Yes it's for real, the FCC allowed lightsquared to potentially operate in adjacent bands to GPS at power levels that would potentially wipe out any GPS signal, however GPS groups have been, rightly, kicking up a stink about this development trying to force the FCC into backing down.
Mind you the FCC kind of did this at the behest of the whitehouse who wanted more spectrum allocated for broadband.
I would certainly claim that GPS is more important than 4G internet connection.
One might refer to simple logical reason that I shouldn't need to care if there is dead spots of GPS coverage in the US, because I do not live there and are quite unlikely to go there at all. But many of the decisions that happen at the other side of the Atlantic has an tendency to fan out and affect the rest of the world (Both for good and worse).
The dependency of GPS are enormous, I does not even know where to begin. I can also see areas in where GPS could be used for the better good. Say that you have one of theese modern Smartphones - it would be quite useful if there was some way of transmitting your GPS co-ordinates to the one at the other end, like when you have broken a bone in the forest and are loosing quite a bit of blood - you could send your co-ords so that a rescue team could pick you up with a copter. it could possible be set to do that automatically when you call 911/112/08/other emergency code.
Well, I guess that I can't do too much about it. Just hoping that I won't need to buy an EPS (European Position System) device soon or anything like that.
My two cents are that it is more fun running around it the forest Mapping/Geo Caching/Et.c. than it is to sit in front of a computer, eating pizza/burger dricing diet coke and growing flubber..
OpenStreetMap
Discussion
Comment from JohnSmith on 19 July 2011 at 04:13
Yes it's for real, the FCC allowed lightsquared to potentially operate in adjacent bands to GPS at power levels that would potentially wipe out any GPS signal, however GPS groups have been, rightly, kicking up a stink about this development trying to force the FCC into backing down.
Mind you the FCC kind of did this at the behest of the whitehouse who wanted more spectrum allocated for broadband.
Comment from Anna_AG on 19 July 2011 at 15:12
More in my diary entry here - white space interference - interesting stuff..
http://www.openstreetmap.org/user/bri%20g/diary/13746
Comment from compdude on 19 July 2011 at 18:50
Really now? Really? I can't believe the FCC could possibly let this happen.
Comment from knarF on 19 July 2011 at 19:16
I would certainly claim that GPS is more important than 4G internet connection.
One might refer to simple logical reason that I shouldn't need to care if there is dead spots of GPS coverage in the US, because I do not live there and are quite unlikely to go there at all. But many of the decisions that happen at the other side of the Atlantic has an tendency to fan out and affect the rest of the world (Both for good and worse).
The dependency of GPS are enormous, I does not even know where to begin. I can also see areas in where GPS could be used for the better good. Say that you have one of theese modern Smartphones - it would be quite useful if there was some way of transmitting your GPS co-ordinates to the one at the other end, like when you have broken a bone in the forest and are loosing quite a bit of blood - you could send your co-ords so that a rescue team could pick you up with a copter. it could possible be set to do that automatically when you call 911/112/08/other emergency code.
Well, I guess that I can't do too much about it. Just hoping that I won't need to buy an EPS (European Position System) device soon or anything like that.
My two cents are that it is more fun running around it the forest Mapping/Geo Caching/Et.c. than it is to sit in front of a computer, eating pizza/burger dricing diet coke and growing flubber..
Comment from Firefishy on 20 July 2011 at 08:46
See http://www.saveourgps.org/