Trump administration divided over new 5G network
AFP/File / SAUL LOEBThe Pentagon has expressed opposition to the deployment of a new 5G cellular network
The Trump administration is divided over the deployment of a new 5G cellular network, with the Pentagon, NASA and others at odds with other government agencies.
The five-member Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted in late April to approve the deployment of a 5G cellular network by Ligado Networks.
Opponents of the plan argue that it would use spectrum that could potentially disrupt frequencies used for commercial and military Global Positioning System (GPS) signals.
The FCC decision has received the backing of Attorney General Bill Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
But Pentagon chief Mark Esper, NASA, the Commerce Department, Department of Homeland Security and major airlines have voiced their opposition.
On Wednesday, top Pentagon officials pleaded their case before a Senate committee.
"There are too many unknowns, and the risks are too great to allow the proposed Ligado system to proceed in light of the operational impact to GPS," said Dana Deasy, the top advisor to the defense secretary for information technology.
Senator Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, also voiced his opposition to the project by Ligado, a Virginia company formerly known as LightSquared.
"I do not think it is a good idea to place at risk the GPS signals that enable our national and economic security for the benefit of one company and its investors," Inhofe said.
"After extensive testing and analysis, experts at almost every federal agency tell us that Ligado's plan will interfere with GPS systems," he said. "Interfering with GPS will hurt the entire American economy."
Inhofe said he had raised the question with President Donald Trump and that the FCC decision had been made "without cluing the president in on any of this."
Deasy said the Pentagon would lodge an appeal in a bid to have the FCC reverse its decision.
Chief of Space Operations at US Space Force General John Raymond testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the Department of Defense Spectrum Policy and the Impact of the Federal Communications Commission's Ligado Decision on National Security during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC Wednesday. Pool photo by Shawn Thew/UPI | License Photo
May 6 (UPI) -- Top Pentagon officials told lawmakers Wednesday that a proposed nationwide network to provide 5G and internet-of-things services was "too risky to be worth it."
"This is fundamentally a bad deal for America's national and economic security," said Dana Deasy, the Department of Defense's Chief Information Officer, at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the recently-approved Ligado proposal and its implications for national security.
In April the Federal Communications Commission approved a proposal that would allow Ligado Networks to deploy technological services using the L-band spectrum that runs adjacent to the spectrum used for global positioning systems, which form the basis for most mapping software.
The Department of Defense has repeatedly criticized the proposal, saying it would disrupt defense operations as well as significant aspects of civilian life.
At Wednesday's hearing defense leaders warned that the Ligado plan would disrupt the accuracy of weapons systems, first responders' 911 navigation ability and shipping systems.
"GPS has also long been a critical technology that has supported the Nation's public safety, law enforcement medical and medical responders. It literally saves lives. While Americans at home are typically not under threat of purposeful electronic attack, the GPS services they depend on every day for life and livelihood are also threatened if the GPS signal and its environment are not protected from disruption," said General John W. Raymond, head of the newly-created United States Space Force.
Retired U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad W. Allen criticized the lack of transparency in the process by which the decision was made, as well as the likely technological consequences.
"In the case of Ligado Networks, FCC did not follow the normal regulatory process for reasons that remain unclear," Allen said, drawing a contrast from the process of issuing a license to Dish Networks to convert satellite service spectrum to terrestrial mobile broadband spectrum.
Ligado wrote a letter to the committee, which was read Wednesday, defending its technology as critical to 5G development.
"We now look forward to the opportunity to build a network that will advance our Nation's progress on the race to 5G," the company wrote.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper, shown here during an April 1 press conference, on Thursday tweeted criticism of an FCC-approved proposal to implement a national 5G and IoT network. Photo by Oliver Contreras/UPI | License Photo
April 23 (UPI) -- Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Thursday criticized a proposal to deploy a nationwide network to provide 5G and internet-of-things services, saying it could disrupt GPS services millions of Americans rely on daily.
The FCC approved the proposal Monday, which would see Ligado Networks deploy 5G and internet-of-things services using L-band spectrum that runs adjacent to spectrum used for GPS.
"I applaud the congressional defense leaders for their efforts to protect national security, ensure economic prosperity, promote technological leadership, & preserve Americans' way of life," Esper wrote on Twitter.
Esper also posted a link to a Wednesday statement from the Senate Armed Services Committee criticizing the proposal.
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"The problem here is that Ligado's planned usage is not in the prime mid-band spectrum being considered for 5G -- and it will have a significant risk of interference with GPS reception, according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration," said the statement, which was signed by leadership from both SASC and the House Armed Services Committee, from both political parties.
"The signals interference Ligado's plan would create could cost taxpayers and consumers billions of dollars and require the replacement of current GPS equipment just as we are trying to get our economy back on its feet quickly -- and the FCC has just allowed this to happen," the members of Congress said.
Thursday's statement is not the first time the Pentagon has criticized the Ligado proposal, and lawmakers tried to stop the proposal earlier in April.
"The problem here is that Ligado's planned usage is not in the prime mid-band spectrum being considered for 5G -- and it will have a significant risk of interference with GPS reception, according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration," said the statement, which was signed by leadership from both SASC and the House Armed Services Committee, from both political parties.
"The signals interference Ligado's plan would create could cost taxpayers and consumers billions of dollars and require the replacement of current GPS equipment just as we are trying to get our economy back on its feet quickly -- and the FCC has just allowed this to happen," the members of Congress said.
Thursday's statement is not the first time the Pentagon has criticized the Ligado proposal, and lawmakers tried to stop the proposal earlier in April.
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The DoD is also not alone among federal departments in its criticism.
Over the weekend, the Pentagon issued a joint statement with the Department of Transportation saying the disruption to the Global Positioning System -- which is the basis for most mobile mapping software -- would be massively disruptive to civilian and military life.
"Americans rely on our Global Positioning System each day for many things: to locate citizens in need of emergency assistance through our E-911 system, to secure our financial system, to order and receive shipments, to travel by car for work and leisure, to facilitate commercial trucking and construction work, and even to make a simple cellphone call," the statement said
The DoD is also not alone among federal departments in its criticism.
Over the weekend, the Pentagon issued a joint statement with the Department of Transportation saying the disruption to the Global Positioning System -- which is the basis for most mobile mapping software -- would be massively disruptive to civilian and military life.
"Americans rely on our Global Positioning System each day for many things: to locate citizens in need of emergency assistance through our E-911 system, to secure our financial system, to order and receive shipments, to travel by car for work and leisure, to facilitate commercial trucking and construction work, and even to make a simple cellphone call," the statement said
"Our Departments rely on GPS each day for all those reasons as well to coordinate tactical national security operations, launch spacecraft, track threats, and facilitate travel by air and sea. The proposed Ligado decision by the Federal Communications Commission will put all these uses of GPS at risk."
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