Defiant LightSquared: We're not going anywhere

If the Federal Communications Commission officially decides to block LightSquared's plans to build a nationwide wireless network, it would be an "astounding, unsupported, and unprecedented" reversal, the company argued on Friday.

The FCC has proposed revoking permission for LightSquared to use some spectrum on the grounds that the plan interferes with global-positioning systems.

But in documents filed with the FCC on Friday, LightSquared says blocking its network is "beyond drastic" and could set back the government's broadband access goals by years.

"LightSquared isn't going anywhere," Vice President Jeff Carlisle told reporters on Friday. "The bottom line is we're right on the law, we're right on the technology, and we're right on the policy."

LightSquared has hired top conservative lawyers Ted Olson and Eugene Scalia and has vowed to continue its fight at the FCC.

GPS companies, LightSquared argues, are at fault for the interference, and should be responsible for making sure their devices are compatible with LightSquared's network. LightSquared said that it has solved the problem on its side. Now, it says, GPS devices need to stop "listening" to LightSquared's transmissions.

"Out-of-band emissions are when you play loud music and your neighbor can hear it next door. LightSquared has solved this problem," LightSquared said in a summary of its FCC filing. "Overload is when the music cannot be heard next door, but your neighbor chooses to walk into your apartment, sit on the sofa, and then complain that he cannot read because of the volume of the music. It is not LightSquared's responsibility if GPS devices are not designed correctly."

Inspired by LightSquared's innovative plan to use spectrum near GPS bands, the FCC originally mandated that the company build its wholesale nationwide network by 2015.

But a string of tests, which LightSquared dismisses as "deeply flawed and fatally biased," showed that the network would interfere with GPS devices. LightSquared has unsuccessfully fought an uphill battle against GPS companies and federal agencies that use GPS.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration concluded last month that none of LightSquared's proposed solutions will work and that there is "no practical way" to mitigate the interference.

The agency acknowledged that while GPS manufacturers could conceivably find technical ways to fix the problems, the time and money required to retrofit or build new devices would prevent LightSquared from moving ahead on schedule.

Based on the NTIA's findings, the FCC proposed blocking the plan from going forward and solicited input. Friday was the deadline for submitting comments to the FCC.