Department of Transportation Calls for More Testing of GPS/GNSS Receivers for Adjacent Band Compatibility
ABC study will evaluate the adjacent radio frequency band power levels that can be tolerated by receivers
July 8, 2016
A Federal Register notice published on July 7, 2016 announced Department of Transportation (DoT) plans to conduct additional testing of GPS/GNSS receivers this month as part of their Adjacent Band Compatibility (ABC) Study. The notice was issued by DoT Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Gregory Winfree.
The additional lab testing will be conducted at Zeta Associates in Fairfax, Virginia, and MITRE Corporation in Bedford, Massachusetts. It takes place in the context of a renewed push by Ligado (formerly Lightsquared Inc.) to obtain Federal Communications Commission approval to establish a terrestrial wireless broadband network in the United States in radio frequency spectrum near the band occupied by GPS L1 signals and those the other GNSS systems.
The goal of the ABC Study, overseen through the DoT’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), is to evaluate the adjacent radio frequency band power levels that can be tolerated by GPS/GNSS receivers. It is also designed to advance DoT’s understanding of the extent to which such power levels impact devices used for transportation safety purposes, among other GPS/GNSS applications.
