Radio Silence on New Wireless Service Draws Concern
 
A new wireless Internet network project appears on a fast track for government approval, despite concerns that it could jam the existing navigational systems used in farming, trucking, air travel, law enforcement, by the military and in general consumer navigation, and that the person funding the operation is a controversial hedge fund founder who’s reportedly under federal investigation for questionable financial dealings. 

If anything, the shadows around the LightSquared project should have led the Federal Communications Commission to proceed with caution rather than step on the gas.  Yet the opposite happened.   The agency originally planned to take public comment on a key regulation necessary for green-lighting the project for only one week.  The commission relented and held the comment period open longer only after consumers and affected businesses protested.

Still, the agency has granted a conditional waiver for LightSquared to proceed with its wireless network.   Testing of the technology’s effects on other navigational systems is ongoing.

This week, as LightSquared was testing in Nevada, the Federal Aviation Administration warned that Global Positioning System service in a 300-mile area could be “unreliable or unavailable” for six-hour periods during testing, according to media reports.  Other tests showed some disruption of this service for emergency first responders in New Mexico.

A LightSquared official was quoted as saying the company doesn’t want to jeopardize national security or public safety interests.  He also said, “We’re trying to get our arms around this problem.”

Given the Federal Communications Commission’s haste so far, I worry that LightSquared will not have interference problems resolved before given the green light to become fully operational.  Farmers shouldn’t have to worry that they’re planting the correct seed or applying the precise amount of fertilizer needed for the soil to optimally produce the crop, and ambulance drivers shouldn’t have to weather taking a wrong turn or driving into a ditch because a new system is scrambling their existing navigational technology.   Just today, I joined 33 fellow senators in urging the agency to consider interference concerns.

Another concern is on the financial side.  The head of the hedge fund behind the project told investors that his firm is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegations of market manipulation, according to media reports.  The firm has been the subject of considerable media attention for losing large amounts of money and other controversies including whether the firm should have told investors in a timely fashion about a $113 million loan it extended to the principal of the firm. 

The public spectrum is limited, and it’s a valuable asset that the Federal Communications Commission is responsible for protecting.  It’s unclear what would happen if a company gets access to this piece of public property, then falls apart.

The unusual fast-tracking of this project before its effects have been fully tested raises questions about whether the agency did its due diligence.   I’m looking for answers to these questions so taxpayers can be assured that the government is treating public property the way it ought to be treated.   I wrote to the commission, seeking information about its process and its rationale here.

So far, the agency has responded with radio silence.  It should provide the information I’ve requested in the interest of transparency in doing the public’s business.  I’ll continue to press for answers.