LightSquared Cornered by Fed Rejection
Scott Moritz
LightSquared Blow Leaves Falcone Few Options
Billionaire Philip Falcone’s effort to build a national wireless network was rejected by U.S. regulators, leaving him limited options to salvage value from his LightSquared Inc. assets and dealing a blow to efforts to increase industry competition.
The Federal Communications Commission said yesterday it won’t let LightSquared begin service after an Obama administration adviser found that it disrupts navigation gear used by planes, boats and autos. Closely held LightSquared invested $4 billion in airwaves crucial to its plan to offer service that lets users browse the Web at higher speeds.
The setback threatens to leave the industry with one fewer competitor, harming regulators’ attempts to spur rivalry and benefiting incumbents, such as AT&T Inc. (T) and Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) LightSquared’s options include selling the spectrum, swapping it for better airwaves, suing the government and reducing costs to stay afloat until a solution is found, said Walt Piecyk, an analyst at BTIG LLC in New York.
The full story: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-15/lightsquared-blow-leaves-falcone-few-options-to-salvage-value.html