HEM Response to LightsquaredHEM has officially published a comment regarding the Lightsquared application/testing document which will be submitted to the FCC tomorrow. There has been so much resistence, including political backlash, to Lightsquared proposal that the network has little chance of getting off the ground so long as GPS interference exists. BUT, the issue has been a large overhang on all the precision agriculture stocks. The expectation is that the FCC will rule that the network cannot proceed so long as there is GPS interference of any kind. Once that happens HEM shares could pop real fast. As an aside, I asked management a couple of weeks ago if sales momentum was being impacted by the noise/press relating to lightsquared and the answer was "no". The company is sticking to its 2011/2012 guidance as farmers continue to confidently purchase HEM's products (meaning the farmers don't even think there is a real threat from Lightsquared).
HEMISPHERE GPS’ RESPONSE TO THE LIGHTSQUARED THREAT
A company named LightSquared has proposed to build a nationwide 4G broadband data network in the United States that presents a serious conflict to GPS users and the public in general. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently granted a conditional waiver to LightSquared allowing the broadcast of high-powered signals adjacent to the Global Positioning System (GPS) signal band. Broadcast of these signals from the planned 40,000 towers to be deployed across the US will impact the accuracy, reliability and in some cases, availability of GPS and other GNSS signals.
This threat of interference is significant given the widespread use of GPS by
consumers, professionals and the military. Millions of users would be affected causing untold harm to the safety, security and economic benefits of GPS.
Hemisphere GPS is committed to doing all possible to assure that the threat posed by LightSquared does not come to fruition. Some of our actions to safeguard GPS include raising awareness, testing and reporting on the impact of the interference, collaborating on informational webinars and committee involvement. We are an advisor to the FCC Technical Working Group that is addressing the interference issue.
Additionally, Hemisphere GPS is an associate member supporting the Coalition to Save Our GPS (www.saveourgps.org) that includes representatives from a wide variety of industries and companies seeking remedies from the FCC. Recently, LightSquared issued press releases claiming to have solved the interference problem by moving their broadcast to a location farther removed from GPS but still within their signal band. However, this proposal has not been approved by the FCC and will still cause wide-spread harm, particularly to precision GPS equipment. A real solution would be for LightSquared to move to an alternate frequency band.Hemisphere GPS will remain involved and provide updates until this critical situation is resolved.