LightSquared Hopes Lack of Opposition Means Quicker Transfer of Licenses
LightSquared is hoping the lack of opposition to its plans to transfer licenses to a reorganized version of the company, and to get a waiver of foreign ownership rules, helps speed its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The deadline for initial comments in docket 15-126 was July 1. The company needs to transfer its licenses to a reorganized entity as one of the last steps to getting Bankruptcy Court approval for ending its 38-month-old bankruptcy proceeding. The lack of opposition to the license reassignments "is a positive sign," said a lawyer working with the company. "It certainly shortens the review process."
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But the FCC has multiple issues before it on reorganized LightSquared. JPMorgan Chase filed a letter posted Thursday in which it said that despite its $550 million settlement announced in May with the Justice Department and Federal Reserve on JPMC's foreign currency exchange business, a felony antitrust violation, that crime wasn't related to any monopoly or communications issues and shouldn't prevent it from holding a minority interest in the reorganized LightSquared. "The conduct underlying JPMC&Co.'s single antitrust violation was principally attributable to the actions of a single trader who was subsequently dismissed," the financial services company said. The FCC also was asked to approve a new long-term spectrum leasing arrangement between LightSquared subsidiary One Dot Six and Crown Castle International. Finally, the Justice Department has said it was reviewing the LightSquared application for any national security or public safety issues -- a standard step in such proceedings -- and asked the commission to hold off.
The NAB took the LightSquared proceedings as an opportunity to argue the FCC should take a new look at the requirement setting a cap of 25 percent on foreign ownership. "NAB supports a streamlined process for approving increased foreign investment for all FCC-licensed entities, including broadcasters," it said in comments posted Wednesday. "Broadcasting is the only communications platform forced to operate under very strict limits on foreign ownership and investment." LightSquared may not respond to the NAB filing, said the lawyer working with the company. LightSquared has asked the FCC for a declaratory ruling letting it exceed the 25 percent benchmark for foreign ownership. The reorganized company's foreign ownership would be about 70 percent.
July 13 is the deadline for responses to comments, with replies due July 20. The FCC still needs to satisfy itself that the transfer is in the public interest, the lawyer said. The company expects to finish the license transfer work and exit bankruptcy later this year, the lawyer said.
The license transfers are unrelated to LightSquared's current dealings with GPS companies on its plans for an L-band satellite-based broadband network and concerns about signal interference with GPS devices (see 1507020056).