Planned wireless Internet network threatens GPS | The Columbus Dispatch

Keep your government hands off my GPS!

Typical government blunder. No matter what the outcome one thing is for certain - we taxpayers will pick up the bill for their stupidity.

Sterling Silver wrote:

Keep your government hands off my GPS!

I hope you are joking because GPS receivers use the government signal...

A working GPS system is much more important than an esoteric wi-fi system that a relatively few people will need or use.

All in the name of money.

Hays' analogy at the end of the story is inaccurate. It isn't that LightSquared or GPS have built the fence in the wrong place. The case is that LightSquared is moving next door and GPS is worried that they will have to contend with extra noise coming from LightSquared's new pool and deck as LightSquared has lots of twenty-something friends who come over for frequent parties. The real question is: does LightSquared have a legal responsibility to install a bigger fence with greater noise-blocking capability so that the people who live in the GPS house don't have to hear the parties?

Tea Farty wrote:

A working GPS system is much more important than an esoteric wi-fi system that a relatively few people will need or use.

What a minute. Are you trying to say that more people use GPS than the Internet? You're not only wrong, but you're off by a factor of tens of thousands. Please do some research before making a statement like this.

CommonSense wrote:

Hays' analogy at the end of the story is inaccurate. It isn't that LightSquared or GPS have built the fence in the wrong place. The case is that LightSquared is moving next door and GPS is worried that they will have to contend with extra noise coming from LightSquared's new pool and deck as LightSquared has lots of twenty-something friends who come over for frequent parties. The real question is: does LightSquared have a legal responsibility to install a bigger fence with greater noise-blocking capability so that the people who live in the GPS house don't have to hear the parties?

Crickey, why didn't they just shore up these zoning issues before Light Squared spent so much moola?

Me feels corporate welfare coming on. Ohhhh and a decrease in the quality of my service.

The Rick wrote:

<quoted text>
What a minute. Are you trying to say that more people use GPS than the Internet? You're not only wrong, but you're off by a factor of tens of thousands. Please do some research before making a statement like this.

I'm sure more people use the internet than a GPS. But the internet doesen't guide police or firemen to an emergency, the internet doesn't guide aircraft safely through the skies, and the internet certainly does not guide the smart "weapons" to their destinations that we, the tax payers, have spent billions on. Would be a shame if one of these smart "weapons" couldn't find their intended destination because some some guy in rural W.Va. is pissed off because he can't get his porn on his computer... I'm just sayin'.

I'm surprised that this kind of problem could exist to start with considering the federal government allocates the frequencies to be used by everyone. You'd think the experts at the FCC would have realized the potential problem before they allowed billions of dollars to be spend on a system that possibly could impact the use of GPS.

I suppose this is just another example of how well the federal government oversees any area of responsibility. This should be another warning that the federal government isn't very good at doing much of anything.

Hays believes it will cost no more than $12 million - or 30 cents per device - to install better filters in roughly 40 million standalone GPS units made worldwide each year.

Nothing and I mean nothing will ever be installed in an aircraft that costs 30 cents. He only intends on trying to fix newly manufactured GPS units. Retro fit, if even possible will cost tens of thousands per aircraft by the time the FAA is done with it. Lightsquared will never see the light of day so don't invest your money in it.

Hello? It should not be the reponsitilbity of the GPS. LightSquared knew this was a potential problem and the FCC approved it anyway. LightSquare should be responsible for fixing it.

I mean really? They are going to let it interfere with aircraft as well as public safety vehicles? I say table the project (too bad they weren't proactive) until they figure out a solution, rather than be reactive when something bad happens!

The Rick wrote:

<quoted text>
What a minute. Are you trying to say that more people use GPS than the Internet? You're not only wrong, but you're off by a factor of tens of thousands. Please do some research before making a statement like this.

No, but GPS guide aircraft through the clouds and back to earth safely and WiFi gives you movies,email and porn. Do you want to be on a Delta flight doing an instrument approach with little or no visibility so johnny can watch porn? I don't think Air Force One wants to either.

The Rick wrote:

<quoted text>
What a minute. Are you trying to say that more people use GPS than the Internet? You're not only wrong, but you're off by a factor of tens of thousands. Please do some research before making a statement like this.

You misinterpreted my point. I'm saying that a lot more people use GPS than will use this one particular internet system that is going to mess up the GPS's.

There are already plenty of internet systems that don't mess up GPS. Let's just build more like those.

Although, here is another thought: If this new internet system works so close to the GPS signals, maybe they could use it so the GPS devices could connect to the internet?

Pam-pam wrote:

Hello? It should not be the reponsitilbity of the GPS. LightSquared knew this was a potential problem and the FCC approved it anyway. LightSquare should be responsible for fixing it.
I mean really? They are going to let it interfere with aircraft as well as public safety vehicles? I say table the project (too bad they weren't proactive) until they figure out a solution, rather than be reactive when something bad happens!

You can't blame it on the FCC either. Both LightSquared and the FCC knew this was a potential problem. The FCC only approved it on the condition that the conflict could be resolved. I think LightSquared expected everyone to roll-over and their plan backfired.

Sterling Silver wrote:

Keep your government hands off my GPS!

Dude, the GPS signals you are using come from satellites that were originally installed for military use. The government OWNS the GPS signal. Although they now have more secure options, the military could easily shut public service off in an emergency.

I Know wrote:

<quoted text>
Dude, the GPS signals you are using come from satellites that were originally installed for military use. The government OWNS the GPS signal. Although they now have more secure options, the military could easily shut public service off in an emergency.

It's my understanding that they can scramble the GPS signal in war zones to reduce the accuracy from like 10 meters down to like 1000 meters unless you have the key to unscramble it.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

I Know wrote:

<quoted text>
Dude, the GPS signals you are using come from satellites that were originally installed for military use. The government OWNS the GPS signal. Although they now have more secure options, the military could easily shut public service off in an emergency.

Dude, you need to get out more. Or stop listening to Faux news and listen to the real thing. My crack was social commentary on those senior citizens and tea party nutjobs who made that statement ("Keep your government hands off my Medicare"), being too dumb to know that Medicare is a government program.

You are partially right, about our military...IF you use a GPS that only picks up U.S. signals. Some receivers also pick up the GLONASS system, which is Russian designed and controlled, and the U.S. military can't do a thing about that one. There is also one being implemented by the European Union, but I forget what the name of that one is. The rest of the world rightly figured out they don't want to depend on the good graces of our military for GPS capability, so there are now other choices.

GPS, big joke! False routes, dead ends, off the mark, etc. Had one run me down a cowpath that dead ended in a swamp. Another gave a location that was half a mile off. I'll use a good ole road map any day. When I get so old I have to rely on gadgets, I'll stay home and off the Highways!