Andre Yoskowitz
22 Apr 2012 17:34
Inmarsat has confirmed it received a long overdue payment from LightSquared and will in turn suspend further payments until 2014.
The payment of $56 million will give the company some time as it hopes for regulatory clearance. LightSquared is looking to create a mobile network using Inmarsat's spectrum.
In February, LightSquared's plans took a huge hit when the FCC proposed that the new network would interfere with important GPS services used by the military, airlines and even truck drivers. The statement came after a year of testing.
The company is backed by Philip Falcone's Harbinger Capital Partners, which invested $2.4 billion of the company's $4 billion in assets into LightSquared. Falcone is likely to file for bankruptcy if clearance is not given, soon.
Inmarsat will now defer $129 million in payments until 2014, to give the company a reprieve.