Where Are We? - GPS Declassified: From Smart Bombs to Smartphones - page 179

What had been a mobile satellite service with a limited number of ground
stations posing scattered risks of gps interference morphed into a predomi-
nantly ground-based network with a minor satellite component posing poten-
tial interference problems nationwide. gps experts said that LightSquared's
ground station signals, by some estimates five billion times more powerful
than faint gps signals from space, would disrupt receivers on the ground nearly
six miles away and receivers in aircraft up to twelve miles away. 263
In late January 2011 the fcc gave LightSquared permission to proceed on the
condition it allay interference concerns expressed by the Commerce Depart-
ment's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (ntia)
and the U.S. gps Industry Council. 264 “Seething” is how Inside gnss reporter
Dee Ann Divis described the reactions of people in the gps community. 265
When the fcc ordered LightSquared and industry representatives to form a
joint working group, conduct interference tests, and present findings within
five months, many perceived the fcc to be rushing the process, driven by polit-
ical cronyism. 266 The Center for Public Integrity, nonpartisan but sometimes
accused of leaning left, compiled a report calling the connections between
LightSquared and the Obama administration a clear example of political
patronage. 267 Among their findings: Billionaire Philip Falcone, head of Harbin-
ger Capital, had previously contributed the maximum allowable to both Dem-
ocratic and Republican Senate campaign committees, ensuring access. fcc
chairman Julius Genachowski was one of the Obama 2008 campaign's major
fundraising “bundlers” and served on the Obama transition team with Jeff Car-
lisle, LightSquared's executive vice president for regulatory affairs, creating a
too-cozy relationship between the regulator and the petitioner seeking a waiver.
As technical studies proceeded in laboratories, the controversy played out
in a public battle that lasted more than a year and attracted broader media
coverage than perhaps any gps issue to date. Both sides hired lobbyists and
public relations firms.268 268 A group of industry leaders formed the Coalition to
Save Our gps in March 2011, gathering support from aviation, agriculture,
transportation, construction, engineering, surveying, gps equipment manu-
facturers, and service providers. 269 Their efforts along with the concerns of
federal agencies and the military soon brought elected officials into the fray.
Thirty-four senators asked the fcc to rescind the waiver, and the House passed
the National Defense Authorization Act (ndaa) with a provision prohibiting
the fcc from giving LightSquared final approval until the Defense Depart-
ment's concerns were satisfied.270 270 President Obama signed the ndaa and later