Among those weighing in was Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee and dean of the Congressional Black Caucus. As The Hill reported on Monday, Conyers wrote FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski last week “to express about delays in the approval process involving LightSquared’s proposed 4G-LTE wireless broadband network,” citing the need for greater competition and new providers in the wireless industry. “I strongly urge the Commission to move with urgency to fully test potential solutions to the LightSquared-GPS interference issue employing transparent, fact-based methodologies, common-sense standards and independent testing facilities.”

Conyers’ support followed a bipartisan joint letter from four respected House members asking the FCC to “work towards a resolution of the dispute between LightSquared and the GPS coalition.” Reps. Brian Bilbray (D-Calif.), John Campbell (R-Calif.), Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) wrote in December that they were “encouraged by recent reports that technical experts have found a way to solve the most challenging of the coexistence problems… we believe that a way forward is achievable and this dispute can be quickly resolved.”

Rep. Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.) also wrote Chairman Genachowski in December, urging him to “begin bridging the ‘digital divide’” separating relatively affluent Americans with Internet access and less affluent individuals with very limited access. “One key to addressing this ‘digital divide’ is ensuring lower prices, and one of the best ways to lower prices is to increase competition in the market.” Pastor continued, “Since the GPS industry first expressed its concerns, LightSquared and private developers have released several inexpensive solutions that would insulate GPS devices from interference issues, and I believe innovative individuals will find additional solutions. Therefore, I ask that the FCC continue to support the parties in finding solutions.”

Support also is pouring in from elected officials at the state level whose constituents would benefit from the lower prices, greater choice and world-class quality and speed of LightSquared’s network.

Senator Robert Mayer (R-Dexter), president pro tem of the Missouri State Senate, told Chairman Genachowski in a January 26th letter that “LightSquared could be a ‘game-changer’ for southeast Missouri, providing broadband access through smart phones and tablet computers to thousands of men, women and children.”

“I ask the FCC to do everything it can do to help LightSquared bring 4G broadband service to rural America,” Senator Johnny Ray Turner (D-Prestonsburg), Chair of the Kentucky Senate Democratic Caucus, wrote to the FCC. “For those of us who live in rural areas, there are few issues more important today.”

Tennessee State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), chair of the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee, wrote the FCC “to give my strong support for LightSquared, a 4G LTE company, which has the capability of providing wireless broadband throughout my state.” Tracy pointed out that “the GPS industry has known about this technology and future plans to use its licensed spectrum, yet did nothing about it. I believe now is the time to act. LightSquared has the technology to bring an efficient nationwide 4G wireless broadband network that will not only help our rural consumers, but countless businesses nationwide by spurring innovation, jobs and economic growth.”

In a February 3rd letter to the FCC, Kansas State Senator Kelly Kultala (D-Kansas City) expressed her “support for LightSquared and their proposed 4G-LTE mobile broadband network that can help our country avoid a very real spectrum crisis… LightSquared’s sustainable wholesale-only business model will increase competition in the mobile broadband market, leading to lower consumer prices and increased access to services and applications through mobile devices.”

“This proposed network will lower prices and dramatically improve wireless broadband infrastructure in rural areas like West Virginia without requiring any government funding,” West Virginia Delegate John D. O’Neal IV (R-Raleigh) wrote in a January 24th letter to the FCC. “I encourage the FCC to retake control of the testing of LightSquared’s network and the GPS devices to ensure that fair and impartial testing is conducted.”

LightSquared’s network partners around the country also are telling the FCC how crucial this network would be to their businesses and their customers.

“LightSquared’s wholesale services are critical to our ability to deliver Broadband to low-income communities,” wrote Dale R. Schmick, Chief Strategy Officer of YourTel America.

LightSquared’s wholesale service “will enhance competition significantly by facilitating the ability of new providers to enter local, regional and nationwide markets and serve customers,” wrote Randolph Kantorowicz-Toro, Chairman and CEO of iBanco Corp.

“Hundreds of millions of American consumers would benefit from the greater competition that would be made possible by LightSquared’s network,” wrote Jerome S. Kaiser, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of AirTouch Communications.

