HAI/DAN SWEET


just a few of our missions. For the economically hard-hit industry sectors, this is an unacceptable additional burden. For several years, HAI has worked with a large coalition of


private companies and users of these systems, along with federal regulators and members of Congress, to preserve GPS and satellite communications. Yet the FCC ignored all of our concerns, instead prioritizing one company’s commercial proposal. Fortunately, HAI has found champions like Sen. Jim Inhofe, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), who agree with us. “When Ligado’s effort to repurpose spectrum causes interference in the infrastructure of [critical] systems, as tests have shown it will, consumers and taxpayers can’t afford the burden of updating countless systems,” Mr. Inhofe has said. “That cost should only be borne by the responsible party: Ligado.” There is a bright spot to report. On Jun. 23, Sen. Inhofe introduced the Recognizing and Ensuring Taxpayer Access to Infrastructure Necessary for GPS and Satellite Communications (RETAIN) Act. This legislation would require Ligado to cover costs by all users who experience interference, including, but not limited to, costs for any engineering, construction, site


acquisition, research, personnel or contracting staff, and labor associated with the replacement efforts. The RETAIN Act is Sen. Inhofe’s second legislative push against Ligado to emerge in the past week, following the SASC’s version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which would slow the use of Department of Defense funds to support Ligado in any way and requests an independent technical assessment from the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering. Given our concerns and advocacy on this issue, Sen. Inhofe’s office invited HAI to participate in an event announcing the RETAIN bill’s introduction. HAI Board Chair Stacy Sheard and I represented the industry and provided our perspective on how spectrum interference will impact vertical operations. We will not let off the throttle and will continue to advocate


for our industry on this and the myriad of other issues we face throughout the globe. In the meantime, keep in touch at president@rotor.org.


JUNE 2021 ROTOR 9


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