In a significant development, satellite operator Ligado Networks, already embroiled in a legal battle with the U.S. government, has filed a lawsuit against Viasat's Inmarsat subsidiary. The suit claims a breach of their long-standing L-band spectrum partnership, seeking financial damages and restitution exceeding $1.7 billion.
Two days after initiating Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, Ligado announced the lawsuit on January 7th. The company alleges that Inmarsat failed to uphold its obligations under their 2007 cooperation agreement. These obligations included providing L-band spectrum across North America to enhance Ligado's planned terrestrial 5G service and upgrading its satellite terminals to prevent interference.
Ligado contends that Inmarsat's failure to address terminal interference issues significantly delayed and ultimately restricted the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) approval for the network near airports and waterways in 2020. Subsequently, mounting GPS interference concerns from various industry and government sources completely derailed Ligado's ground-based 5G aspirations.
"Over a 17-year period, Ligado paid Inmarsat over $1.7 billion in fees, while Inmarsat willfully avoided performing its contractual duties to upgrade its own satellite terminals," stated Ligado CEO Doug Smith. "In fact, due to its choice to delay upgrading its terminals, Inmarsat is likely still years away from completing the upgrades required under the Agreement."
Viasat, which acquired Inmarsat last year, refuted Ligado's claims, stating the lawsuit "has absolutely no legal merit and is replete with unfounded allegations of fact." The company vowed to vigorously defend itself against what it called a "transparent tactic filed in connection with Ligado’s bankruptcy filing."
Beyond the terminal interference, Ligado also accuses Inmarsat of failing to deliver portions of the spectrum specified in their cooperation agreement. The lawsuit further alleges that Inmarsat was likely aware of the Department of Defense's (DoD) influence on spectrum usage but proceeded to accept payments regardless.
Ligado's legal actions extend beyond this recent suit. The company previously filed suit against the U.S. government, citing a misinformation campaign regarding potential GPS interference from its proposed network. Despite setbacks in its terrestrial mobile plans, Ligado continues to offer connectivity services to government and enterprise clients via its SkyTerra-1 and MSAT-2 satellites. Its Chapter 11 restructuring aims to convert substantial debt into equity, significantly reducing its overall debt load. A potential spectrum lease agreement with AST SpaceMobile is also in the works.