Bernie Stevens, CEO of PowerNet Global Communications, urged the FCC to grant LightSquared’s Petition for Declaratory Ruling regarding GPS receivers that “squat” in spectrum not licensed to them. “Granting LightSquared’s Petition would reinforce the integrity of the Commission’s rules, and provide the regulatory certainty necessary for companies like PNG and LightSquared to attract investment and continue developing innovative communications solutions that truly benefit consumers… I urge the Commission to grant LightSquared’s Petition on an expedited basis.”

“By affirming LightSquared’s rights as described in the Petition, the Commission would facilitate our ability to deliver the tangible benefits of more robust competition to consumers in the form of higher quality service, lower rates, and expanded voice and broadband service options all at a lower price point,” wrote Mark Richards, Chief Information Officer of VoX Communications. “We feel that the cost savings that would absolutely be enabled by LightSquared would be passed to the American consumer.”

“I urge the FCC to fully support LightSquared in offering their services, and fear for the future of the telecom industry were it not allowed to do so,” wrote Robert Gaal, CEO & Co-Founder of Karma Mobility Inc.

GPS manufacturers have been selling devices that listen into frequencies outside of their assigned spectrum band – namely into LightSquared’s licensed band. This means GPS devices are inherently vulnerable. It’s a manufactured defect that smart phone manufacturers have been able to overcome. In fact, recent tests conducted by the government proved that the more than 300 million smart phones in the U.S. will function flawlessly in the presence of LightSquared’s signal.

In short, you can get a cell phone for free with a two-year contract that is more resilient to GPS interference than what’s being installed in today’s commercial airliners.

The current deliberations by the FCC and NTIA, the agencies that oversee spectrum used by commercial and government users, could finally make LightSquared’s network a reality. Many of our wholesale customers have asked the FCC to allow LightSquared to bring much-needed spectrum and competition into the wireless market. Now, everyone has the opportunity to share their opinion with federal officials. The GPS industry has leveraged years of insider relationships and massive lobbying dollars to make sure that they don’t have to fix the problem they created. We need our supporters to push back on special interests by sending a letter to the FCC and NTIA.

Wireless for America, an alliance of American companies including LightSquared, rural wireless advocates and consumers committed to addressing our nation’s impending broadband crisis, has launched an online tool that quickly allows you to email your support for LightSquared to the FCC and NTIA.

Click here to submit your letter to the FCC and NTIA today.

On the surface, even at this volume, tweets, check-ins, uploaded photos, and Facebook updates seem to be a novelty. But, that ignores the impact these technologies have on culture, commerce, safety, and much more. The revolutionaries taking part in the Arab Spring, the activists of the Occupy Movement, and first responders to catastrophic floods in Thailand all relied on wireless technology to make a difference in 2011. Wireless technology delivers our news, connects us to one another, and coordinates the activities of industries from commercial shipping to public safety to healthcare.

The backbone of nearly everything mobile in 2011 – retweets to revolutions – was wireless spectrum.

Unfortunately, at the same time we see the benefits of wireless broadband fully realized we are facing a spectrum crisis. By 2013, our demand for wireless data will outstrip allocated spectrum in the U.S. Our wireless future is in jeopardy. The very real roll this technology plays in American life, safety, and security will by marked with dropped calls and networks too congested to deliver vital data reliably.

It is no longer reasonable to argue that there are technologies more important to the United States than high-speed wireless data. To meet the growing demand, we need to bring new networks online, hold old technologies to a higher standard, and work together to provide the infrastructure America needs to be more productive and innovative in the 21st century.

For these reasons, we have sent a petition to the FCC asking the Commission to confirm our company’s right to use the spectrum licensed to us by the federal government. The petition does this by asking the Commission to confirm, under their current rules, that GPS devices are not entitled to protection from interference when they look into our band. Should they be protected when they stay in their own lane? Absolutely, but they don’t, even after we provided the GPS industry eight years’ notice that we were going to build a ground network.

