LightSquared brought its satellite-terrestrial LTE network one step closer to fruition with the announcement of three device vendors and board approval for its $7 billion network deal with Nokia Siemens Networks.
The news comes days after LightSquared said it landed $850 million in build-out financing and signed its first wholesale customers.
Nokia will provide branded, data-centric devices to LightSquared. AnyDATA and BandRich are building USB dongles and modules for use in netbooks, laptops and tablets. The dongles will launch in the second half of next year.
Qualcomm says it is integrating L-Band LTE technology into its mainstream chipset roadmap and is developing a satellite air interface technology called EGAL (Enhanced Geostationary Air Link), which allows mobile devices to run on a satellite network. The company is adding both L-Band LTE and EGAL to its standard products, including its multi-mode MDM9600 LTE chipset.
“Device manufacturers will be able to use our latest MDM9600 chipsets to create integrated cellular-satellite products that are similar to today’s typical mobile devices in terms of size, capabilities, and build costs,” said Peggy Johnson, Qualcomm’s executive vice president of the Americas and India, in a statement.
Nokia Siemens Networks’ board of directors has approved the company’s eight-year, $7 billion deal to deploy and maintain LightSquared’s network, which was first announced in July.
Both companies have begun initial operations to build the network, including site acquisitions and the development of LTE base station equipment. The network will consist of about 40,000 cellular base stations and is expected to cover 92 percent of the U.S. population by the end of 2015.
LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja said the company was “fully committed” to meeting its ambitious deployment schedule. The company is required by the FCC to cover at least 100 million people by the end of 2012.
Filed Under: Devices
