Wireless-by-satellite venture might cause GPS interference

A wireless-by-satellite network start-up has been blocked from starting business by the Federal Communications Commission on the grounds that its planned operations could knock out 500 million Global Positioning System receivers used by the first responders, airlines and others, reports the Washington Post.

A report filed June 30 to the FCC indicates that LightSquared’s operational plan “would cause unacceptable interference with GPS operations,” the U.S. Global Positioning System Industry Council said.

LightSquared has filed a proposal to the FCC in which it asserts that it can avert the majority of interference through the use of filters on its devices and GPS receivers so that both technologies can operate on the same band of satellite spectrum, the company said.