Satellite broadband venture LightSquared has rebranded to Ligado Networks as it looks to shake off its troubled past. The new name coincides with the company shifting its focus to the internet of things as it appears to be edging closer to assuaging the GPS industry’s fears that putting its S-band spectrum to work will cause interference issues.
Satellite broadband venture LightSquared has rebranded to Ligado Networks as it looks to shake off its troubled past.
The new name coincides with the company shifting its focus to the internet of things as it appears to be edging closer to assuaging the GPS industry’s fears that putting its S-band spectrum to work will cause interference issues.
LightSquared, as it was then known, was blocked from deploying satellite broadband services on its frequencies by the FCC in 2011 and filed for Chapter 11 in 2012 as debts mounted.
In a statement Ligado CEO Doug Smith acknowledged that the business’s new name is in part an effort to turn a page following its emergence from bankruptcy and said that Ligado’s first aim was continue to advance the regulatory process for bringing its mid-band spectrum to market.
One of the company’s board members, Reed Hundt – a former chair of the FCC – met with FCC officials on 5 February to update the regulator on testing being undertaken by Roberson & Associates.
The consultancy is working on whether a wireless broadband network operating under Ligado’s agreements with Garmin, Trimble and Deere & Company would interfere with GPS. Ligado contends that from Roberson’s tests “it is clear that GPS and wireless broadband operations can coexist on adjacent channels”, according to an FCC filing.
The compromise agreement with Garmin saw Ligado agree to reduce out-of-band emissions and power levels, forgoing terrestrial use of the downlink band closest to the GPS signal, and committing to uplink and downlink limits.
Whether this compromise makes the original LightSquared business plan of providing a wholesale LTE network viable is unclear – a LightSquared spokesperson declined to comment – although on the announcement of the rebrand Smith’s comments were focused on IOT applications, which typically require less bandwidth.
“As our lives become more mobile in an increasingly connected world, the Ligado Networks brand underscores our mission to provide the mobile connections that support a growing variety of emerging applications,” Smith said.
“When we look at the Internet of Things, it’s not just Things; the real keys to success are the connections between those Things as well as the quality of that connectivity.
“In order to accelerate delivery of innovative services in such verticals as healthcare, automotive, industrial, shipping, home, and municipal sectors and to more broadly fulfil the promise of next-generation mobile networks, more mid-band spectrum is needed.”
Following its emergence from bankruptcy, the company is now controlled by Centerbridge Partners, Fortress Investment Group and JP Morgan. Former owner Harbinger Capital Partners, a hedge fund led by Philip Falcone, was left with a 44% equity stake and no say in day-to-day operations.
During the bankruptcy, Falcone had fought for control of LightSquared with Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen, who became LightSquared’s prime creditor as he held more than US$1bn in debt.
Ergen will see his debt repaid under the restructuring plan agreed last year, which was backed by Credit Suisse, Jefferies, and Morgan Stanley who arranged a US$1.5bn exit financing facility.
