Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

LightSquared Satellite Disabled By Last Week's Solar Storm

Posted by timothy on from the it's-in-the-cloud dept.

volts writes "Troubled LightSquared's primary Skyterra 1 satellite has been out of service since the solar storm on March 7. The company says it is 'working through the rebuild of the satellite tapping into the resources that were involved in the original program.' This development follows a stream of bad news including layoffs, default on payments, the resignation of CEO Sanjiv Ahuja and FCC rejection of a scheme to repurpose satellite frequencies for cellular data due to interference with GPS. Another kick in the teeth as company struggles to avoid bankruptcy."

5 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. Interesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Interesting, LS doesn't happen to have an insurance policy on that baby that would payoff if it failed do they?

    1. Re:Interesting by Psion · · Score: 4, Interesting

      And back in the great earthquake of '06, folks set fire to their quake-smashed homes because their insurance covered fire but not quakes. As a result, out-of-control fires caused more damage to San Francisco than the earthquake itself.

  2. Re:Idea's don't die by riverat1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Actually I think if they had just stayed with satellite level signals instead of trying to get their high powered ground source signals approved they probably would have been ok with the FCC.

  3. A terrible idea that should have died long ago by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As soon as it was found LightSquared interfered with GPS (which was a while ago) all permission should have been axed and the company disbanded.

    Instead, because of heavy donations to the Democratic party they got the blessing of the FCC to proceed despite actual physical interference to others caused by the product, making it inevitable the company could never go to market.

    Some partisans will inevitably come down on me simply because of the origin of that news. But you can't deny the connections and how obvious it was the FCC should NEVER have allowed certification not matter who was involved.

    Political connections should NEVER override something as important as allowing experiments that interfere with devices as important as GPS!

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  4. Re:Idea's don't die by ngg · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There's no 'probably' about it. LS bought spectrum that was specifically earmarked for use in satellite to ground communications (which was why they got such a bargain on it in the first place: no other potential bidder could think of a profitable way to use it). Their problems only began when LS decided that they wanted to use this inexpensive spectrum for ground to ground communications, instead of using a more expensive band like everybody else. They attempted to exploit a loop-hole that the FCC created when it allowed "supplemental" ground stations for sat broadcasts (like for inside tunnels) by launching a sat for an ostensibly satellite-based broadband business (while actually transferring the bulk of the data from ground-based transmitters).