LightSquared gets reprieve, AT&T argues over Dish

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LightSquared gets reprieve, AT&T argues over Dish

FCC agrees to public consultation over the GPS interference issue, while AT&T calls for Dish's spectrum to be unencumbered

By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 31 January, 2012

READ MORE: Spectrum | US | AT&T | Infrastructure | Regulator | LTE

LightSquared may have gained a small reprieve in its battle to get approval for its LTE wholesale network. A negative decision from the FCC had seemed dangerously close a couple of weeks ago when a government agency said it could not see a solution to the problem of LightSquared's network interfering with GPS systems. Perhaps it's just dragging out the agony, but the regulator has agreed to open a public consultation on LightSquared's argument that GPS should not have legal protection from interference.

The public comment period will be open until February 27, and follow-up responses will be due by March 13. The FCC is also waiting for official interference test results, which are due soon.

Meanwhile, AT&T is arguing with the FCC over the other operator seeking to build out LTE in mobile satellite (MSS) bands, Dish Network. Dish is seeking a waiver, similar to LightSquared's, to allow it to run terrestrial-only services in its spectrum, though its MSS frequencies are further away from GPS. AT&T said in a filing that the FCC should not place restrictions on how Dish uses its spectrum - in particular, it should not impose the same rule as it did on LightSquared, that it should not sell or lease more than 25% of its spectrum capacity to AT&T or Verizon.

The stance intensified speculation that the telco may be looking to acquire the satellite-TV provider, or at least its airwaves, as a consolation prize after losing its bid to buy T-Mobile. The failure of that merger plan has left AT&T short of spectrum for LTE expansion after about 2015, the telco says. Dish has 40MHz of S-band spectrum in the 2GHz range, acquired from bankrupt MSS operators TerreStar Networks and DBSD North America.

It wrote in the submission: "Imposing restrictions on commercial activities with specific parties in this instance would be anti-competitive, discriminatory, and the height of arbitrary and capricious administrative action."

However, public interest groups including Free Press, Public Knowledge, Consumers Union and the New America Foundation are calling on the FCC to retain the limits on spectrum leasing to the big two, even while they are pushing the regulator to approve the Dish plan quickly to increase mobile broadband competition.

AT&T also said in its filing that Dish should be held to the same steep coverage targets and timescales that would be imposed on LightSquared should its plan be green-lighted after all; and to the same interference rules as for 700MHz licensees. LightSquared would have to cover at least 100m POPs within 33 months with its terrestrial network, then 145m within 45 months and 260m within 69 months.

This was taken by at least one analyst, Jonathan Chaplin of Credit Suisse, to indicate AT&T's interest in the Dish licences. "We suspect that AT&T's interest in seeing the FCC impose LightSquared-like build-out requirements on Dish has little to do with the public interest, and much more to do with its interest increasing its negotiating leverage, when it comes to a potential transaction negotiation with Dish," Chaplin wrote in a research note. "Why? Because onerous build-out requirements could increase Dish's interest in selling/dealing its spectrum."