Doubling down in its bid to create a nationwide LTE network from scratch, upstart wholesale provider LightSquared said it has initiated Phase 1 of its spectrum agreement with British satellite provider Inmarsat.
Originally inked in 2007 by LightSquared predecessor SkyTerra (which was subsequently acquired by LightSquared parent company Harbinger Capital Partners), the agreement calls for Inmarsat to “re-band" its so-called L-Band wavelengths, which lie in the 1GHz to 2GHz frequency range. Aimed at increasing both providers’ spectrum assets, the phased plan entails a series of payments totaling $337.5 million to Inmarsat in its first phase.
“Triggering this agreement will now give us the contiguous spectrum we need to support additional network capacity to meet the growing demand for wireless data," LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja said in a statement.
The wholesale operator has already paid the satellite firm $81.25 million. The company has signed a $7 billion contract with Nokia Siemens Network to build out the terrestrial network.
Last month LightSquared said it plans to use a LTE/satellite hybrid network to cover 92 percent of the U.S. population with 4G by 2015. The company hopes to attract wireline MVNOs, cable operators wanting a wireless component, device manufacturers with embedded LTE devices, and rural and regional operators without large spectrum holdings looking to either provide basic broadband to the underserved or to add a national wireless service to its mix. Resale partners will have a choice of offering terrestrial-only, satellite-only, or integrated satellite-terrestrial services to their end users, making for a variety of customer niches and targets.
The satellite component “is really a complement to the LTE network," LightSquared chief marketing officer Frank Boulben told VON/xchange last month. “The fact that we will be the first-ever wholesale nationwide satellite/LTE integrated network will allow our partners to offer end users satellite-only or integrated services or terrestrial-only services, for a diversity of offerings."
