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LightSquared founder Philip Falcone to step down 'eventually', attempts to dodge the bankruptcy bullet
In an effort keep the troubled LightSquared from the brink of defaulting on its debt, its founder will step down from the company. While it doesn't look immediate, (people "familiar with the negotiations" are using the word "eventually") it's Philip Falcone's latest attempt to extend a debt-term violation that expires this morning. According to the same sources, if the initial extension is okayed, Falcone and LightSquared's lenders are aiming for a greater period of around 18 months to repay $1.6 billion in loans and pass the FCC's requirements for its network. The company's board is still deliberating on whether to accept the deal, which would stop the company filing for bankruptcy protection. Unfortunately, it looks like those new 4G network dreams just got hazier.
Inmarsat hands LightSquared a lifeline, hopes to get that $56 million back later
Remember LightSquared? Of course you do, it was the noble yet doomed attempt to build a nationwide 4G LTE network. Days before Sprint dumped it, billionaire Philip Falcone's enterprise defaulted on a $56 million spectrum allocation payment to British satellite operator Inmarsat. Now LightSquared's biggest creditor has offered a stay of execution to give the company time to overcome the regulatory hurdles (we'd suggest praying Julius Genachowski gets another job elsewhere) and get the project back on track. Cynics might suggest it's only been given the breathing room because it's not worth being pushed into Chapter 7 bankruptcy, to which we say shame on you, you naughty cynics.
Lightsquared signs deal with AirTouch, creates its first MVNO
LightSquared added another name to its list of allies yesterday, with a wholesale agreement allowing AirTouch products to dabble in the world of wireless. The phone manufacturer, which makes telecom devices that work with voice, data and video, looks set to become the first newly created MVNO to use LightSquared's 4G goodness. Of course, all this is assuming that the nascent network actually gets off the ground. But now that it's supposedly solved that pesky GPS interference problem, what could possibly stop it?
LightSquared inks multi-year deal with PowerNet Global, quest for LTE domination continues
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard of a little start-up called LightSquared and its ambitious plans to blanket these great states in 4G LTE. You may likewise have caught wind of its announcement earlier this year of a fistful of anonymous wholesale partnerships. The LTE wholesaler is now making public a multi-year agreement with Cincinnati-based carrier PowerNet Global, bringing high-speed voice and data to its customer base. The announcement comes on the heels of Sprint's 15-year agreement with the wholesale provider and a recent partnership with NetTalk, proving it's going to take more than a little yellow buck to keep LightSquared down. Full PR after the break.
Sprint and LightSquared confirm agreement, 15 years worth of LTE network sharing and more
The rumors were true, but given the long, torrid affair between these two it shouldn't be a surprise. Sprint and LightSquared have confirmed their intentions to the world, stepping into a whopping 15 year agreement that will be worth $9 billion in cash for Sprint and will save LightSquared an estimated $13 billion. LightSquared will have the right to sell access to Sprint's burgeoning LTE network, while Sprint can also piggy-back on the other's existing capacity where needed. Additionally, LightSquared will be able to roam on Sprint's current 3G network, opening new doors for one while helping the other accelerate its apparent transition to LTE. This is of course good news for Sprint and naturally for LightSquared, which is trying desperately to put the whole GPS fiasco behind it. The loser? Clearwire, we'd say -- and WiMAX in general.
LightSquared creates rural America initiative, promises to be more help than hindrance
With GPS interference issues now resolved, LightSquared's going back to the farm to reassure rural America it means no harm. The wholesale-only 4G LTE service that already signed up a plethora of partners is turning to Sen. Byron Dorgan and Reps. George Nethercutt and Charlie Stenholm to oversee its newly-created Empower Rural America Initiative. The plan calls for oversight of the service's bucolic deployment, promising its filtering tech will keep GPS-dependent precision agriculture on-point and pesticides away from your country home. Also under the proposed guidelines are plans to assist emergency first responders with network access in the event existing communication systems get knocked out. It's a comforting pat on the rustic back that should shore up "broadband adoption gap" issues currently plaguing underserved areas. But while it may look like the farmer and the technologist can be friends, we have a sneaking suspicion there are more self-serving motivations at play here. Hit the break for LightSquared's pastorally empowering PR.
LightSquared and Sprint reportedly sign 15-year LTE agreement
Apparently Sprint's none too concerned about recent complaints from the likes of John Deere and the federal government about LightSquared's potential interference with GPS signals. A letter obtained by Bloomberg reveals that Sprint has signed a 15-year deal with Falcone and co., agreeing to share network expansion costs in return for a slice of the sweet LTE service. According to the document, "LightSquared and Sprint will jointly develop, deploy and operate LightSquared's 4G LTE network." The report comes on the heels of rumors of a $20 billion agreement between the two companies. Unfortunately for both parties, no amount of billion dollar bills will shake impending scrutiny from the FCC.
Best Buy signs up for LightSquared's wholesale LTE service
First it was Cricket Wireless, and now another piece of LightSquared's puzzle has fallen into place -- it's just announced at CTIA that Best Buy has signed on as a wholesale customer for the yet-to-be-launched LTE network. Details on the agreement are still pretty light, as you might expect, but Best Buy will apparently use the network to bolster its Best Buy Connect wireless service, which currently relies on Sprint and Clearwire's 3G and 4G networks. Exactly when that will happen isn't clear, unfortunately, but LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja says the first trials are expected to begin in the first quarter of next year.
Cricket ties up with LightSquared for LTE roaming agreement
Throwing a little caution to the wind over brewing GPS interference concerns, Cricket -- the CDMA budget carrier that specializes in contract-free plans -- has hooked up with LightSquared to deliver additional LTE service through a roaming agreement that'll supplement its own rollout "over the next few years. " All told, the moves should bring it up to technological speed with archrival MetroPCS, which deployed LTE last year (beating Verizon to market, actually) and currently has a pair of Samsung-sourced handsets on the market to take advantage of it. For LightSquared's part, this is exactly the type of deal they've been looking to ink: the company has expressed no interest in lighting up a retail-facing carrier of its own, instead offering wholesale LTE deals to other carriers -- like, say, Cricket -- who don't necessarily have the spectrum, the time, or the budget to roll out 4G in earnest. Follow the break for LightSquared's press release. [Thanks, Mark]
LightSquared says it has signed up five companies for its wholesale LTE service
LightSquared has faced something of an uphill battle in getting its wholesale 4G LTE network off the ground -- even including accusations that it's a threat to national security -- but it looks like it's having fairly good luck attracting some customers. According to Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben, LightSquared has signed agreements with five companies so far, including two carriers, one website, a national retailer, and a device manufacturer -- none of which it's able to name, of course. Boulben also revealed that the company, which plans to compete with the likes of Verizon, AT&T and Clearwire, is finished raising money for the "short term," and that it plans to begin trials later this year in Las Vegas, Baltimore, Denver and Phoenix once it finishes its lab testing in Dallas.
