Hi Fred - "So their plan sounds sensible, though for them to have enough long-term capacity, they'll want the upper band too. That's going to be contentious."
FWIW I'm reading resolution of LightSquared issues in the context of evolution to Cognitive Radio (CR). That is, near-term outcomes will be consistent with long-term aims which include tightening up on spectrum use. I won't repost links, but a search for "Cognitive Radio" with comments by ftth and petere is instructive: changes must be made, and yes, they will have a cost - but the science is up to the task. Agreed the upper band will be "contentious", but if tight spectrum use is the direction, then that battle is already lost (or won, depending on perspective). If evolution to Cognitive Radio is the aim, then the GPS industry and users are being treated gently. Noted by you and others, LightSquared is taking some of the cost burden itself. Also noted by many, the GPS industry and end-users have received a number of warnings about future direction; they can hardly feign surprise.
So change is in the cards. There will be unavoidable costs in transition, especially in bringing legacy devices to new standards. However, it appears that LightSquared has read the roadmap; that's what was meant by "...read the intersecting trends, pressures and probabilities very well".
Less clear is whether the FCC will gain authority on receivers, but again, that authority seems consistent with successful transition to CR. What's your opinion on that?
Jim |
