Senate Armed Services Members, Sinema Ask FCC to 'Stay and Reconsider' Ligado Order
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., ranking member Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and six other senators urged the FCC Wednesday to “stay and reconsider” its April 2020 approval of Ligado’s L-band plan, the latest renewal of their longstanding opposition to the action (see 2004160030). A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine panel, meanwhile, plans to soon release “an independent technical review” of the FCC’s Ligado order.
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“Staying and reconsidering the Ligado Order is necessary to address the imminent risks associated with” the company’s plans to commence L-band operations Sept. 30, the senators told FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Seven of the eight senators who signed on to the letter are Armed Services members, with Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., the only one not on the panel. Sinema is a Commerce Committee member, as are fellow signers Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. Senate Commerce ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who’s expected to take over in January as lead Armed Services Republican after Inhofe’s retirement, didn’t sign the letter.
“We remain extremely concerned that terrestrial L-band operations would cause unacceptable risk to DOD, GPS and federal Satellite Communications operations, the senators told Rosenworcel. They noted 14 federal agencies and departments’ pre-decision “strong opposition to the applications sought by Ligado” and NTIA’s May 2020 petition for reconsideration (see 2005220055). The FCC’s order “fails to adequately protect adjacent band operations -- including those related to GPS and satellite communications -- from harmful interference impacting countless military and commercial activities,” the senators said. “We urge you to set aside” the existing order “and give proper consideration” to stakeholders’ concerns.
"We have received and are reviewing the letter," an FCC spokesperson emailed. Rosenworcel and fellow Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks backed staying the order in January 2021; all three GOP members at the time voted against delaying the plan (see 2101200001). Ligado didn’t immediately comment.
The National Academies ad hoc committee will release its technical review of the Ligado order Sept. 9. Congress ordered the review via the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, the entity said Tuesday. The academies will give an online briefing on the report at 11 a.m. EDT that day.