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LightSquared says US goverment tests were "rigged"

The wireless network company LightSquared has been on the defensive for months ever since claims that its upcoming LTE-based network could interfere with GPS signals were first made in 2011.

The claims came to a head in December when the results of a US government test on LightSquared network were leaked ahead of time. The government's final conclusion was, "LightSquared signals caused harmful interference to majority of GPS receivers tested. No additional testing is required to confirm harmful interference exists."

Now LightSquared is fighting back, claiming in a new press release that the government's tests were "rigged by manufacturers of GPS receivers and government end users to produce bogus results ... "

Among other things LightSquared claims that the government's tests were conducted in total secrecy, saying:

The GPS manufacturers cherry-picked the devices in secret without any independent oversight authority in place or input from LightSquared. The GPS manufacturers and the government end users put non-disclosure agreements in place for the PNT EXCOM’s tests, preventing any input by an independent authority or from LightSquared before the tests began.

LightSquared also claimed that after the test were completed, the list of GPS devices that were revealed as part of the test "included many discontinued or niche market devices with poor filters or no filters." The company is asking for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission to hold a second series of tests on its network "on high-precision devices at an independent laboratory to ensure objectivity and transparency."

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