FCC rules in favor of damaging GPS Signal

[wolfychef]

Just leaving this here for discussion.
BoatUS Says FCC’s Message to Boaters and Those Relying on GPS: ‘Tough Luck’

Controversial order threatens reliability of hundreds of millions of GPS units






The loss of a GPS signal while navigating, especially when precision counts, is a safety concern for all recreational boaters.
Download hi-res photo

SPRINGFIELD, Va., June 25, 2020 – The nation’s largest advocacy, services and safety group for recreational boaters, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), says an April 22 decision by the Federal Communications Commission to give mobile satellite services operator Ligado Networks, a private equity company, the green light to build and operate a land-based industrial 5G (fifth generation) wireless network will negatively impact the reliability of the nation’s Global Positioning System and harm boating safety.
Ligado’s slice of licensed “L-Band” spectrum designated for space-based navigation and communications is located near lower frequency bands used by hundreds of millions of GPS units used in public safety, health, government, transportation, military, commerce, agriculture and more. A founding member of the recently launched Keep GPS Working Coalition, BoatUS believes that as the Ligado network is rolled out, instances of signal interference will increase. This will give current GPS users no choice but to either purchase new GPS units or potentially suffer continued interference. The loss of a GPS signal at a critical moment is a significant safety concern for any vessel operator relying on this popular and widely used technology.
The coalition said that FCC’s decision disregarded mountains of evidence highlighting the interference issue, ignored established technical standards, relied only on limited studies with vague and impractical criteria to access interference, and was made during the COVID-19 pandemic when a final decision was circulated only among the five FCC commissioners as stakeholders were dealing with the health crisis.
The commission also ignored serious concerns from the federal government as well as agencies including the departments of Defense, Transportation, Commerce, Interior, Justice and Homeland Security, as well as NASA, the National Science Foundation, Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Coast Guard.
“As a recreational boater, I must have a reliable navigation system,” said BoatUS Manager of Government Affairs David Kennedy. “With this decision, FCC is permitting one private company to upend the entire reliability of GPS. It’s unfathomable that the lone federal caretaker of our national radio spectrum shows such disregard, even after admitting there are cases where federal and private GPS users will suffer harmful interference. It’s a message that in essence says ‘tough luck’ – you are on your own.”
Boaters may remember Ligado’s former name, LightSquared. In 2010, FCC suspended consideration of its prior proposal to use its licensed spectrum for a 4G LTE network also citing unresolved concerns over radio spectrum interference with GPS, forcing the company into bankruptcy. In May of this year, Ligado announced $100 million in new funding from unnamed sources.



My apologies, could not get link to work.

[barnakiel]

Somehow I fail to envision 'mountains of evidence' and FCC failing to look at it.


Or are you saying FCC are a bunch of half drunk sailors negotiating martinis at a corner bar?


barnakiel

[wolfychef]

Not saying anything, just putting out some information that may be of use to fellow cruisers to be aware of. Although since being placed in his position, many of Ajit Pai's policy decisions are obviously made by political motivations as an ex Verizon executive and in favor of the corporations, and not for what the FCC was created for. Also most often in opposition to what the majority of the populous wants.
J

[slug]

Originally Posted by wolfychef

Not saying anything, just putting out some information that may be of use to fellow cruisers to be aware of. Although since being placed in his position, many of Ajit Pai's policy decisions are obviously made by political motivations as an ex Verizon executive and in favor of the corporations, and not for what the FCC was created for. Also most often in opposition to what the majority of the populous wants.
J

GPS interference might be a concern for precision guided bombs , inner city warfare , self driving Tesla’s ...

It would not affect marine navigation

[barnakiel]

But is the head of FCC taking such decisions alone?


Is he the only member of the FCC? Or the one with an overruling vote?


How could one person (assuming ill will, which is already assuming a lot) make a decision of a whole committee?


Where I live, a committee is a panel of people, not one guy. And decisions are reached by vote and consensus (or some form of majority, etc.)



