Tag: Jim Inhofe

Sen. Inhofe introduces bill to make Ligado pay everyone harmed
The bipartisan RETAIN GPS and Satellite Communications Act seeks to compensate all GPS and satellite communications users harmed by the April 2020 Ligado Order from the FCC.

Sen. Inhofe introduces the RETAIN GPS and Satellite Communications Act. (Photo: RNTF)

On June 23, Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) held a press event on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol. There he announced his introduction of the “Recognizing and Ensuring Taxpayer Access to Infrastructure Necessary for GPS and Satellite Communications Act” or the “RETAIN GPS and Satellite Communications Act.”

Inhofe is the ranking member of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee. That committee’s chair, Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), is a co-sponsor, as are Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Mike Rounds (R-SD).

The bill has several provisions, all of which are aimed at ensuring anyone using the frequencies the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated Ligado in April 2020 will compensate all GPS and satellite communications users that are harmed.

This would pose a significant increase in financial liability for Ligado. Under the current FCC order, is only responsible for reimbursing the federal government for costs to modify systems and replace equipment.

Many see this provision as manifestly unfair. “The FCC is requiring Ligado to pay damages to federal equipment, so the company should also pay damages to equipment owned by ordinary Americans,” said George Washington University economics professor Diana Furchtgott-Roth.

“With Ligado 5G transmitters overwhelming GPS signals, pipeline maintenance and systems operations would be affected. Plus, private pilots might find that navigation technology does not operate, joggers might find that their health trackers ceased to work, and firefighters might not be able to get to their destinations.”

She estimates the cost of damage to non-federal entities to run into the billions of dollars. Furchtgott-Roth previously served as and Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Department of Treasury and Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Transportation.

The FCC decision was, and remains, controversial. Seven different petitions to reconsider were filed by various organizations and coalitions, including the National Telecommunications Information Agency (NTIA) on behalf of the entire executive branch.

The FCC has yet to respond to any of the petitions, though it has denied requests to stay its order pending resolution of concerns.

Inhofe has long been concerned about the FCC’s action. As then-chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he held hearings, issued press releases, and made public statements aimed at Ligado’s financial backers and potential backers. All warn of disastrous consequences should Ligado’s plan for transmissions in the bands adjacent to GPS be put into operation.

Inhofe also ensured several provisions were included in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that addressed the FCC’s action. These include:
- A requirement for the Department of Defense (DOD) to estimate and report to Congress the cost of damage to department systems as a result of the FCC order.
- Prohibiting use of department funds to upgrade or modify military equipment to make it resilient to interference caused by broadcasts in the spectrum allocated (the FCC order requires this to be funded by Ligado).
- Prohibiting DOD from contracting with any entity using the frequency bands allocated to Ligado unless the Secretary of Defense certifies the use will not interfere with GPS services.
- Requiring the Secretary of Defense to contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for an independent technical review of the FCC order.
More information about the proposed “RETAIN GPS and Satellite Communications Act” is available at the Senator’s website.

Dana A. Goward is President of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation. The foundation has petitioned the FCC to reconsider its decision regarding Ligado Networks.
June 28, 2021
Congress makes moves against FCC’s Ligado decision
At first it was a flurry of letters and public statements from U.S. senators and members of the house. Then there was a senate hearing on the topic, and the issue was discussed in several other hearings.

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.
July 13, 2020
‘Keep GPS Working’ coalition fights FCC Ligado decision
Coalition’s first action is to endorse Inhofe-Reed legislation forcing Ligado to provide financial relief to consumers, industries and other end users

Five organizations representing thousands of companies and millions of Americans have launched a new coalition to protect end users of GPS following the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) April 22 decision to permit Ligado Networks to operate a terrestrial wireless network using its satellite spectrum.

Ligado’s planned use of its L-band spectrum — adjacent to bands used by GPS — would threaten the reception capability of hundreds of millions of GPS devices, according to the coalition.

Founding members of the Keep GPS Working Coalition include
- Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)
- American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF)
- American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)
- Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA)
- Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatU.S.)
As its first action, the Keep GPS Working Coalition will endorse the Recognizing and Ensuring Taxpayer Access to Infrastructure Necessary for GPS and Satellite Communications Act, which is expected to be formally introduced this week by Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.).

GPS IIIF’s M-Code can be broadcast from a high-gain directional antenna in a concentrated, high-powered spot beam, in addition to a wide-angle, full-Earth antenna. (Artist rendering: Lockheed Martin)

The coalition explained in a press release,

The FCC’s decision threatens GPS reliability for countless consumers, farmers, ranchers, pilots, boat owners, surveyors, construction companies and other private GPS users who will be forced to suffer interference to their GPS devices or to pay to replace them.

