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Ligado Networks
Ligado Networks, formerly known as LightSquared, is an American satellite communications company.
After restructuring, emerging from bankruptcy and modifying its network plan, the new company, Ligado Networks, launched in 2016. It operates the SkyTerra 1 satellite.
Ligado Networks is based in Reston, Virginia. The company is governed by a seven-member board of directors with Ivan Seidenberg as Chairman and Doug Smith as president and CEO.[better source needed] Fortress Investment Group, LLC, Centerbridge Partners LP and JPMorgan Chase & Co. own controlling stakes in Ligado Networks; Harbinger Capital Partners maintains a minority stake.
Ligado Networks has 40 MHz of spectrum licenses in the nationwide block of 1500 MHz to 1700 MHz spectrum in the L-Band. With it, the company is developing a satellite-terrestrial network to support the emerging 5G market and Internet of Things applications.
The company (as LightSquared) reached a cooperation agreement in 2007 with Inmarsat, a British satellite telecommunications company, that rearranged the L-Band spectrum so the company could use a larger, contiguous stretch of spectrum. Potential interference issues at the time prevented LightSquared from deploying the network.
In 2010, the company acquired licenses to mid-band spectrum when it bought SkyTerra Communications. LightSquared's plans, which did not come to fruition, were to use the spectrum to create a 4G wireless mobile network covering North America.
Ligado received FCC's unanimous approval for use of spectrum near the L-bands used by GPS signals for their 5G networks in April 2020. The decision came after letters from the Department of Defense and members of Congress suggested that the company using spectrum would interfere with military capabilities. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper warned of the risks, and a spokesman for the Pentagon argued that the request should be denied. The request was also opposed by Iridium Communications and the Federal Aviation Administration.
After the FCC approval, Bradford Parkinson, lead architect of the Global Positioning System and member of the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing, said that the FCC had made a "grave error" in their approval. An advisory committee agreed that the approval was a risk. Major aviation associations including the Air Line Pilots Association, International, Aerospace Industries Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), and others all filed statements in opposition to the order. Other major GPS users, including Lockheed, Garmin, Trimble, and others also filed statements in opposition. Additionally, after the ruling, the Department of Defense and Department of Transportation issued a joint statement of opposition; the latter noted safety losses from impacts to E-911 service. The HASC committee chairman, Rep. Adam Smith called it a security risk.
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Ligado Networks
Ligado Networks, formerly known as LightSquared, is an American satellite communications company.
After restructuring, emerging from bankruptcy and modifying its network plan, the new company, Ligado Networks, launched in 2016. It operates the SkyTerra 1 satellite.
Ligado Networks is based in Reston, Virginia. The company is governed by a seven-member board of directors with Ivan Seidenberg as Chairman and Doug Smith as president and CEO.[better source needed] Fortress Investment Group, LLC, Centerbridge Partners LP and JPMorgan Chase & Co. own controlling stakes in Ligado Networks; Harbinger Capital Partners maintains a minority stake.
Ligado Networks has 40 MHz of spectrum licenses in the nationwide block of 1500 MHz to 1700 MHz spectrum in the L-Band. With it, the company is developing a satellite-terrestrial network to support the emerging 5G market and Internet of Things applications.
The company (as LightSquared) reached a cooperation agreement in 2007 with Inmarsat, a British satellite telecommunications company, that rearranged the L-Band spectrum so the company could use a larger, contiguous stretch of spectrum. Potential interference issues at the time prevented LightSquared from deploying the network.
In 2010, the company acquired licenses to mid-band spectrum when it bought SkyTerra Communications. LightSquared's plans, which did not come to fruition, were to use the spectrum to create a 4G wireless mobile network covering North America.
Ligado received FCC's unanimous approval for use of spectrum near the L-bands used by GPS signals for their 5G networks in April 2020. The decision came after letters from the Department of Defense and members of Congress suggested that the company using spectrum would interfere with military capabilities. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper warned of the risks, and a spokesman for the Pentagon argued that the request should be denied. The request was also opposed by Iridium Communications and the Federal Aviation Administration.
After the FCC approval, Bradford Parkinson, lead architect of the Global Positioning System and member of the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing, said that the FCC had made a "grave error" in their approval. An advisory committee agreed that the approval was a risk. Major aviation associations including the Air Line Pilots Association, International, Aerospace Industries Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), and others all filed statements in opposition to the order. Other major GPS users, including Lockheed, Garmin, Trimble, and others also filed statements in opposition. Additionally, after the ruling, the Department of Defense and Department of Transportation issued a joint statement of opposition; the latter noted safety losses from impacts to E-911 service. The HASC committee chairman, Rep. Adam Smith called it a security risk.