US satellite/terrestrial venture LightSquared is planning to launch LTE services early next year, according to media reports.
According to a report on the Light Reading Mobile website, LightSquared will launch its LTE services early in 2011 and will…
US satellite/terrestrial venture LightSquared is planning to launch LTE services early next year, according to media reports.
According to a report on the Light Reading Mobile website, LightSquared will launch its LTE services early in 2011 and will start trials in Q3 2011.
L,ightSquared’s executive VP, Martin Harriman, reportedly said that the company had already started installing base stations.
The reports suggest a delay in plans for the roll-out of the network. Light Reading Mobile reported in April that LightSquared was planning to launch LTE by the end of 2011.
A spokeswoman for LightSquared confirmed the news, but did not offer any further comment.
LightSquared is planning to deploy an integrated LTE and satellite network in the US that it describes as a “world first”. The network will provide coverage over the entire country.
LightSquared plans to operate on a solely wholesale basis. In recent weeks, it has announced a series of roaming agreements with companies like SI Wireless, a group of rural independent operators, and the wireless carrier Leap Wireless.
The group’s network is being built by European vendor Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN).
The FCC has put various conditions on LightSquared’s ATC (Ancillary Terrestrial Component) licence, which is necessary for operators looking to provide an integrated terrestrial and satellite service. It has to cover at least 100 million people by the end of 2012; 145m by the end of 2013 and at least 260m by the end of 2015.
In February, LightSquared’s CMO Frank Boulben told TelecomFinance that it was intending to accelerate its infrastructure roll-out by over a year.
Boulben also said that he was confident that LightSquared would meet the FCC’s conditions earlier than planned.
There have been some concerns from other companies about LightSquared’s plans. Both The satellite operator Inmarsat and the US Department of Defense have expressed concern that LightSquared’s terrestrial network could interfere with the GPS and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System).
Media reports this week even suggest that LightSquared’s system could interfere with public safety workers.
The website AVWeb reported on Tuesday that early field tests of LightSquared’s 4G signal had shown that it caused some disruption to emergency services in New Mexico.
LightSquared’s main backer has been Harbinger Capital Partners, the New York-based hedge fund headed by Philip Falcone.
