I’m no Lightsquared fan, but why is the FCC saying GPS receivers will need to work with new users of the spectrum as long, apparently, as it’s not Lightsquared?
One winner could be DISH TV, which is seeking to develop a similar wholesale wireless network, and not on spectrum near that used by GPS. LightSquared planned to operate on spectrum near GPS’s.
These proposed wholesale wireless networks would be fantastic for consumers. The signals travel for many miles and go through buildings too. It’s like wifi on steroids.
Perhaps the nearness to GPS spectrum is what killed Lightsquared. For their network to be implemented, existing GPS receivers would need upgrades, including the millions of GPS receivers already in automobiles, boats, and aircraft. How could this be done and what would it cost? But using spectrum that doesn’t interfere with GPS, as in the DISH plan, wouldn’t impact existing receivers.