U.S. Wireless Internet Expansion Plans

[engine]

U.S. Wireless Internet Expansion Plans [reuters.com]

President Barack Obama will outline his plan on Thursday for expanding high speed wireless Internet service to 98 percent of Americans while reducing the U.S. deficit by $9.6 billion over the next ten years.

During a trip to Marquette, Michigan -- a politically important state that has been especially hard hit by the rough U.S. economy -- the president will propose investing $5 billion into a fund that will ensure fast wireless technology is made available to rural areas across the country.

[weeks]

This is savvy politics. The less populated areas of the US, especially in the middle part of the US, swings one way or another in recent elections. And in a close race--and they are almost always close in modern times--the rural areas can make a difference.

Case in point is Virginia in the last election. The Democratic candidate spent what was considered an odd amount of time in the traditionally Republican western part of the state. The northern part of the state was locked up for the blues pretty well, so simply uncutting the Republican base gave them enough to win the state and take all of its electorial votes.

Traditionally the appeal to the rural areas is done with agriculture. That is what the Republicans did to help win a second term for Bush. Ohio was the key state. You'll likely see Democrats try that this time as well. But this is a 21 Century twist to that proven ploy. And it's not a bad idea for them--you want to do something that people can see and use.

Now, is high speed wireless for rural areas good public policy? I really have no idea. I've looked at many Rural Development programs and quite frankly, nothing seems to work very well. Many don't work at all. Some have cause more problems than they solve. Of all the rural development programs I have seen, this appears to have real promise. Education is one of the major issues in rural areas, so it could help with that. (The more educated a rural area, the higher the test scores, the better economic stats, including reducing infant death rates.) But, the internet is not a magic wand. Rural Development is a tough nut to crack.

But, is more high speed internet good for our business? I would guess yes. Ha.

[frontpage]

Only problem? This wireless plan blocks GPS signals.

The FCC bent the rules so the Reston-based firm LightSquared could offer a new wireless Internet service that fulfills President Obama‘s high-profile push for public investment in broadband. Yet the FCC appears to have done its best to keep this particular deal far from the public eye. LightSquared made its formal request for a waiver on Nov. 18, and the agency opened a public-comment period the next day. Those with an interest in the matter had just two weeks to comment - a short period that included Thanksgiving.

The haste may be related to surprising laboratory test results from the world’s top manufacturer of navigational gizmos, Garmin Ltd. The company’s engineers found that popular consumer GPS units started experiencing dropouts when approaching within 3.6 miles of a LightSquared transmitter.

Then the administration of the USA (not allowed to say who it is) ignored the US military.

n Dec. 28, the military asked the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to ask the FCC to slow down. “DoD is concerned with the [order and authorization] being conducted without the proper analysis required to make a well informed decision,” the department’s spectrum policy director wrote in a Dec. 28 letter. The Pentagon wanted the FCC to “defer action” until interference issues were fully addressed.

The FCC ignored the request.

Why would the FCC ignore concerns by private GPS companies and the US military that this wireless plan would interfere with GPS signals?

Answer: Campaign cash.

[washingtontimes.com...]