LightSquared of Reston, Va., announced that it is adjusting its planned nationwide broadband wireless network so that the network does not interfere with the Global Positioning System signal. “This is a solution which ensures that tens of millions of GPS users won’t be affected by LightSquared’s launch,” said Sanjiv Ahuja, company chairman and CEO. Early test results of the network indicated that one of LightSquared’s 10 MHz blocks of frequencies poses interference to many GPS receivers, a development about which Air Force officials have been concerned. As a result, the company said it would launch its network using another 10 MHz block lower on the spectrum band that it says does not create a similar interference risk. It will also reduce the maximum authorized power of its base-station transmitters by more than 50 percent. The company said it is “committed to protecting GPS services.”
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.