The technology behind DriveScribe has been licensed exclusively to Drive Power by the University of Minnesota’s Office for Technology Commercialization. Developed by U mechanical engineering researchers, DriveScribe combines several functions to promote safe driving. It provides real-time driver feedback and blocks phone calls, emails and text messages while the vehicles is in operation. The app will also notify parents of traffic violations and log activity to a web portal for later review.

Ironic that a cell phone can help someone drive better. I like the idea of fighting fire with fire – and while I suspect that tech savvy teens may find a way around it – I think that if they’re smart they won’t. And of course danger of losing car privileges is a big incentive to be smart, as I recall. The article goes on to say that while this app is starting with the teen driving market, there are other areas for them to grow…

DrvieScribe will likely expand beyond the teen market to help senior drivers, commercial vehicle fleets and insurance companies. For now, it uses social comparisons, points and rewards and a sophisticated scoring system to quantify the attributes of safe driving. It is known as the Safe Driver Score.

LightSquared vs. GPS

A new wireless start-up with Minnesota connections has been in the news lately with plans to provide a unique wireless-satellite communications network that could bring ubiquitous broadband coverage to rural America for a fraction of the cost of existing, limited service.  The issue?  The new LightSquared network threatens to overwhelm America’s Global Position System (GPS) receivers, making the devices obsolete.

The Company and the Technology

Reston, Virginia-based LightSquared Subsidiary LLC was formed in 2010 with plans to provide a wholesale, nation-wide 4G-LTE wireless broadband network with integrated satellite coverage.  The new service is built on spectrum used by two Mobile Satellite Service(MSS) sat-phone companies Inmarsat and SkyTerra, and has announced a significant network partnership with Sprint-Nextel.  Forbes magazine reports that the company invested $50 million to develop new microchips to provide dual-mode wireless at a price below existing cellular service.  By avoiding costs of supporting legacy voice networks, LightSquared projects to wholesale 1 gigabyte data service for about $7, compared to the $50-$60 typically charged retail 3G/4G customers today.

In January 2011, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an Order giving LightSquared conditional approval to build out a ground-based wireless network using its MSS spectrum.  However, that order was subject to further testing and FCC review due to potential GPS interference.

The Issue with GPS

The federal Space-Based Positioning, Navigation & Timing (PNT) Committee has been examining potential interference by the LightSquared network with GPS receivers.  They state the issue:

The base stations of the LightSquared network will transmit signals in a radio band immediately adjacent to the GPS frequencies. The GPS community is concerned because testing has shown that LightSquared’s ground-based transmissions overpower the relatively weak GPS signal from space. Although LightSquared will operate in its own radio band, that band is so close to the GPS signals that most GPS devices pick up the stronger LightSquared signal and become overloaded or jammed.

There is also concern that the FCC may approve a technical solution to the problem that requires millions of existing GPS users to upgrade or replace their devices…

The results [of PNT testing] clearly demonstrate that implementing LightSquared’s planned deployment for terrestrial operations poses a significant potential for harmful interference to GPS services.

There are basically two technical issues.  First GPS signals are very weak—satellites are 12,000 miles above the Earth and operate on solar power—so receivers have been designed to be sensitive to the full GPS spectrum.  This, however, means many GPS receivers also pick up adjacent frequencies.  Second, LightSquared proposes to change weaker satellite signals in adjacent spectrum to much stronger ground-based 4G wireless signals, exacerbating interference.  Further federal testing results, leaked in December, confirm interference with 75% of general purpose GPS receivers;  however, no “significant interference” was found with cellular phones.  The NTIA will next test high-precision receivers used in farm equipment and scientific instruments.

Different groups have suggested different ways to eliminate conflicts.  (The Minnesota Geospatial Information Office (MnGEO) Emergency Preparedness Committee has tracked the evolving issue on their blog.)  LightSquared’s position is that GPS makers were aware of potential interference and should have built better technology.  The company has petitioned the FCC to re-affirm their spectrum license.  LightSquared has also offered to limit initial use of spectrum closest to GPS signals and delay boosting power on ground stations.

