The Federal Communications Commission on Monday approved Ligado’s application to use the L-band spectrum to field a low-power terrestrial network in support of 5G and internet-of-things services.
“I thank my colleagues for coming together on a bipartisan basis to support Ligado’s application,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement published Monday. “This vote is another step forward for American leadership in 5G and advanced wireless services.”
The FCC approval comes with several conditions, including a requirement for Ligado to reduce by 99.3 percent its proposed power levels of its base stations to 9.8 decibell watt, safeguard GPS and other adjacent band incumbents through base station location reporting and provide 23-megahertz guard band to separate from adjacent operations in the Radionavigation-Satellite Service allocation its terrestrial base station transmissions.
SpaceNews reported Defense Secretary and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient Mark Esper expressed opposition to the FCC approval. The Pentagon “continues to support domestic 5G options, but not at the risk of crippling our GPS networks. Nearly a dozen other federal agencies have joined us in opposing this proposal,” he said on Twitter.
About The Wash100
This year represents our sixth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, achievement, and vision.
Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2020 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2020.
