Company Hopes To Minimize Losses Attributed To Agency Decision

LightSquared has hired some high-powered legal help as it looks at ways to minimize its losses after the FCC shot down its plans for a nationwide 4G wireless data network. The transmissions from terrestrial sources were found to interfere with most existing GPS receivers, which posed a major problem for aviation safety.

Bloomberg News reports that the company has hired litigators Theodore Olson and Eugene Scalia from the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

LightSquared Executive VP for regulatory affairs and public policy Jeff Carlisle told Bloomberg that the FCC's decision "isn't supported by the law or technical policy." He said LightSquared was "confident" about its ability to prove its case.

But Carlisle also said the company is not ruling out any options. In January, the company called the results of testing from the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration "bogus." It has reportedly invested some $3 billion in developing the technology.

FMI: www.fcc.gov, www.lightsquared.com