What makes that even more remarkable is the fact that, over this period of time, plenty of other companies adapted without increasing costs to consumers. For example, cell phone manufacturers incorporated extremely inexpensive filters into their devices, ensuring that the more than 300 million cell phones in the U.S. are compatible with our network. However, those companies that chose to ignore their obligation to produce robust, fully-filtered equipment are trying to derail our plans to make affordable broadband access ubiquitous in America. How can it be that your cellphone can work but it’s just too much trouble for the companies that build other kinds of GPS receivers?

While we have funded research and development to mitigate any interference, we will not bear the financial burden caused by the GPS industry’s failure to prepare for the deployment of our network, on our licensed spectrum. We don’t believe consumers should bear the cost, either. The GPS industry had almost a decade to prepare. At our own expense, almost $200 million in fact, we were able to develop engineering solutions to mitigate the problem in less than six months. At the same time, GPS companies made no progress on improving their filters and continued to sell the same old equipment to consumers and the government.

LightSquared has made a commitment to bring world-class wireless broadband connectivity to 260 million Americans by 2015 – and to do so by investing $14 billion of private funds in our nation’s broadband infrastructure. Recent government testing confirmed those 300 million GPS-enabled cell phones are compatible with LightSquared’s network. Several top-tier GPS device manufacturers, including Javad GNSS, PCTel and Hemisphere, have also successfully developed and tested filters and antennas that are compatible. The purpose of LightSquared’s petition to the FCC is to make sure everyone has the facts about the science, our mitigation proposals are clearly understood and we all operate within the rule of law — even GPS manufacturers.

In this video, I demonstrate the testing process. You can see a high-precision device made by Javad GNSS completely compatible with LightSquared’s signal. We look forward to conducting similar tests with other device manufacturers that are currently working on compatible devices.

Three examples are Smarter Car, Soundtracker and m-banco, each of which has its own unique reason for working with LightSquared.

SmarterCar plans to use LightSquared’s cellular network – and satellite – to allow consumers and automobile dealers to use in-vehicle devices to access and analyze critical vehicle information, ranging from maintenance updates to location-sharing. Customers of Soundtracker, a geosocial Internet radio company, can now use a mobile product that bundles music and connectivity, giving them access to more than 11 million songs, regardless of location. Meanwhile, the U.S. Latino community, which makes up the customer base of m-banco, can use mobile devices not only for voice communications, but to conduct banking services such as wire transfers and ATM transactions, effectively creating “mobile wallets.”

We’re also helping transform “traditional” device manufacturers so they can participate in the connectivity game; AirTouch and Cellular Product Distributors (CPD-USA) can now bundle their devices with connectivity from LightSquared, creating new recurring revenue streams that are the holy grail for businesses.

What attracted these emerging companies to LightSquared was not only a state-of-the-art 4G wireless network, complemented with ubiquitous satellite coverage, but a game-changing business model that offers connectivity at very competitive wholesale prices, allowing them to efficiently deliver affordable access to content and services. In an increasingly wireless world, LightSquared is delivering on its mission to foster innovation and create much-needed competition in the wireless marketplace.

Earlier this month, I was honored to be a keynote speaker at the 2011 Open Mobile Summit in San Francisco. I joined leaders of other wireless companies, device manufacturers, application developers and online influencers to discuss the future of mobile technology in America and how we, as an industry, can address the current supply vs. demand issue. An audio recording and PDF of my presentation slides are now available online.

If we look at the histories of other industries, we generally see that as a market matures, consumer choices increase. When American automobile manufacturing began, Henry Ford produced just one model of car in one color. Today there are dozens – thousands if you count the many combinations of paint color, upholstery, and built-to-order options.

There is a similar evolution happening in mobile. At first, mobile devices were phones that looked quite similar and did only one thing. Now, there are flip phones, candy bars, and slabs. Many don’t have keys! These devices now use wireless spectrum to email, text, share photos, stream video and provide real-time data through specialty apps. Further, more and more of the hardware that use mobile technology aren’t phones at all. Tablets, emergency equipment in cars, and numerous embedded solutions all compete with the wireless phone calls our mobile network was originally built to support.

