The strange turn in the LightSquared saga was all but overlooked with the onslaught of FirstNet news last week. Former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, now a high-power Washington attorney, has been lobbying for the company's controversial 4G LTE network, which has been shut down in mid-process by the FCC due to unresolved interference issues.
LightSquared has tried everything from denying the problems exist, to blaming them on GPS manufacturers, reworking its plan to avoid the controversial channels, and even attempting to market its own filtering product as an end-all solution, however none of these satisfied the GPS community or the FCC as a viable solution.
The company is attempting to navigate and subdue one of the fiercest regulatory giants of our time, but that's not the only problem. The proposed LTE plan has gotten attention from a greatly concerned European Commission, and has been battling allegations that the FCC's initial decision in favor of the network was not altogether sound (with top officials being improperly excluded).
Will a former FCC Chairman in their pocket be enough to push the potentially dangerous terrestrial satellite network through the regulatory process? Public Safety advocates will all be watching to find out.
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