A group of more than 30 wireless companies and associations sent an open letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski supporting LightSquared. The letter said the LightSquared debate has been incorrectly positioned as a "win-lose" dilemma. The letter acknowledged that "GPS is a very important national asset" but added, "Nationwide wireless broadband is also an essential and critical initiative."
The letter did not address the technical issues raised in the LightSquared interference testing results reported last week. It simply states, "While it is likely there will be interference issues that will need to be solved, the parties and the FCC must have the room to develop a 'win-win' solution for America."
Engineers have a track record of solving problems previously thought to be unsolvable. This group of over 30 wireless companies and associations believes there is a solution to the LightSquared interference to GPS, concluding, "The U.S. has successfully integrated different technologies before, and it can and must do so again." While improving input filtering for GPS may not be as huge a problem for tablets (although they may not be as thin), I wonder how consumers would react to the extra half to one inch thickness required for a low loss interdigital filter that would allow the GPS in their navigation devices, smart phones and cell phones to work near LightSquared base stations.
