Rayburn House Office Building
Introduction
Good morning Chairman LoBiondo, Chairman Petri, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittees. I am Rear Admiral Robert Day, Coast Guard Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the Assistant Commandant for Command, Control, Communications, and Information Technology. Thank you for inviting the Coast Guard to discuss the new terrestrial service proposed by LightSquared and its potential to interfere and impact the spectrum used by the Global Positioning System (GPS).
Although test results are still preliminary, and the testing was conducted at power levels below those at which LightSquared is authorized to operate, the Coast Guard believes that without mitigation, there could be adverse affects on its surface operations in coastal and inland waterways in the vicinity of LightSquared transmission sites, and on its aviation operations in areas surrounding the LightSquared towers. In fact, Coast Guard missions are just a portion of the many DHS operations and regulated activities that rely on GPS and could be affected.
The Coast Guard is assisting DHS and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration as they continue to support the FCC proceedings on this matter.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to your questions.