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Joint Statement from Department of Defense and Department of Transportation

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Today, a government technical group reviewed the findings from last month's testing of LightSquared's proposal to provide new broadband service.  The final test report will be sent to the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA), which advises the President on telecommunications policy, and represents federal agencies to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Preliminary analysis of the test findings found no significant interference with cellular phones. However, the testing did show that LightSquared signals caused harmful interference to the majority of other tested general purpose GPS receivers.  Separate analysis by the Federal Aviation Administration also found interference with a flight safety system designed to warn pilots of approaching terrain.

The findings were presented to the technical steering group which represents the seven federal agencies that make up the Space-Based Positioning Navigation and Timing Executive Committee.  Over the next several weeks, the final analysis of the findings will be completed and a final report will be transmitted from NTIA to the FCC.