Sec. 1609. Prohibition on availability of funds for certain purposes relating to the Global Positioning System
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Congress finds the following: On April 19, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission issued an order and authorization granting Ligado Networks LLC the authority to operate a nationwide terrestrial communications network using the 1526–1536 megahertz band, the 1627.5–1637.5 megahertz band, or the 1646.5–1656.5 megahertz band. In an attempt to address interference to the Global Positioning System operating near those bands, Ligado Networks LLC has committed to assuming the costs mitigating any interference caused by their network.
In the approval order, the Federal Communications Commission directed that Ligado takes all necessary mitigation measures to prevent or remediate any potential harmful interference to U.S. Government devices, including devices used by the military, that are identified both pre- and post-deployment of Ligado’s network. . In a letter to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives dated May 21, 2020, Ligado Networks LLC reaffirmed the commitment to bear the costs to the Department of Defense, stating that the FCC directed Ligado to provide protections to GPS devices using its spectrum by imposing stringent coordination, cooperation, and replacement obligations on Ligado, so that Ligado bears the burden and Make no mistake: the obligation is ours, and the burden falls solely on our company. .
Except as provided by subsection (c), none of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2021 or any subsequent fiscal year for the Department of Defense may be obligated or expended to retrofit any Global Positioning System device or system, or network that uses the Global Positioning System, in order to mitigate interference from commercial terrestrial operations using the 1526–1536 megahertz band, the 1627.5–1637.5 megahertz band, or the 1646.5–1656.5 megahertz band.
The prohibition in subsection
(a)shall not apply to any action taken by the Secretary of Defense relating to— conducting technical or information exchanges with the entity that operates the commercial terrestrial operations in the megahertz bands specified in such subsection; seeking compensation for interference from such entity; or Global Positioning System receiver upgrades needed to address other resiliency requirements.