Re:Why LightSquared cannot deploy LTE
by ImprovedSilence on Monday February 06, 2012 @03:04PM
(#3558944)
I've known about LightSquared (and their spectrum issue) for awhile now. The impression I get is that there is little technical evidence that using their spectrum will infringe upon and overpower the neighboring GPS and other signals. LTE has VERY tight technical specifications, just to get valid data through, as the throughput is so high, and is unlikely to be a noisy signal out of band, enough so to cause interference with it's neighbors. If you'll notice, the linked article carries very little (or none) technical detail, it almost sounds like some fear mongering politician wrote it. This ain't the 1940's here people, we aren't just sending random analog radio waves out using oscillators with a 10% tolerance ratio. The spec is tight, the technology is bleeding edge, and modern receivers (of GPS and the like) have pretty good front end filters, out of band noise shouldn't be a huge problem for them.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
LTE vs GPS is like the difference between a Tsunami and a dripping faucet.
The problem isn't the noise, it's the volume. The volume alone would overwhelm the GPS filters' ability to filter out the out-of-band noise.
To expand on the analogy, it's more like GPS receivers have a very wide funnel so that they catch every drop. This funnel extends into the range that lightsquared has. If it weren't GPS, the FCC would just say "fix your damn receivers, they are within the parameters of your license" but GPS is clearly Sui Generis because of the combination of the weakness of the signals and the importance to our infrastructure.