Pantele: Broadband can move us forward…

Revolutions are typically something we read about in the news or see on television — marchers and protesters and that sort of thing. Maybe tanks. Pepper spray.

But not all revolutions are the same. We're in the middle of a technology revolution, and many millions of us hardly make a move without participating in it. Smartphones and high-speed broadband are remaking society — and in this revolution the masses are clamoring for more-reliable connections, faster downloads and greater choice.

The speed of the revolution is astounding. Ten years ago, BlackBerry was an interesting idea, and Android and iPhones were unknown. You know what happened next: Wireless communication has become essential in any kind of business or social activity. Whether you're a business owner checking emails, a parent keeping up with your kids or a farmer monitoring weather conditions and market price, high-speed wireless information creates 24/7 communications, increased productivity and, often, wiser decisions.

But demand for data is starting to strain the capacity of broadband networks even as tens of millions of consumers eagerly await the next generation of broadband wireless: high-definition media, simultaneous data streaming and much more.

Next-generation high-speed wireless broadband is going to take a lot of bandwidth, requiring multiples of what we have now, and only growing. And it will require new technologies and leaders to make it happen and to put it in our hands. American ingenuity and resourcefulness have always responded to such challenges. Will we answer the call this time around?

As with most revolutions, this one includes actions by or against entrenched interests — those who prefer to keep things just as they are, with little regard for the wants and lives of their very own communities. The entrenched interests martial the troops and set up checkpoints and barricades.

Originally in writing this, I meant to comment on the big wireless companies' responses to the smartphone revolution. Clearly, the number of national wireless providers has declined, yet even with the promise of greater broadband capabilities we in America get data limits and less competition.

But the recent story that caught my eye was about a Reston company named LightSquared. Its struggle epitomizes the fight about whether America is going to be the technological leader of tomorrow.

LightSquared, an established satellite-phone provider, looked at the high-speed wireless market and found many areas with marginal coverage and little competition — keeping prices high. So LightSquared developed a concept combining a new network of cell towers with its existing communications satellites into a seamless package capable of bringing next-generation broadband to anyone and everyone, everywhere.

Here's the thing: LightSquared isn't in the retail wireless business at all — its combination package (a super-advanced, Boeing-manufactured satellite is already in the sky) provides the technology backbone on a wholesale basis. That means any number of companies could sign up to offer a truly superior data experience anywhere, any time. That should lead to much more competition, giving people like you and me a lot more choices and lower prices. It's a game-changer.

But once again, the entrenched interests are pulling back on the reins as hard as they can, with their feet straining in the stirrups.

The interesting thing is that these interests are not the major wireless companies. This time the "old guard" is the GPS industry.

It turns out that some GPS equipment is designed to pick up signals outside of the airwaves assigned to GPS — including inside LightSquared's licensed spectrum. Rather than fix their equipment, the GPS companies want to put LightSquared out of business — thus denying an innovative new wireless network to you and me. The GPS lobbyists are employing the usual delay-and-obstruct strategies that are so typical of Washington. The good news is that so far the FCC has told the engineers to solve the technical problems, probably by designing filters for the GPS equipment; for its part, LightSquared plans to avoid using part of its spectrum closest to GPS's spectrum, which will eliminate 99.9 percent of the signal conflict. But the GPS lobbyists are pushing back hard, not just at the FCC but in Congress.

Just as positive technological developments of the past depended on smart government policy to fully benefit the American people, the wireless broadband revolution depends on the choices made in Washington today. Every American should be asking whether Congress and the administration will help the broadband innovators move us forward or allow the old guard to stymie progress for its own benefit.