News Analysis
MIKE DANO, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies
9/13/2022
Ligado Networks said it no longer plans to launch a 5G network in its 1526-1536MHz spectrum by September 30 in parts of Virginia, as it had hoped to do earlier this year.
The company’s move comes just days after the US government’s National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) released a report that raised questions about whether Ligado’s planned network would interfere with GPS and other existing devices and networks.
“Ligado Networks … is not intending to move forward with its trial deployment in northern Virginia. Ligado has reached this decision to allow time for the company’s discussions with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration [NTIA], acting in its statutory role on behalf of the Executive Branch, to resolve in a fair and reasonable manner issues relating to the government’s ongoing use of Ligado’s terrestrial spectrum,” wrote Gerard Waldron, Ligado’s counsel, in a letter to the FCC. The letter was also distributed to members of the media.
At issue is around 35MHz of spectrum in the L-band; the spectrum is controlled by Ligado and could be worth billions of dollars. As noted by SpaceNews, the company had been planning to switch on some 5G services in that spectrum near its headquarters in Virginia. In advance of that launch, Ligado had inked a deal with Nokia for 5G basestation radios and with Rakuten Mobile for private wireless networks.
However, Ligado for years has struggled under concerns from members of Congress, the US military and others that network operations in its spectrum would interfere with GPS and other, existing gadgets. Those concerns came to a head following the release of the NASEM report last week.