GPS trumps attempt to build broadband network

LightSquared pushes back

LightSquared executives have not gone down without a fight. In recent blog posts, Jeff Carlisle, Executive Vice President for Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy, has accused the U.S. GPS industry of being “too big to fail.” Needed reforms to keep the bleed-over between the competing signals, argued Carlisle, should come from the GPS side of the aisle.

“Like Wall Street, the manufacturers of GPS devices have spent years profiting off of vulnerable technology and are now seeking protection from the government instead of implementing the necessary reforms,” wrote Carlisle on Feb. 13. “This will harm consumers, businesses, and our national defense. Papering over the problem and not fixing it will hobble American commerce, public safety, innovation, and communications for years to come.

“GPS manufacturers have been selling devices that listen into frequencies outside of their assigned spectrum band -- namely into LightSquared’s licensed band. This means GPS devices are inherently vulnerable.”

To read Carlisle’s full post, see here.

Farm Bureau was not the only farm organization to agree with the FCC’s move.

“Tuesday’s decision by the FCC is certainly a great relief for more than 600,000 soybean farmers across the country who use GPS technology to precision-apply seed and fertilizer; to test fields for fertility and to monitor yields; to reduce chemical and fuel use; and to map field boundaries, roads, irrigation systems,” said Steve Wellman, American Soybean Association president. “In short, GPS technology has enabled farmers to produce more food for a growing world population with fewer inputs.

“Farmers invest thousands of dollars in high-precision GPS equipment and applications to run more efficient, sustainable, cost-effective and productive farms. The LightSquared network would have rendered that investment -- not to mention the consumer GPS market projected to reach almost $29 billion in the U.S. by 2015 -- all but useless. The FCC’s decision this week is one that is in the best interests of both the American farmer and the American consumer.”

National Corn Grower Association president Garry Niemeyer said the FCC announcement is “a welcome one for our organization. Expanded internet access is important to our members but not when it compromises the use of high-precision GPS equipment.”

Farm-state legislators also weighed in.

Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley wants to know why the FCC issued LightSquared a conditional waiver in the first place. “Prematurely granting a conditional waiver in a rushed process is not the way to get the right result. Now that the interference issue is settled, we need to find out more than ever why the FCC did what it did.

“The agency put this project on a fast track for approval with what appears to have been completely inadequate technical research. After all of this time and expense, still, no one outside of the agency knows why. That’s not the way the people’s government should work.”

Meanwhile, Karney is hopeful that broadband deployment will reach farm country quickly. “It’s vital for economic development, distance learning, tele-medicine, for health care providers in rural areas, for businesses as they continue to grow, for farmers and ranchers to branch out into different markets.

“However, Farm Bureau doesn’t support the deployment of broadband at the expense of losing GPS and the importance of precision agriculture. It’s disappointing that a (solution to the LightSquared) situation couldn’t be found.”