Air Force security issues stall broadband project | TomTom GPS ...

By John Nolan,

Staff Writer

10:08 PM Thursday, September 29, 2011

A company planning a $14 billion nationwide high-speed wireless network has run into opposition from the Air Force because the network would interfere with GPS communications by the military and billions of other users.

LightSquared Inc., of Reston, Va., says its network would bring broadband to areas of the country that don?t have it, and more competition to the industry.

But the Defense Department and the Air Force, say the plan would interfere with systems used by military, civil, commercial and agricultural organizations.

That has increased pressure on LightSquared to reform its plan and demonstrate that it could build a network that won?t interfere with GPS.

Interfering with GPS could affect U.S. military operations, federal control of national airspace, U.S. border security and maritime operations as well as ground navigation for civilian agencies responding to emergencies, according to the Air Force Space Command, the Defense Department?s expert on GPS and custodian of the system that has billions of users around the globe.

?Although the GPS satellite constellation is procured and operated by the U.S. Air Force, its utility is leveraged extensively by a broad user community including civil, commercial and military sectors,? Gen. William Shelton, commander of the Air Force Space Command, said in Sept. 15 testimony before Congress. ?For our military, GPS has become an integrated part of U.S. and coalition training and operations. GPS is used by all our services, from boots-on-the-ground patrols, to precision-guided munitions, to synchronization and security of communications networks, to search and rescue operations, to humanitarian relief operations.?

The European Union has objected to LightSquared?s plan due to concerns its network would affect partners in the global navigation satellite service?community, Shelton said in his testimony before the House Armed Forces Committee?s subcommittee on strategic forces. LightSquared said it is

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Article Source: http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/air-force-security-issues-stall-broadband-project-1261683.html

Source: http://www.tomtomgpsreview.com/air-force-security-issues-stall-broadband-project/

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