Ligado President/CEO Doug Smith says his company is “focused on spectrum we can use to build private networks for companies. Our vision is to bring the power of 5G commercial networks to 5G private networks” by integrating satellite and terrestrial technology.
He spoke during a webinar Wednesday held by Broadband Breakfast for a discussion on the importance of driving competition and innovation in the wireless ecosystem. Asked how soon compatible smartphones would be ready, Smith said in the first half of next year, the company will begin to test its technology and services.
He referenced the 3GPP standard-setting body’s approval of Ligado’s technical spec to enable Ligado, formerly called LightSquared, to deploy 5G networks on L-band. It aims to service enterprise customers in the transportation, agriculture, utilities, and energy sectors. He said the company has authorization to deploy its L-band system on C-band, CBRS and 2.5 GHz.
Competitive Carriers Association President/CEO Steve Berry said when the company was called LightSquared, it had a wholesale model to partner with small carriers. Now, its members can still partner with Ligado, he said, possibly for backhaul as they deploy broadband in rural areas. The infrastructure package winding its way through Congress that includes $65 billion for broadband deployment “changes the paradigm rules in rural America,” said Berry.
Smith said the L-band spectrum awarded to the company by the FCC last year “is in the 1 to 2 GHz range. We call it the sweet spot. [It has] good penetration, you can get a lot of miles out of it.” The spectrum above 3 GHz can also be used for downlinks from satellites to cell towers, but has coverage challenges, he explained.
Berry says partnering with Ligado gives CCA members another option in deployment. He reminded the audience that CCA reps “all the OEMs, vendors that supply the wireless industry.” Ligado has partnerships with CCA member Nokia to develop 5G base station radios for L-band and member Mavenir to develop base stations for advanced connectivity services. “They want to cover areas where cost ROI is a concern for a private company,” explained Berry. “Ligado gives them options to expand their coverage area. A tower may be built a lot faster than fiber to the home, but you need backhaul.”
Smith said, “cell phones are limited on power and antenna [strength] so you want lower-band spectrum on the device. L-band is great to get that connection back up to cell towers.”
Getting FCC approval last year to use L-band for Ligado’s service came with great pushback from national defense and security agencies concerned about the potential for interference with GPS. Inside Towers reported there’s still opposition from those agencies to the FCC’s approval. Concerning this issue yesterday, Smith said: “We understand the value of GPS. GPS is so important to the nation and we don’t want to take risks.” He said the company worked with the FCC and devoted a 23 MHz guard band to separate federal spectrum from Ligado’s spectrum. “After all this study, we’ve solved this issue, as evidenced by the 5 to nothing vote at the FCC last year.”
“I certainly don’t like that we have this opposition,” Smith said. “Some of this is competitive. We’re the first to announce we’re offering 5G-based satellite service, using 3GPP technology for the air interface, the way the device talks to the satellite.” He characterized Ligado’s system as lower-cost, with a seamless integration with 5G terrestrial services, “integrated into the same chip into the same device.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
Reader Interactions