Opponents, including The Coalition to Save our GPS, contend that LightSquared is causing the problem by changing from low-powered satellite service with limited ground stations to high-powered ground-based service.  Members of the coalition include GPS makers; agricultural equipment manufacturers such as AGCO, Case New Holland, Caterpillar, and Deere & Company; and national organizations including the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, among many others.  .

The Issue with Politics

Many media sources have touched on multiple political issues involved in the LightSquared proposal.  Philip Falcone, a native of Minnesota’s Iron Range, acquired control of the company through Harbinger Capital, his New York hedge fund that is now being investigated by the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski have feuded through the year on Congressional oversight in the matter.  The FCC’s National Broadband Plan specifically calls for accelerating terrestrial deployment of MSS frequencies.  Questions have, however, been raised about why FCC approval was granted to LightSquared prior to testing, and also about a report that General William Shelton was pressured by the White House to change testimony to Congress in favor of LightSquared.  Grassley placed holds in December on two nominees to the FCC over the issue.

LightSquared has also touted support where it doesn’t seem to be clear.  For example, a September press release stated that “we received a strong endorsement of our view that LightSquared and GPS can co-exist from several of the country’s leading agricultural organizations…” including the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and National Farmers Union.  However, far from endorsing the proposal, the letter referenced supports both rural broadband and precision agriculture.  In testimony to the House Committee on Small Business, AFBF President Bob Stallman urged Congress to assure that “LightSquared should cover the expense of all technical fixes to the interference issue.”

-John C. Shepard, AICP

Note:  No endorsement of a particular political position is intended or implied

The article reports…

In fact, he [SMBS General Manager Dan Olsen] says the pace will run at 250 hook-ups per month until the project is finished at the end of 2012.

They are also doing a wireless trial in Bingham Lake. So while it’s not earth shattering – I feel like hearing that the ARRA funded project is going well is worth repeating.

The article indicates that policies partnered with private industry are creating two Internets: the wireless Internet of for low-income (especially African American and Latino) citizens and wired Internet for those with higher incomes. Those on the wireless Internet are restricted in what they can do online.

Here are pieces to the puzzle that seem to relate more directly to pure economics.

1. Handhelds are cheaper than laptops. My mom is thinking about a computer or a tablet or a smartphone. But unlike many people in her shoes cost is *a* factor – not *the* factor.
2. Wireless contracts are cheaper than wired. This is true on a month-to-month basis but even more true when you consider a potentially transient consumer and startup fees after each move.
3. The article includes research results that indicate that African American and Latino consumers are much more likely to rely on smartphones for Internet access than their white counterparts.

Here are some pieces that are technical:

1. Fiber is faster than wireless.
2. Cable is faster than most wireless.

Here are some pieces that seem to relate to policy:

1. The Net Neutrality bill that passed maintain a level of openness for wired Internet.
2. The Net Neutrality bill that passed allows wireless provides to create data packages that not only cap speeds/data transfer but also can promote some information and prohibit some information. The example given in the article is Verizon filtering out (refusing to deliver) all text messages containing specific words.
3. The National Broadband Plan promotes 100 Mbps for 100 million homes and only 4 Mbps for the rest.

I definitely suggest reading the original article for a more passionate interpretation. I would be very interested in hearing “the other side” of the story.

The City of Minneapolis and Minnesota Public Radio have created an audio MPR Sound Point™ tour of Minneapolis Public Art. Here’s a quick description from the web site…

The Sound Point technology allows the public to access a series of stories, in the words of the artists, about new works of public art in Minneapolis and the opportunity to leave their own stories in return. Viewers can listen to these stories by dialing or texting a phone number or scanning a QR code with their smart phone.

The Twin Cities Daily Planet wrote a story on the project highlighting the people and technology behind the project. I love the idea and I’m sure I’ll drag a kid to at least two projects over the next few weeks. It seems like a very manageable project for any community – that has the necessary infrastructure and what a fun way to encourage residents to start adopting new technologies.

