LightSquared to start building LTE network

IDG News Service - LightSquared plans to start building its terrestrial wireless network soon, despite a regulatory approval process that has sparked vehement opposition from GPS vendors and won't be over until at least the middle of August.

"We can begin to roll out the network without turning it on," said Martin Harriman, executive vice president of LightSquared, in an interview on Thursday. "We will start deployments shortly, we have base stations in production, and ... our first devices are imminent."

The startup believes all the pieces are in place for it to start rolling out the network, except for the need for approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to start using its radio spectrum, Harriman said. By getting infrastructure in place before the final approval, it could launch services more quickly after the decision.

LightSquared is on track to begin large-scale testing of its US$14 billion hybrid network at the beginning of next year, with commercial service available toward the end of the first quarter, Harriman said. Data cards with both satellite and LTE (Long-Term Evolution) capability will also be ready in or near the September timeframe to which the company committed to the FCC earlier this year. At that point, the devices will start to undergo extensive testing in preparation for the launch of services, he said.

In addition to covering 100 percent of the U.S. population with a satellite network, LightSquared has committed to reaching 36 percent of U.S. residents with its LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network by the end of 2012. By 2015, that figure would grow to 92 percent, or 260 million people. LightSquared won't offer consumers access to the networks directly but will sell service wholesale to partners including Best Buy and Leap Wireless.

However, because of LightSquared's unprecedented plan to use frequencies in the MSS (Mobile Satellite Service) band for a full-scale cellular network based on land, the company's service is hostage to an FCC requirement that it resolve possible interference with GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers. On Thursday, LightSquared gave the FCC the results of interference tests and a new plan to prevent problems by setting aside part of its spectrum.

Those reports are open for public comment until July 30 and then for responses until Aug. 15. The International Bureau, which oversees the MSS spectrum, could take as long as it likes to issue an order, and that order could be appealed to the FCC's commissioners for a vote.

The threat of disruption to GPS has sparked fierce opposition from companies in several industries and led government agencies to voice caution about the LTE network.