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• Feb15

  NTIA: LightSquared’s Plans will Impact GPS

  Feb. 15:  The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced to the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday that LightSquared’s plans to build a nationwide 4G broadband network will impact global positioning systems. NTIA said the latest round of testing showed there is “no practical way to mitigate the potential interference at this time.”

   

  The National Corn Growers Association has been monitoring this issue closely for its members, who rely on using GPS on their farms. 

   

  “The announcement is a welcome one for our organization,” NCGA President Garry Niemeyer said.  “Expanded internet access is important to our members but not when it compromises the use of high-precision GPS equipment.  We hope the NTIA’s statement will help put this issue to rest once and for all.”

   

  The FCC will now propose that the conditional waiver, which was granted last year, be revoked.  The waiver required LightSquared prove the interference problems could be fixed before moving forward.