LEAK: GOVERNMENT REPORT STATES LIGHTSQUARED INTERFERES WITH MOST GPS SYSTEMS

According to leaked reports from government test drafts, LightSquared's technology causes "harmful interference" to the majority of GPS receivers. Addressing the allegations, LightSquared called the conclusions "patently false." It added, "We are outraged by the illegal leak of incomplete government data to news organizations. This breach attempts to draw an inaccurate conclusion to negatively influence the future of LightSquared and narrowly serve the business interests of the GPS industry." The company believes tests are inconclusive because they were completed at power levels up to 15 times higher than those that would be used in practice. By ignoring its commitment to work at a lower level to minimize interference, the company believes the conclusions are erroneous. It's important to note, however, that the NTIA will make the final determination about how many devices passed or failed, rather than the documents makers. And that assessment has not yet been made. Despite the ongoing dispute, the company has already managed to secure 30 partners ranging from Sprint to Best Buy, all hoping to cash in on a promised $7 per gigabyte price point. The FCC has given LightSquared the go-ahead to build the network, but will not allow for activation until approving the final round of government testing.

DOWNSIDE TO 4G...NO ROAMING

Several companies are hopping on the LTE bandwagon, but it's turning out to be more isolating an experience than we hoped. According to PCMag, a Verizon spokesperson confirmed that its fourth-generation broadband network won't be compatible with other carriers in the US. As it turns out, Big Red and AT&T each own a separate block of 700MHz spectrum with only a fraction of overlap, leaving little room for phones on both networks to mingle with one another. There's not much hope for roaming on MetroPCS or LightSquared, either, as their waves of LTE run at 1700MHz and 1500MHz, respectively. This smattering of frequencies means it'll be near impossible to get roam on other companies' 4G networks nationally.

What's worse, the ITU has approved twelve bands for LTE use around the world, so don't count on a wide selection of global devices -- and you thought sorting through international 3G was bad, didn't you? We're still a long way from learning our LTE roaming fate, but it appears the largest carrier in the US won't make the journey any easier on us.

RUMOR: SPRINT LIGHTSQUARED SIGN 15-YEAR LTE AGREEMENT

Apparently Sprint's none too concerned about recent complaints from the likes of John Deere and the federal government about LightSquared's potential interference with GPS signals. A letter obtained by Bloomberg reveals that Sprint has signed a 15-year deal with Falcone and co., agreeing to share network expansion costs in return for a slice of the sweet LTE service. According to the document, "LightSquared and Sprint will jointly develop, deploy and operate LightSquared's 4G LTE network." The report comes on the heels of rumors of a $20 billion agreement between the two companies. Unfortunately for both parties, no amount of billion dollar bills will shake impending scrutiny from the FCC.

LIGHTSQUARED SPRINT READY TO SIGN $20 BILLION DEAL

According to Bloomberg, LightSquared, the USD7 billion Long Term Evolution (LTE) open-access mobile network that will utilise satellite spectrum acquired by New York investment firm Harbinger Capital, is close to striking a USD20 billion deal with Sprint Nextel to share network construction costs.

The report, which cites two people familiar with the talks, indicates that the two operators are hoping to finalise terms on a 15 year contract which will allow LightSquared to roll out its network faster than expected. According to Bloomberg’s sources, who declined to be named, if the deal goes through, Sprint would initially receive as much as USD2 billion annually from LightSquared, to help pay for network equipment and construction costs. Subsequent payments would vary annually, based on the number of users on the LightSquared network and usage patterns. However, conflicting reports from Reuters indicate that the agreement with Sprint is more likely to cover an eight-year time-frame, rather than the 15 year period stated elsewhere.

The news comes just days after LightSquared reportedly held talks with AT&T regarding a deal to buy additional network capacity from the mobile carrier. Two people with knowledge of the discussions stressed that the initiative was still at a preliminary stage and may not result in a deal.

LTE KILLING GPS?

LTE is coming and devices packed with LTE radios will need to be approved in droves. There has been (and will be) a significant push to get LTE into as many hands and homes as possible for many reasons. The increase in speed, the decrease in lag, and the boost in bandwidth across the US would bring many of the goals of the FCC’s push for a faster internet closer to reality. In order to get these devices into hands faster, would the FCC ignore the possibility that LTE is not “fully baked”?

On January 19th, members of the GPS industry were granted an audience with the FCC to discuss findings that a portion of the LTE broadcast spectrum may be too close to the spectrum used for GPS, and causing significant problems with the technologies cooperating together.

There is evidence that these LTE points being deployed by LightSquared are, in fact, causing interference on a significant scale.

LightSquared has officially commented that it plans to cooperate with the GPS companies and make sure that their technologies do not interfere with each other, but at the moment tension seems high, and the continued inaction on behalf of the FCC is worrisome. Be it negligence, ignorance, or malicious intent, the blatant disregard for the evidence that LightSquared’s broadcasting equipment would interfere with existing GPS infrastructure is a bad sign.

The desire to fast track these technologies “at any cost” is bound to have repercussions. At this point, however, it seems only time will tell if LightSquared holds true to their word, or if we are beginning to see the end of GPS as we know it.