Also the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group (SMBG) is fine tuning their fiber to the home services and are hoping to test in the field as early as next week with a hope to getting families fully up and running by mid-December. Fiber services will offer triple play services (Internet, cable, TV).

SMBG is also testing some wireless options in the area and again hope to pilot some connections in the upcoming weeks. Wireless customers, however, will only have access to Internet services through their connection. A successful wireless product would open SMBG to quicker expansion. It sounds as if there are plenty of residents just outside the original fiber territory who have been clamoring for SMBG to come into their areas.

The article also points out that the project has had an economic impact on the area with up to 70 people doing installations at peak times; that number is expected to decrease to 30 once the ground freezes.

This week we will be hearing from Bill Coleman on Public-Private Partnerships in Broadband. I’ve seen a preview of Bill’s presentation. I think the session will be particularly good for community leaders who are looking at their options for better broadband or industry leaders who are looking for ways to expand their offerings or coverage.

Here are the quick details on this week’s free webinar:

• Wednesday, October 26, 2011 – noon to 1:00 pm
• Public-private partnerships in broadband
• Speaker: Bill Coleman

The US Broadband plan establishes a 4 Mb goal for those lacking access to networks meeting the 100 Mb goal. Many assume that this goal will be met with mobile broadband networks. Will this be adequate to participate in today’s bandwidth intensive world?

Join LightSquared’s Geoff Stearn, VP of Spectrum Development, and Bob Bass from ATT to explore this question.

A lot of people have been asking questions about LightSquared; this could be a very interesting session. Please register – and bring your questions!

The webinar is part of the pre-conference series leading up to the Fall broadband conference: Policy & Progress: Border to Border Broadband.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., announced the act on Thursday, which they said would “require wireless providers to disclose complete and accurate information about their 4G wireless data service in their sales and advertising practices.” It mirrors legislation passed in the House of Representatives this past June.

The proposed act would require companies to disclose specific details in their marketing and advertising. The bill was created because there is no standard definition for 4G wireless broadband Internet.

The bill would require that the following details be included at the point of sale and also in all customers’ billing materials:
• Guaranteed minimum data speed
• Network reliability
• Coverage area maps
• Pricing
• Technology used to provide 4G service
• Network conditions that can impact the speed of applications and services used on the network

It seems to fit well with the National Broadband Plan which promoted the use of “truth in broadband” type labeling for broadband…

Putting more information in the hands of consumers is a proven method to promote meaningful competition and spur innovation, both of which will generate more and better consumer choices. If customers make well-informed choices, companies will likely invest in new products, services and business models to compete more aggressively and offer greater value.

The wireless share of the Twin Cities Internet market rose nearly 7.5 percent in the 12 months ended in March, while traditional broadband providers — Comcast cable and CenturyLink (formerly Qwest telephone) — saw their market shares decline slightly, according to a study by ID Insight of St. Paul.

From the article I can glean the following:

• Comcast had the most broadband customers in the Twin Cities (37.6 percent, or about 345,000 households)
• CenturyLink comes in second (27.8 percent, or about 255,000 residential customers).
• Wireless broadband – they include the cellular providers and the Minneapolis Wi-Fi network — ranked third (16.6 percent, or about 152,000 households).

The growing prevalence and popularity of smartphone and tablets is one reason given for the include in wireless access. And 4G is expected to have a greater impact yet.

The article includes a quote from CenturyLink’s Tyler Middleton, which I think is a good take on broadband platforms…

“It’s certainly clear that wireless devices are changing the way we do things, but we see them as complementary to wired broadband connections, not mutually exclusive,” Middleton said. “We continue to see wired broadband subscriber growth” because it offers more consistent speed and reliability than wireless data services.

There was another interesting perspective voiced by Dan Hays of PRTM Management Consulting…

“It’s very difficult to have pervasive wireless broadband coverage,” Hays said. “Areas that are less densely populated probably will still need wired broadband connections for many years to come.”

It seems to me that wired is even more difficult in sparsely populated areas – but again I think the solution will be a hybrid plan of both wired and wireless broadband.