LightSquared proposes vacating disputed spectrum

Beleaguered and bankrupt, LightSquared on Friday proposed giving up its plan to use spectrum next to that used by global positioning systems if federal regulators will let it develop the rest of its planned nationwide broadband network.

The Federal Communications Commission blocked LightSquared from building its network earlier this year after tests showed the proposals could interfere with GPS.

On Friday LightSquared unveiled a plan that calls for entirely vacating the "upper" 10 Mghz of spectrum closest to GPS signals, and delaying development of a "lower" 10 Mghz chunk of spectrum until the FCC enacts rules to prevent interference. Instead of using the upper spectrum, the company proposes pairing some of its existing spectrum with spectrum it could share with government users.

"LightSquared's comprehensive solution advances the public interest by creating a valuable guardband from terrestrial services for GPS receivers, introduces a new nationwide mobile broadband network, and ultimately increases utility of the nation's scarce spectrum resources," the company wrote in documents filed with the FCC.

LightSquared hopes to use satellite and ground-based transmitters to provide a wholesale nationwide broadband network that other companies could use.

(Image via Creations/Shutterstock.com)