LightSquared Faces Setback to Proposed 4G Network

LightSquared’s multi-billion dollar plan for a national 4G wireless network faced a major blow on Friday when the Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing national executive committee concluded that the network would severely interfere with GPS devices.

Based on two rounds of tests by federal agencies and separate tests by the FAA, the committee, consisting of nine federal agencies responsible for coordinating GPS issues, was unanimous in their conclusion. The committee wrote, “Based upon this testing and analysis, there appear to be no practical solutions or mitigations that would permit the LightSquared broadband service, as proposed, to operate in the next few months or years without significantly interfering with GPS.”

The proposed national 4G network would offer wholesale broadband service to corporate customers, including numerous wireless providers.