Ligado undeterred in battle against feds

Ligado Networks said it will continue to fight the US government in its efforts to build a 5G network using its L-band spectrum holdings, despite calls from federal officials to throw out the company's explosive, $39 billion lawsuit. The move likely foreshadows a complex and lengthy court battle between the startup and the feds.

But Ligado is no stranger to such fights. The company initially launched in 2010 under the name LightSquared, and planned to build a 4G LTE network with its L-band spectrum holdings. That plan fell apart after the FCC ruled that the proposed network would interfere with GPS signals. Then, after Ligado arose from LightSquared's bankruptcy in 2015, it managed to score approvals from the FCC for its plan, this time focusing on 5G.

But that effort too fell apart starting in 2020.

Now Ligado is pursuing yet another tack: In a lawsuit filed late last year, Ligado claims the US military is secretly using its L-band spectrum holdings. As a result, the company said defense officials conducted a "misinformation and disparagement campaign" to prevent the company from launching its own 5G operations in that band.

The response

"We respectfully request that the court dismiss Ligado's complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, or, alternatively, for failure to state a claim," wrote attorneys for the US government last week in their request to the US Court of Federal Claims to throw out Ligado's lawsuit.

In the government's new, 55-page filing, attorneys offer a wide variety of legal arguments against Ligado's claims. Among those: that the court lacks jurisdiction over the topic, that Ligado doesn't own its spectrum anyway, and that "Ligado fails to plead any plausible facts to support its purely speculative claim that the government has occupied its licensed spectrum."

Officials for Ligado remain undeterred.

"As set out in the company's lawsuit, government officials deliberately deprived Ligado of its rightfully licensed property, and the government must be held accountable," the company said in a statement. "This attack on an American business by the world's most powerful institution is contrary to the rule of law and antithetical to the government's years-long support for the deployment of 5G technology as a vital national priority. We worked diligently and in good faith with government agencies to find a fair resolution but were left with no choice but to pursue litigation to defend our interests. We continue to stand firmly behind our complaint and will reply to the government's motion in the appropriate forum."

Ligado's L-band spectrum holdings – which sit in the 1525-1660.5MHz range – aren't the only licenses under debate. Indeed, contentious regulatory battles continue over spectrum bands ranging from 3GHz to 12GHz.

Indeed, the FCC's auction authority remains tied up in an ongoing battle over whether and how to shift spectrum in the lower 3GHz band from US military radar to 5G.

The situation has left 5G network operators complaining about a dearth of licensed spectrum for their networks.