Pentagon ramps up criticism of FCC’s decision to approve Ligado 5G network plan

The Pentagon is ramping up its criticism of a recent move by the Federal Communications Commission to establish a 5G high-speed information network from Ligado, a Virginia-based satellite communications company, calling the decision a threat to U.S. national security.

The FCC this month unanimously approved Ligado’s application to set up the network, despite warnings from defense officials that it could impair other functions on the spectrum — in particular the vital Global Position System (GPS.)

“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,” the Pentagon’s chief information officer Dana Deasy said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday.

The FCC’s unanimous April 20 decision has sparked an open clash of wills among President Trump’s senior Cabinet advisers.

Officials and analysts have said the U.S. has fallen far behind Chinese and European competitors in the race to build the next-generation national information networks, designed to handle the heavy data demands of emerging technologies such as smart cars, drones and high-speed computer networks.

The Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for research and engineering Michael Griffin warned in his testimony that Russia and China “will be quick to take advantage of our mistake by offering replacement systems that are not vulnerable to Ligado’s interference” as the U.S. races to redesign and hundreds of millions of GPS receivers.

FCC officials following their decision said they included “stringent conditions” while approving Ligado’s application to ensure there wouldn’t be any interference. The company is required to limit the power level of its bases stations and report their locations and technical operating parameters to local governments or any industry stakeholders before starting operations, officials said.

But Defense Secretary Mark Esper ramped up his warnings Wednesday and said the company’s plans are a threat to GPS.

“More than maps on your phone, GPS powers our emergency response, aviation, and missile defense systems,” he tweeted. “The @FCC’s decision can negatively affect everyday life.”

Committee Chairman James Inhofe chimed in on the issue in his opening remarks, saying it isn’t 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.”

“After extensive testing and analysis, experts at almost every federal agency tell us that Ligado’s plan will interfere with GPS systems,” the Oklahoma Republican continued, adding that he believes the move would also hurt the U.S. economy. “This will certainly affect our warfighters, who rely on GPS for navigation, logistics, and precision-guided munitions, whether in training or on the battlefield.”

Ligado has insisted it has implemented precautions to prevent interference from outside actors and will provide a six-month notice before the system is deployed, Reuters reported.

The company said it will have a “24/7 monitoring capability, a hotline, a stop buzzer or kill switch … [and will] repair or replace at Ligado’s cost any government device shown to be susceptible to harmful interference.”