LightSquared's FCC Application Update

LightSquared, one of the newest wireless communications providers on the scene, proposes to implement a $14 billion network of 40,000 wireless communications base stations covering approximately 260 million people in the United States by the year 2015. LightSquared has received preliminary approval from the FCC, but has now hit a potential road block in the review process. Some, such as Deere and Co., claim that the the proposed system proposed to be utilized by LightSquared will cause “severe harm to critical high precision applications" including numerous applications that rely upon GPS services. Certain manufacturers claim that LightSquared will interfere with GPS navigation used by planes, automobiles, boats and tractors. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have also provided testimony claiming that LightSquared's signal may disrupt certain terrestrial electronic devices that read data from GPS systems. LightSquared persuasively argues that it can remedy any potential interference issues by ensuring that is base stations are located far from any agricultural GPS receivers in remote areas. LightSquared has also agreed to work to develop filters for GPS receivers to effectively filter out the LightSquared signals. The FCC is currently exploring potential mitigative measures that would allow both LightSquared and the GPS systems to coexist without substantial interference. More information about LightSquared and its objectives can be found at its website: www.lightsquared.com.