Managing for Profit
Future of precision farming muddled by LightSquared’s plan
The use of GPS equipment has revolutionized farming. It has made farmers much more efficient in their applications of fertilizer, seed and crop protection products–and lessened the potential environmental impact.
However, the future of GPS/precision agriculture has become a bit muddled over plans by a company called LightSquared to build a nationwide 4G wireless broadband network. Ag groups say that LightSquared’s proposal to build 40-thousand new cellphone towers in rural areas will cause destructive interference with existing GPS receivers. LightSquared’s position is that GPS band users are extending into the spectrum licensed to LightSqaured.
During a recent appearance in Iowa this week, the administrator of the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service, Jonathan Adelstein, said the issue is being discussed at the highest levels of the federal government.
AUDIO: Jonathan Adelstein (3:00 MP3)
Tags: GPS technology
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If the FCC approves Lightsquared without first extensive testing via an independant testing group, with no dog in the fight, then we have come to a point where the government will decide what businesses in America are the most important and sacrifice the lesser party, such as 175 yr old John Deere and all the farmers just so Obama can have his 4G wireless across America initative started…so when re-election time is near, he has something to brag about, he wont mention the aviation, farmers and other GPS dependant groups that have been harmed. If it test out not to damage others, fine but first testing has to occur, no more lies from anyone trying to protect their interest only. Mark
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Lets get to the bottom on this. Who is Lightsquared? What political base do they support? I do not think that a “independent” base is available to make a decision on this. Should it not be black and white? Either they are invading other spectrims, either of the parties, or they are not.
Seems that this could be a case of “me, not you”.
Don Freeman -
I received my PhD in electrical engineering more than 30 years ago, and I have designed many satellite receiver systems. Some readers will remember the CB radio craze. CB radios worked just fine, until others started broadcasting higher power. It was not uncommon for one over-powered transmitter to be received on all 40 channels. The CB radios of the time were designed to operate in the existing conditions, and lacked elaborate filtering to reject off-channel signals. The same is now true with GPS receivers — most do not absolutely reject off-channel signals. Lightsquared may be techinically correct that their system *should not* interfere with GPS, but reality is likely different. If all existing GPS receivers were replaced with a new, more sophisticated design, all would be well. Of course, sophistication means more expense, and it will not be Lightsquared buying all that new GPS equipment. Better communication for under-served rural areas will benefit agriculture, but there are many other ways of acheiving this goal without wholesale replacement of expensive ag GPS guidance systems.
It will be interesting to how this unfolds.