The development of new mobile devices and applications will continue. Demands on our wireless network will increase as more Americans become more wired (or unwired, as it were), carrying additional data-hungry devices – and expecting them to work wherever they are.

LightSquared is uniquely positioned to address these issues. Our wholesale 4G-LTE network will provide the additional capacity needed to keep up with the growing demand for mobile data. We’re democratizing wireless access and allowing new types of companies to enter the wireless market – we’ve already announced partnerships with Best Buy, VOIP providers, financial services companies and numerous wire-line companies – creating competition, promoting innovation and ultimately lowering prices.

There are many reasons for lack of high speed Internet use, but the most glaring problem is affordability. While 93 percent of the nation’s wealthiest families are regular broadband users, 46 percent of the nation’s poorest households don’t even have a computer, according to a recent report by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s recent report, Exploring the Digital Nation – Computer and Internet Use at Home.

The report found that broadband use is growing, but at a moderate pace, reaching 68 percent of households, up from 64 percent from a year earlier, the NTIA report said.

One bright spot continues to be rapid growth of wireless broadband access. President Obama has set a goal of boosting wireless broadband coverage to 98 percent of the country within five years. Of course, LightSquared is eager to begin building its network to help President Obama reach his goal.

Currently, fewer than 5 million people in North America depend solely on their mobile devices for broadband access, according to the Cisco Visual Networking Index. However, due to the surging popularity of smartphones, mobile devices are expected to be the sole broadband access devices for 55 million people in 2015, according to the Cisco study.

That surge in demand also highlights the need to get more spectrum on the market as soon as possible. Not only are more people going to be using the spectrum, but the devices they use draw much more capacity from the network. Smartphones use 24 times more wireless capacity than a regular handset. Tablets use five times more data than a smartphone and a netbook uses more than twice as much as a tablet on average.

Wireless broadband is the only practical way to successfully increase adoption and eliminate overcrowding on the network. It will also make broadband less expensive and more widely available. The way to do this is with more spectrum; we cannot delay deployment because every neighborhood is crowded.

LightSquared is poised to help ease the spectrum crunch by making new airwaves available. We have committed $14 billion in private investment over the next eight years to build a nationwide wireless broadband network using 4G-LTE technology integrated with satellite coverage. Ours is the only spectrum that can be deployed within the next year, so it is imperative that we reach a conclusion of the review and approval process so that we are able to move forward.

With LightSquared, providing broadband to 98 percent of Americans within the next five years will be a reality.

We have already solved the problem on our own for the vast majority of GPS users by moving to new frequencies. Back in June, we announced we would move our operations as far as possible from GPS. That move resolved the potential interference issue for more than 99 percent of all GPS devices including GPS-enabled cell phones and the navigation system in your car.

But even after our commitment to move to a new spectrum band, there was still a lingering problem with high precision GPS devices which are used in agriculture, surveying and construction. The interference issue with high precision devices is rooted in the GPS industry’s decision to sell devices that depend on crossing into spectrum that is licensed to LightSquared. Even though we’re not responsible for creating the problem, we are working with these companies to solve it.

When LightSquared asked the leading companies in GPS technology to work on the problem, they discovered that they could solve it quickly and cheaply. In just a matter of weeks, Partron developed a $6 component that would eliminate the problem for most high precision receivers. Javad came up with its own LightSquared-compliant receiver and PCTEL built a new antenna that is compatible with our network. These solutions will help the GPS industry make the transition to an environment where LightSquared is deploying its network and provide a path toward future-proofing high precision GPS devices.

So the question really has never been whether or not the interference issue could be solved. The GPS industry knew all along it could. They just didn’t want to pay for their faulty design. LightSquared has already invested more than $150 million in finding solutions to this issue. Now it’s time for the GPS industry to do its part by funding their share of the solution for high precision devices through a standard product recall.

I look forward to sharing more on this issue at the National Space-Based PNT Advisory Board Meeting on Wednesday, November 9.