In The News

In The News | Fierce Wireless | Bevin Fletcher | November 25, 2019

Ligado offers immediate opportunity for FCC, Verizon, T-Mobile – analyst

Ligado Networks for several years has been waiting on FCC approval to put its lower mid-band spectrum to use for 5G, and analysts at LightShed Partners say the time is now for agency action on the L-band to help enhance 5G deployments.

Ligado in 2015 resubmitted applications to the FCC for license modification to offer 40 MHz of spectrum between 1.5 and 1.6 GHz for satellite-terrestrial use, after reaching coexistence agreements with GPS manufacturers who were concerned over interference. The proposal still faces opposition most recently from the Department of Defense, which reiterated opponents’ concerns in a letter to the FCC saying the Ligado system poses too great of risks to GPS and military operations.

In a Monday post, LightShed analysts Walter Piecyk and Joe Galone described how Ligado spectrum presents an immediate opportunity to operators Verizon and T-Mobile, could improve dynamic spectrum sharing technology expected to be deployed in 2020, and give a boost to millimeter wave and C-band spectrum.

Read the full article at Fierce Wireless.