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.

Also Read: Defense Authorization Bill Targets Ligado

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.

In another effort to use midband spectrum for 5G, FCC chair Ajit Pai has proposed granting the application of Ligado Network's (née LightSquared) application to use "fallow" L-band spectrum for its hybrid satellite/mobile broadband network. 

Pai circulated a draft order approving, with conditions, Ligado's application to deploy a low-power terrestrial broadband network in the L-band that would support 5G and IoT Services. 

The company has been trying to launch a terrestrial wholesale wireless broadband service using spectrum initially licensed for satellite for a decade. Back then it was for a 4G network. 

"This draft order would both promote more efficient and effective use of our nation’s spectrum resources and ensure that adjacent band operations, including the Global Positioning System (GPS), are protected from harmful interference," the FCC said. 

The issue has been sensitive GPS receivers being interfered with by in-band LightSquared (now Legado) transmissions that prompted an outcry from GPS users, including many government agencies, and prompted the FCC (several FCCs ago) to put an indefinite hold on the proposal. 

"After many years of consideration, it is time for the FCC to make a decision and bring this proceeding to a close,” said Pai. “We have compiled an extensive record, which confirms that it is in the public interest to grant Ligado’s application while imposing stringent conditions to prevent harmful interference." Those include power levels 99% lower than Ligado proposed in a 2015 application and the commitment to provide a guard band using Legado's own licensed spectrum. Ligado must also protect adjacent-band incumbents by "reporting its base station locations and technical operating parameters to potentially affected government and industry stakeholders prior to commencing operations, continuously monitoring the transmit power of its base station sites, and complying with procedures and actions for responding to credible reports of interference, including rapid shutdown of operations where warranted." 

Pai said he appreciated the concerns by federal agencies, but based on the FCC's engineering and with the conditions, he said he was convinced the service could be approved without causing "harmful interference." 

"We commend chairman Pai for his leadership and his vision, and we look forward to engaging with the other Commissioners to drive this process forward," said Ligado president Doug Smith. "Since the very beginning of its long, comprehensive and collaborative analysis of the technical issues presented by Ligado’s application, the FCC’s dedicated staff has repeatedly shown its commitment to science-based, engineering-driven decision making, and chairman’s Pai’s circulation of the Order regarding our license modification applications is the most recent example of this. 

"The central importance of mid-band – especially our lower mid-band – to 5G is well-known. As Ericsson and Nokia technical studies on our proposed network deployment have shown, the superior propagation characteristics of our spectrum will improve mobile 5G coverage – both outdoor and indoor – and in doing so, accelerate the deployment of 5G networks. Ligado is committed to the twin goals of protecting GPS while delivering highly secure and ultra-reliable communications to accelerate next-generation technologies and the Industrial Internet of Things." 

Some federal agencies may have issues with the proposal, but attorney General Bill Barr was pleased and urged the other FCC commissioners to follow Pai's lead. 

“I applaud FCC Chairman Pai's proposal to make available L-band spectrum, to be used together with C-band spectrum, for deployment of advanced wireless services, including 5G," he said in an e-mailed statement. "As I said in my speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, swift FCC action on spectrum is imperative to allow for the deployment of 5G. This is essential if we are to keep our economic and technological leadership and avoid forfeiting it to Communist China. Freeing up L-band spectrum for use in tandem with the C-band, as the Chairman proposes, should greatly reduce the cost and time it will take to deploy 5G throughout the country and would be a major step toward preserving our economic future. I hope the full Commission moves forward quickly.” 

“I am pleased to see Chairman Pai circulate a draft order to finally allow for commercial deployments in the L Band," said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). "Throughout the history of commercial mobile communications, the U.S. has been solutions-oriented, favoring evidence-based testing and technology innovation to promote efficient spectrum usage. As the U.S. works to lead the world in 5G innovation – and as we work to promote wider coverage here in the U.S – it’s all the more important to ensure valuable mid-band spectrum is put to use.

“Ligado, a Virginia company, has endured years of back-and-forth as the issue has been studied and re-studied. I encourage the Commission to approve this draft order expeditiously.”

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) called on the rest of the commissioners to reject Pai's proposal.

“New technology is vital to America’s economy, national security, and to our aerospace and defense industry," said the AIA. "However, the government has a responsibility to help ensure it is deployed in a way that does not jeopardize the work of our armed forces or the safety of the American people. Today’s announcement disregards the serious concerns raised by various government agencies about the harmful impacts to GPS. We urge the FCC to reject the Chairman’s proposal and adequately protect the GPS network that underpins our nation’s military operations and the safety of our airspace.” 

The battle between Harbinger Capital Partners chief Philip Falcone and Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen continues to reach new heights, after Falcone sued Ergen, Dish and a handful of Ergen’s personal investment vehicles in a Colorado Court for $1.5 billion, claiming they tried to wrest control of its bankrupt LightSquared wireless high-speed data network by disrupting the reorganization process.

LightSquared had lofty ambitions when it first came on the scene a few years ago. Falcone, who had made billions by betting against the boom in sub-prime mortgages in the earlier part of the 2000s, had pumped billions into the high-speed data service, which had planned to build a hybrid broadband network using satellites and terrestrial lines to reach as many as 260 million people by the end of 2016. But mounting costs and changes in technology threw a wrench in those plans, and LightSquared filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012.

It was after that bankruptcy filing that Harbinger claims Ergen – who had snapped up wireless spectrum form other bankrupt companies at bargain process – tried to do the same with LightSquared.

This isn’t the first time that Harbinger has sued Dish over LightSquared. Last August it filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, claiming Dish “engaged in a  fraudulent scheme” to take LightSquared away. That case, where Harbinger was seeking $4 billion – was dismissed last year.

Now Harbinger is suing Ergen and Dish under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a tactic usually saved for mobsters. According to the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Harbinger claims that Ergen and Dish used “wire, mail and bankruptcy fraud, abuse of process, tortuous interference with contract and obstruction of justice,” to obtain a majority of LightSquared’s senior secured debt, make low-ball bids for its assets to gain the support of secured creditors who would get paid, and claiming that by rejecting those proposals, Harbinger breached its fiduciary duty.

Those tactics, LightSquared claims, forced the court to install an independent committee to run all aspects of the company.

Dish said it was currently evaluating the suit and had no comment at this time.

In late June, Harbinger announced a $3 billion restructuring plan that would give 74% of the company to JP Morgan Chase, Cerberus Capital Management and Fortress Investment Group, with Harbinger controlling about 12.5%. As part of that plan, Ergen would be paid $$70 million for his holdings and would get a $492 million secured note.