Is US different? Is FCC unique?


I am puzzled.


barnakiel

[StuM]

Originally Posted by wolfychef

My apologies, could not get link to work.

The link, plus 20 odd subsequent posts on the subject, is here: https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ml#post3174169

[barnakiel]

§0.1 The Commission.

The Federal Communications Commission is composed of five (5) members who are appointed by the president subject to confirmation by the Senate. Normally, one Commissioner is appointed or reappointed each year, for a term of five (5) years.
[53 FR 29054, Aug. 2, 1988]


Souce: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-id....0_11&rgn=div8


The person who says one chairman made a wrong or wrongful decision on his own, please step up, dig into these regulations, and explain how. Next pls lodge a notion with the Senate to take a corrective action.



If FCC decision was a mistake, it will be revoked and the process reviewed.


Are we a cruising forum or yet another fake news outlet?



barnakiel

[wolfychef]

This forum is a funny place. At times very informative, at other times acerbic and hostile. I re-posted verbatim an article I thought people here might find interesting from Boat US news. Whether anyone bothers to read the complete article or other related articles is up to the individual. The one comment I made about Ajit Pai was my own opinion of his handling certain issues as the chairman of the FCC, and was unrelated to the article. If that is not allowed, or unacceptable as not being strictly marine related, consider me corrected. The subject title stated "the FCC", not one particular individual. I have read many posts in CF that were much more heated, and off topic than anything in my post. If sharks gonna feed, then I guess I am chum. Cheers.

[barnakiel]

Yes this forum is a funny place at times.


And the USA is a place where there are greedy lawyers and well developed libel laws. There is also T Rex administration known for being pretty nasty to some.


There is another thread going on the same challenge (the possible deterioration of gps signal over some areas).


Imho assuming FCC made a wrong decision and then again assuming that decision was taken on political or otherwise grounds is plenty of assuming.


When is the other network going live and what exactly area does it cover? It should be quite easy to test gps signal then and there and see if in fact the signal deteriorated beyond safe use.


barnakiel

[Wallaby]

After doing a few minutes of digging, Ligado Networks is funded by 'private equity'. There is no mention of where the new funding came from, however, a China connection would not surprise me. My impression is they appear have used the Trump White House to force FCC approval of their foray into 5G and to overlook the impact on GPS.



Of note:


The chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, representing both parties, called on the Federal Communications Commission to reverse its unanimous decision in an April 22 op-ed.

[JRSHAW]

Thanks for the info.
I will keep an eye on our GPSs from now on

[stormalong]

This was shot down before and rightly so. Now we are in a political crisis where money overrides fairness and common sense. Don't forget that Ajit Pai also reversed the common carrier rules that prevented ISPs from prioritizing internet traffic for a fee.

This is all political.

[taxwizz]

Is this another example of "Eddy's Theory of Legislation", which states....

"Legislation can only be written by those who have absolutely no knowledge of the topic."

Eddy

[ArmyDaveNY]

As others have pointed out, this may be much ado about nothing. On the other hand, it may occasionally be an issue. Why the decision was made is relatively unimportant. The reality is that we won't know if there is an effect nor how much of an effect it will be for some time.

The end result is that once again, hard lessons may have to be learned. GPS is only a guide like any other means of navigating. One should never assume that it is always correct. GPS signals are very weak, and are easily distorted or defeated. GPS signals being spoofed or rendered unusable is not unheard of. Anyone who relies upon GPS WITHOUT verifying it against what they are seeing, sensing, etc. can't complain when bad things happen.

[Wallaby]

Am I wrong in thinking that some people here do not understand the role that GPS plays in a vessel? It is not simply a matter of finding a position on your digital chart, although increasingly boaters depend on it. For example, GPS is inherent in both DSC and AIS systems. An inaccurate position in either system can be extremely dangerous.

That said, I just sent email to my US Senator, not that he will do anything. However, not doing anything, or simply giving up, to tantamount to acceptance of stupidity.