Remember the days when house phones were a necessary lifeline to the outside world and the Internet was rarely used because it took hours to start up?
Even though people should be impressed by the sheer magnitude of the project LightSquared is taking on, the makers are letting the allure of a worldwide Internet system blind them to the actual needs of Americans. It appears the age-old rivalry between the seasoned but reliable and the young visionary has been spurred up once again.
Both the airline transportation system and LightSquared have much to offer society, but the real question focuses on what is necessary and what is superfluous. In recent interviews, LightSquared has suggested that the same GPS companies used in airlines, cars and tractors are trying to sabotage the company’s efforts by performing unrealistic tests on its technology in order to deem it unworthy of use. Regardless of if the GPS companies are indeed undermining LightSquared’s efforts, transportation and premapped routes are a part of an industry that will always be useful.
Had Lewis and Clark faced the same dilemma today as they did so long ago, they would have more than likely looked up directions on a GPS, not watched the latest YouTube video. LightSquared needs to remember that the transportation industry is a billion-dollar market that provides people with the jobs and necessary goods they need to live — a feat LightSquared is unable to compete with.
The transportation industry has been a livelihood for this nation and has functioned just fine for many years without the interference of new technology; LightSquared has no right to insinuate that its product is more important than the global positioning system.
The Internet provides information and entertainment that could last a lifetime, but it will never be able to accommodate people with tangible essentials such as an income and food on the table. It is apparent that LightSquared’s selfishness and greed supersedes the company’s concern for the well-being of its customers and clients when it cannot see the devastating consequences of its product.
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