Ligado Networks, which the FCC hoped would boost competition for broadband service, has sued the U.S. government, saying it “misappropriated Ligado’s exclusively licensed spectrum to support previously undisclosed Defense Department systems that have been using Ligado’s spectrum without permission.”
Ligado says that with the aid of the Commerce Department and its National Telecommunications & Information Administration, the Defense Department blocked the company from developing the spectrum the Federal Communications Commission granted it to build out terrestrial 5G.
Relying on that exclusive FCC license, Ligado said it invested billions of dollars prepping for the service.
Despite pushback from GPS entities and some federal agencies, the FCC in 2020 unanimously voted to approve Ligado’s application to deploy a low-power terrestrial 5G network in the L-Band satellite spectrum.
Since that time, Ligado has been trying to resolve alleged GPS interference issues that have held up any buildout.
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But the suit said the issues were instead a concerted campaign to block Ligado from using the spectrum granted by the FCC.
“High-ranking government officials waged a multiyear misinformation campaign against ligado to conceal previously undisclosed defense department systems occupying ligado’s spectrum, block Ligado from deploying spectrum for next-generation terrestrial 5G services.
“This outrageous and unconstitutional attack on an American business by the world’s most powerful institution is contrary to the rule of law and antithetical to the government’s years-long support for the deployment of 5G technology as a vital national priority,” Ligado chairman Ivan Seidenberg said.
For a decade, Ligado, formerly LightSquared, has been trying to launch a terrestrial wholesale wireless broadband service using spectrum initially licensed for satellite.
