GPS signals trump cellular in FCC battle

Bandwidth has become a precious commodity. Just ask any owner of a car that has an analog OnStar system that wound up being a useless brick when digital cellular signals were declared to be the only game in town.

LightSquared, a company that grew out of the satellite-communications industry, is banking that the chunk of spectrum it holds the rights to will help smaller, regional competitors compete with the big wireless providers.

There's just one small problem. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has decided to block LightSquared's planned deployment because of frequency creep on the part of GPS companies. LightSquared's allotted spread of the spectrum directly abuts that used by the Global Positioning System, which has crept over the line in an attempt to keep up with demand.

Although LightSquared is technically in the right, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is worried that the company's deployment of its assets could interfere with GPS signals--to a potentially catastrophic end.

LightSquared's chunk of the spectrum was originally intended for weaker satellite signals, rather than terrestrial saturation. Though the company claims that it can work within the confines of its predicament, the FCC is unconvinced. After granting a conditional waiver for LightSquared to operate last year, it decided to deny the company further permission to operate.

Meanwhile, while it considers its next move, LightSquared is laying off 45 percent of its workforce and focusing on its core satellite business.

What's interesting here is how both systems affect your future motoring experiences. Nav systems are ubiquitous, and in-car cellular connections aren't exactly uncommon. With both placing increasing demands on the available spectrum, could the most sensible course of action be entirely handset-centric infotainment systems?

By Davey G. Johnson