Letter from Farming Organizations to Congress in Support of LightSquared and GPS Collaboration

Letter from Farming Organizations to Congress in Support of LightSquared and GPS Collaboration

RESTON, Va., – In a letter sent yesterday to key members of Congress, major farming organizations urged lawmakers to communicate the benefits of both technologies to the FCC.

“The FCC must ensure that accurate GPS will continue to be available for precision agriculture and also ensure that broadband access be made available for all of rural America,” according to the letter.

LightSquared is committed to making wireless broadband accessible and affordable across America through the company’s wholesale-only nationwide 4G-LTE network integrated with satellite coverage.

The full text of the letter reads:
Dear Chairwoman Stabenow, Chairman Lucas, Ranking Member Roberts and Ranking Member Peterson:
As agricultural organizations that represent farmers and ranchers, we seek to improve the economic viability of rural America. A conflict over the use of spectrum has arisen between LightSquared, a company that can provide wireless broadband access throughout rural America, and the providers and users of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, which is a key component of advances in precision agriculture. We believe that both of these technologies have great potential to drive economic development in rural America and a reasonable agreement should be reached to allow for their future success.