The US satellite/terrestrial venture LightSquared has announced a network partnership with the rural wireless provider Open Range.
In a statement, LightSquared said that the partnership would include a wholesale agreement whereby Open Range can sell…
The US satellite/terrestrial venture LightSquared has announced a network partnership with the rural wireless provider Open Range.
In a statement, LightSquared said that the partnership would include a wholesale agreement whereby Open Range can sell LightSquared’s satellite capacity to its customers.
It may also include a nationwide 4G roaming arrangement and a licensing agreement that enables Open Range to lease L-band spectrum owned by LightSquared.
The agreement is still subject to certain definitive agreements being implemented and to the acceptance of the FCC.
The chairman and CEO of LightSquared, Sanjiv Ahuja, said that the partnership would enable LightSquared to provide a larger nationwide LTE service to its retail partners and customers.
He added that the partnership “is part of LightSquared’s planned commercial service which will result in billions of dollars of investment, offer consumers a new wireless competitor and create tens of thousands of jobs across America”.
The news of the partnership comes after reports earlier in March said that LightSquared was considering a partnership with Sprint Nextel.
LightSquared, which is currently rolling out its LTE network in the US, was reportedly planning to use Sprint’s equipment to accelerate the deployment of its ground infrastructure.
It also planned to use some of the spare capacity on Sprint’s network, which is being created as Sprint moves towards newer technology.
