The following is the statement from U.S. Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI), Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, on a meeting he and Subcommittee Ranking Member Costello requested for today with Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Porcari regarding an update on testing of a proposal by LightSquared to build nationwide broadband internet infrastructure and its potential impact on Global Positioning System (GPS) reliability:
"Ranking Member Costello and I met with Deputy Secretary of Transportation John Porcari today and he assured us the Department of Transportation would resist plans that might negatively impact safety in the National Airspace System, or limit safety and efficiency improvements in the future. Reports that terrain alerting systems in airlines and medical helicopters would be disrupted by LightSquared's proposal are disturbing, and if that's the case, it would represent a major step backward in the long and arduous march to improve aviation safety. The Department of Transportation will be filing its analysis with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration soon, and I look forward to working with Deputy Secretary Porcari and others in Congress to protect the safety and efficiency of the national airspace system, no matter what the threat."