The FCC admits in its order that there are cases where both government and private GPS receivers — including those that power aviation, agriculture and other key industries — will suffer harmful interference, but failed to provide a technically feasible and adequate remediation solution for consumer and business end users.

The FCC also failed to conduct an open and comprehensive rulemaking process before issuing the Ligado order, instead circulating a final decision only among FCC commissioners while major stakeholders grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notably, the FCC ignored established technical standards determining whether GPS devices would suffer harmful interference, instead relying on limited studies using vague and impractical criteria to assess interference with the GPS signal, while disregarding mountains of evidence on the topic under the established methodology.

“In issuing the Ligado order, the FCC threw millions of Americans who depend on GPS in their everyday lives under the bus with undue haste and inadequate consideration,” said Dale Leibach, spokesperson for the Keep GPS Working Coalition. “Alarmingly, the commission also ignored concerns raised by Congress and federal agencies — the experts that rely on GPS to protect our national and economic security — including the Departments of Defense, Transportation, Commerce, Interior, Justice and Homeland Security, as well as NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Coast Guard and the Federal Aviation Administration. DOD has even argued before Congress that the interference from Ligado’s network would put missions and troops at risk. It is a highly questionable decision that benefits a single company and its Wall Street investors at the expense of national and economic security.”

“The Keep GPS Working Coalition will ensure that the concerns of end users are represented in this critical public policy debate, joining the chorus of experts sounding the alarm over the Ligado order’s existential threat to GPS technology and urging the FCC to reverse its decision,” the press release stated.

“In the interest of the agriculture, construction, and other off-road equipment manufacturers, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers is taking a firm stance against the recent FCC Ligado decision,” said Kip Eideberg, Senior Vice President of Government and Industry Relations for AEM. “The FCC decision impacts millions of private GPS devices, many of which are used by farmers, contractors and consumers who depend on a reliable connection to plant, harvest, construct and move goods. We thank Senators Inhofe and Reed for their leadership and for introducing this legislation that will begin to address the wrongdoings the Ligado order will cause, and we urge the FCC to reconsider their imprudent decision.”

“America’s farmers and ranchers rely on precision agriculture technology and GPS so their farms and ranches can be more efficient, economical and environmentally responsible. Expanding broadband access is a top priority for Farm Bureau but not at the expense of losing the accuracy of GPS,” said Zippy Duvall, President of AFBF.

“The FCC’s actions threaten the profound improvements GPS has made possible in the construction industry, including increased efficiency, productivity and improved safety,” said Dave Bauer, President and CEO of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. “ARTBA stands with our fellow Keep GPS Working Coalition members as we aim to reverse the FCC’s decision.”

“Reliable GPS is critical to aviation safety, a fact that was not adequately weighed by the FCC before reaching its decision. AOPA is grateful for the opportunity to represent aviation stakeholders as part of the Keep GPS Working Coalition,” said Jim Coon, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs for the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association.

“The GPS technology that America’s boaters rely on every day is once again threatened by the FCC’s recent decision,” said David Kennedy, Government Affairs Manager of BoatU.S. “BoatU.S. is honored to be part of the Keep GPS Working Coalition and looks forward to working with the coalition’s other members to protect this critical technology.”

According to the coalition, in addition to requiring Ligado to satisfy additional conditions prior to the order becoming effective, the bipartisan Inhofe-Reed legislation would ensure the costs incurred by businesses and consumers as a result of the FCC’s decision would be covered by the licensee benefiting from the decision — in this case, Ligado.

“The Keep GPS Working Coalition thanks Senators Inhofe and Reed for introducing the Recognizing and Ensuring Taxpayer Access to Infrastructure Necessary for GPS and Satellite Communications Act, which acknowledges the potential harm to GPS end users caused by the Ligado order and ensures the burden of cost sits squarely where it belongs — on Ligado, rather than our farmers, pilots, boat owners, surveyors or construction companies,” said Leibach. “While we strongly urge the FCC to reconsider its position on this matter, we are deeply grateful to Senators Inhofe and Reed for recognizing the tremendous expense and burden the Ligado order places on American businesses and consumers and providing clear and immediate relief to critical stakeholders.”

For more information about the Keep GPS Working Coalition, visit www.keepgpsworking.com.
June 23, 2020