GPS industry and LightSquared spar over responsibility for interference issue

The GPS industry and wireless broadband company LightSquared joined forces to test whether the nationwide broadband network that LightSquared plans to build would cause interference for the GPS system. But as preliminary reports indicate that the network could, in fact, render GPS devices useless, the partnership is ending fast amid a growing debate over whose job it is to prevent the interference.

LightSquared is scheduled to provide initial interference test results and assessments to the Federal Communications Commission on June 15, but other, independent test results are rolling. Last month the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, which advises the Federal Aviation Administration, said tests showed that LightSquared's transmissions caused a "complete loss of GPS receiver function." According to a publicly released summary, the RTCA report concluded that "the current LightSquared terrestrial authorization would be incompatible with the current aviation use of GPS, however modifications could be made to allow the LightSquared system to co-exist with aviation use of GPS." And therein lies the problem. Who should have to modify their systems?