FCC General Counsel Austin Schlick, Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp, Walden and several members of his staff were present from the government side. The possibility of future similar meetings or a House Communications Subcommittee hearing on the issue didn’t come up, said attendees. Walden’s office had no comment.
Other House members have not held back on sounding alarm over the LightSquared plan. Most recently, House Small Business Committee Republicans raised concerns in a letter dated Thursday to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Small businesses use GPS daily to run their business and “should not be required to bear the costs of replacing or retrofitting their devices due to this proposal,” wrote committee Chairman Sam Graves, R-Mo., Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Mike Coffman, R-Colo., and seven other committee Republicans. Harm to general aviation would hurt small businessmen who fly or are in the aviation industry, they added. Republicans on the House Science and Armed Services committees have also criticized LightSquared and the FCC.