Regulators will take public comments about interference from Philip Falcone’s proposed LightSquared wireless network before letting the service proceed, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said. The comments will be gathered after a working group studying possible LightSquared interference issues its report, which is due June 15, Genachowski said in a May 31 letter to Senator Charles Grassley. The letter was released today by Grassley’s office.
LightSquared, backed by Falcone’s Harbinger Capital Partners hedge fund, would serve 260 million mobile devices over a network of 40,000 terrestrial towers, using airwaves once reserved primarily for satellites. Makers and users of global- positioning system devices say the service may interfere with GPS signals used by mobile phones, aircraft, tractors and military gear.
Regulators “will not permit LightSquared to provide commercial service until it is clear that potential GPS interference concerns have been resolved,” Genachowski said. The FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will review the report by the working group, he said.
Grassley, an Iowa Republican, in an April 27 letter said the FCC may not have considered all points of view before granting preliminary approval to LightSquared in January.
The FCC treated LightSquared’s application on a “dramatically accelerated timetable” that was set shortly after news emerged that the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating a $113 million loan from Harbinger Capital to its founder Falcone, Grassley wrote.
Genachowski in the letter said the FCC “has proceeded in an open, thorough, and fair way.”
Jeff Carlisle, executive vice president of regulatory affairs for Reston-based LightSquared, in an interview said “it was always assumed” the FCC would take comment on the June 15 report.
