Relevant Document:Press Release
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has circulated a draft order to approve Ligado’s 5G application, the FCC announced in a press release.
“After many years of consideration, it is time for the FCC to make a decision and bring this proceeding to a close,” Pai said in a statement. “We have compiled an extensive record, which confirms that it is in the public interest to grant Ligado’s application while imposing stringent conditions to prevent harmful interference.” The press release notes that the draft order incorporates various concessions and technical protections as Ligado’s application has been modified over time:
“In recent years, Ligado has amended its application to significantly reduce the power levels of its base stations from 32 dBW to 9.8 dBW (a reduction of 99.3%). Ligado has also committed to providing a significant (23 megahertz) guard-band using its own licensed spectrum to further separate its terrestrial base station transmissions from neighboring operations in the Radionavigation-Satellite Service allocation. As such, Ligado is now only seeking terrestrial use of the 1526-1536 MHz, 1627.5-1637.5 MHz, and 1646.5-1656.5 MHz bands. The Order is conditioned to reflect these technical requirements.”
According to the release, the draft order further “requires Ligado to protect adjacent band incumbents by reporting its base station locations and technical operating parameters to potentially affected government and industry stakeholders prior to commencing operations, continuously monitoring the transmit power of its base station sites, and complying with procedures and actions for responding to credible reports of interference, including rapid shutdown of operations where warranted.”
Ligado’s 1L loan was quoted today at 84-85, compared to 70 yesterday; the company’s 2L loan was quoted at 35-40, compared to 30 yesterday.
Earlier this week Reorg
noted various developments in the regulatory process that had moved in Ligado’s favor, including the direct involvement of U.S. Attorney General William Barr.
Barr, in a
statement released following the FCC’s, said:
“I applaud FCC Chairman Pai's proposal to make available L-band spectrum, to be used together with C-band spectrum, for deployment of advanced wireless services, including 5G. As I said in my speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, swift FCC action on spectrum is imperative to allow for the deployment of 5G. This is essential if we are to keep our economic and technological leadership and avoid forfeiting it to Communist China. Freeing up L-band spectrum for use in tandem with the C-band, as the Chairman proposes, should greatly reduce the cost and time it will take to deploy 5G throughout the country and would be a major step toward preserving our economic future. I hope the full Commission moves forward quickly.”
Ligado did not immediately return a request for comment.