LightSquared and Swiss GPS specialist Garmin have settled their long-running legal dispute over the US wireless venture’s use of spectrum for terrestrial wireless broadband services. The news comes shortly after similar agreements with Deere & Company and Trimble.
LightSquared and Swiss GPS specialist Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) have settled their long-running legal dispute over the US wireless venture’s use of spectrum for terrestrial wireless broadband services.
The news comes within a fortnight of the newly formed ‘New LightSquared’, which exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month, reaching similar settlements with other GPS equipment makers, Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) and Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB).
Last week, the wireless venture also withdrew its lawsuit against the government for allowing GPS equipment makers to use its spectrum.
LiqhtSquared said in a statement that it has reached an agreement with Garmin on parameters for ground-based service in the L-band concerning the new company’s FCC-regulated licences.
Specifically, LightSquared has agreed to reduce out-of-band emissions and power levels and forgo terrestrial use of the downlink band closest to the GPS signal. It will submit filings with the FCC committing to spectrum use and uplink and downlink limits.
In return, Garmin has agreed not to object to the mobile operator’s terrestrial deployment in the 1627-1680 MHz range.
The agreement has also seen the two companies finalise settlement of a lawsuit filed against Garmin and others on 1 November 2013 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and later transferred to the District Court.
LightSquared CEO Doug Smith said the company was glad to have finally found a resolution to these important spectrum issues and reached an agreement with Garmin, noting that added protections at 1526-1536 MHz have addressed the GPS specialist’s concerns for devices other than certified aviation equipment.
“We understand that we need to work with the aviation community to address any outstanding concerns and are committed to working closely with Garmin, the Department of Transportation, the FAA and others in the community to find a peaceful coexistence between the two services,” Smith said, adding that he was confident a compromise could be reached over time.
The Wall Street Journal cited a Garmin spokesperson saying that the company does not expect the performance of GPS-based technologies to suffer as a result of the settlement. She said the agreement will see Garmin receive a confidential financial settlement, noting that it does not have to make a payment to LightSquared.
Garmin was not immediately available for further comment.
LightSquared has been in peace talks since the FCC banned it from launching commercial services due to concerns that its frequencies could interfere with GPS devices, helping push it into Chapter 11 protection in May 2012.
One of the options it has previously floated involves using government spectrum to compensate for not using some of its own airwaves.
LightSquared’s bankruptcy case was highly litigious but a turning point in the group’s battle with the GPS industry came in July, when it agreed to pause legal action with Trimble to seek a settlement.
LightSquared emerged from bankruptcy after the FCC granted it permission on 4 December to transfer spectrum licences to the newly restructured New LightSquared. This followed US Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman’s approval of the company reorganisation plan on 26 March.
At the time of the bankruptcy exit, incoming chair Ivan Seidenberg, the former chair of US telecoms giant Verizon Communications, said: “We intend to do everything possible to achieve a reasonable business solution as well as an engineering consensus between wireless broadband and the GPS industry.
