March 15 Had Been The Deadline Set For FCC Approval Of LTE Network

It looks like LightSquared may be losing a key partner in its attempt to construct a nationwide 4G LTE wireless broadband network, which was shown to interfere with nearly every GPS receiver in current use.

Sprint had given a March 15th deadline to the startup company to obtain FCC approval for the plan. The agreement between the two companies would have saved LightSquared millions of dollars in establishing its terrestrial infrastructure for the network.

But the FCC last month agreed with reports showing that the LightSquared and GPS services could not coexist on adjacent frequencies, and declined to give a green light to LightSquared to proceed. Walking away from the agreement could cost Sprint some $74 million.

Since then, CEO Sanjiv Ahuja has been ousted, the company's staff has been reduced by 45 percent, and it defaulted on a $56 million payment to Inmarsat. Engadget.com reports that other partners, such as Nokia Siemens Networks, have suspended work on network building projects "until further notice."

FMI: www.sprint.com, www.lightsquared.com