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As the fourth anniversary of the controversial Ligado Order passes, the NBAA and over 90 other transportation industry trade associations are asking the FCC to revoke the 2020 ruling that approves high-speed cellular networks that have been shown to interfere with crucial GPS and satellite communications networks.
"The Ligado Order threatens the critical GPS, satellite communications and weather forecasting services relied on by scores of millions of users every day," the industry letter said. "For this reason, the order has faced unified and unprecedented opposition from the federal government, including 14 federal agencies and departments. We greatly appreciate your administration's opposition to the Ligado Order and the commitment by NTIA [National Telecommunications and Information Administration], on behalf of the Executive Branch, to actively pursue grant of its petition for reconsideration of the order."Read the letter to President Biden and members of Congress
The coalition wrote to President Joe Biden and members of Congress to describe the risks the order creates. The letters referenced the May 2023 denial by the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada of Canada's application to operate a terrestrial service in identical frequency bands and similar operations to what has been proposed within the U.S. The NBAA said the NTIA petition is one of eight calls before the FAA to reconsider the decision.
"ISED noted that, while harmonization with the United States on technological standards is important, outstanding concerns raised by numerous parties regarding the potential for interference from Ligado's ATC operations made it premature to grant Ligado's application despite the FCC's issuance of the Ligado Order," the letter said. "This ISED decision highlights the critical and unresolved interference concerns regarding Ligado's proposed terrestrial operations."RELATED STORY:3 years after Ligado decision, criticism mounts over interference concernsOne year ago, the NBAA and 90 trade associations and agricultural aviation groups also joined in urging the FCC to revoke the approval. The ruling came in April 2020, announcing that the FCC had approved the conditions within the Ligado application to deploy a "low-power terrestrial nationwide network in the L-Band to support 5G and Internet of Things and services." The NBAA stated that the ruling came in when global aviation traffic was in decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Opponents of the ruling have maintained that the FCC made the decision without evidence of the potential interference from the L-Band signals near the frequencies used by GPS.
In 2023, a letter was also sent to Biden, outlining the concerns over the FCC's decision and urging the President to take action. Now, one year later, the groups have sent another letter outlining the many concerns with the Ligado decision.
The many groups signing the letter include the Allied Pilots Association, American Road andamp; Transportation Builders Association, Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations, National Weather Association, International Air Transport Association, Vertical Flight Society and Lockheed Martin Corporation.
"Four years after this flawed FCC decision, we once again urge you to work with the FCC to lift the cloud of potential harms from Ligado's proposed terrestrial network to critical GPS, satellite communications, and weather forecasting services by staying the Order, addressing the previously unavailable information contained in the NAS Report, and granting the pending petitions for reconsideration," the letter concluded.