Telecom Business Alert -- Vol. IX Issue 7
House Subcommittee Hearing Focuses on LightSquared's Impact on GPS
Last week, the House Subcommittee on Aviation held a Hearing examining the use of GPS in the Aviation Industry. At the Hearing, John Pocari, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Deputy Transportation Secretary, reiterated his strong concerns about the negative effect the proposed LightSquared network would have on GPS systems. Mr. Pocari testified that LightSquared's proposal would require the constant monitoring and adjustments to more than 40,000 broadcasting sites nationwide to ensure they would remain consistent with air safety requirements. He continued that "this simply is not practical… [and] there appears to be no practical solutions or mitigations that would permit the LightSquared broadband service, as proposed, to operate in the next few months or years without significantly interfering with GPS." LightSquared and the FCC did not testify at the Hearing. Please contact Greg Kunkle (202.434.4178; kunkle@khlaw.com) with questions.
"It's starting to look like lights out for LightSquared."
– Greg Kunkle, Partner
Justice Department Likely to Approve Google's Acquisition of Motorola Mobility
The Justice Department is expected to provide antitrust approval later this week supporting Google's proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. Last August, Google agreed to acquire Motorola Mobility for approximately $12.5 billion. The acquisition is expected to close later this year and includes Motorola Mobility's portfolio of more than 17,000 patents and 7,500 pending patent applications as well as its hardware manufacturing operation. Please contact Doug Jarrett (202.434.4180; jarrett@khlaw.com) with questions.
FCC Schedules Mobility Fund Phase I Auction for September
Earlier this month, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing a reverse auction that will award $300 million in one-time Mobility Fund Phase I support. The Auction – the first to award high-cost universal service support through reverse auction competitive bidding – will award funds to carriers committing to provide 3G or better mobile voice and broadband services in areas where such services are unavailable. The FCC will select winning bidders based on road miles covered by new mobile services without exceeding the $300 million budget. Please contact Doug Jarrett (202.434.4180; jarrett@khlaw.com) with questions.
House Subcommittee Schedules Hearing on FCC Reform Proposals
Last week, the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology issued a Hearing Notice titled "The Budget and Spending of the Federal Communications Commission." The hearing is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on February 16, and will focus on the FCC's budget with the goal of curtailing wasteful spending and the reduction or elimination of some reports to Congress on specific issues. The Hearing is related to two pending bills aimed at reforming the FCC: the FCC Process Reform Act of 2011 and the FCC Consolidated Reporting Act of 2011.
Keller and Heckman at Industry Events
On February 22-23, 2012, Keller and Heckman LLP Partners Doug Jarrett and Greg Kunkle and FCC Licensing Specialist Tim Doughty will be attending the International Wireless Communications Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. Doug will be moderating a panel on Broadband Spectrum Options for Critical Infrastructure Industries, and Greg will be presenting on spectrum available for Positive Train Control Technology. Please feel free to attend these speaking sessions and stop by Keller and Heckman's booth (#3100) at IWCE.
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Keller and Heckman LLP's Telecom Business Alert is a complimentary weekly electronic update created by the Telecommunications and the Business Counseling and Transactional practice groups of Keller and Heckman LLP.
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