Groups Ask Congress to Not Usurp FCC Authority in Ligado Decision

Public Knowledge, INCOMPAS, the Open Technology Institute and others warned Congress not to try to use the appropriations process -- via language in the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) -- to undo the Federal Communications Commission's Ligado decision at the behest of the Defense Department, saying it would be tantamount to sabotaging the FCC's spectrum authority. The FCC has already unanimously granted the Ligado (formerly LightSquared) proposal to use satellite spectrum adjacent to GPS spectrum for terrestrial broadband so long as it meets various conditions to prevent interference with that adjacent GPS, but that hasn't stopped critics on the Hill and in the Trump Administration from slamming the decision and trying to reverse it.