The FCC said it can’t determine whether it...

each of the conditions specified in the FCC Exit Condition” before Dec. 31, it said in a statement filed in the company’s bankruptcy proceeding (http://bit.ly/1moYuzN). LightSquared’s preferred plan out of bankruptcy involves $4 billion in financing backed by investors, including Fortress Investment Group and JPMorgan Chase (CD Dec 31 p1). “Effectiveness of the plan is conditioned on the FCC’s approval of LightSquared’s license modification applications and grant of additional relief,” on or before Dec. 31, LightSquared said in a revised second amended joint plan in the bankruptcy court docket. Spectrum management issues will need to be resolved with the federal stakeholders pursuant to a 2003 memorandum of understanding between the FCC and NTIA, the FCC filing said. The consultation process is ongoing and the FCC will give due consideration to the NTIA’s recommendations before ruling on debtors’ license modification proposals to use this spectrum, it said, referring to LightSquared’s condition to hold terrestrial-based spectrum rights in 20 MHz of L-band uplink spectrum. “Consequently, the timing of any FCC action is not solely within the FCC’s control.” The commission said it will need to do a rulemaking on approval to use the 10 MHz of downlink spectrum at 1670-1675 and 1675-1680. “At this time, it is not possible to provide any assurances that the processes outlined herein will be completed by December 31, 2014.” The FCC’s document is routine and typically seen in bankruptcy proceedings, and usually includes FCC conditions, said a satellite industry professional who’s closely monitoring the process. That the FCC would reference the end of the year gives LightSquared a bit of runway to work through the regulatory hurdles, the professional said. The filing “potentially throws the LightSquared bankruptcy into chaos,” and could leave Judge Shelley Chapman of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York in “a near impossible position,” said independent analyst Tim Farrar. Commitments on LightSquared’s exit financing were due Friday, “and the FCC’s intervention could make the status of that financing even more uncertain,” he said in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1dMPULZ). Given the time it will take the FCC to get through the NPRM process, “we don’t see how Fortress goes through with its latest proposal,” said Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker. There’s no guarantee that the FCC will agree to the other five conditions, she said in a research note. Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen will likely end up with the LightSquared assets, she said. Regarding the conditions that aren’t addressed, the statement’s silence on them “should not be construed as an indication that the FCC could or would issue an approval required under the FCC Exit Condition, or that the FCC would issue a required approval” by the end of the year, the FCC filing said.