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December 08, 2010, 1:32 PM EST
By Greg Bensinger
Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Philip Falcone’s new satellite for his LightSquared wireless venture has a malfunction that’s preventing its antenna reflector from opening properly, according to builder Boeing Co.
The satellite, launched Nov. 14, is designed to supplement coverage for the fourth-generation wireless network Falcone is building to compete with AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless in selling mobile services. Falcone is the founder of the Harbinger Capital Partners hedge fund.
“Boeing, in close partnership with its LightSquared customer, has assembled a team of experts to assess progress and continue deployment of the antenna,” Chicago-based Boeing said in an e-mailed statement. “As with any post-launch checkout, it’s not unexpected for minor delays to occur.”
The glitch could imperil discussions between LightSquared and other companies that may be seeking to buy capacity on the network, Jennifer Fritzsche, a Wells Fargo & Co. analyst in Chicago, said in a research note today. She said LightSquared’s authorization from the Federal Communications Commission is contingent on having a working satellite.
Tom Surface, a spokesman for Reston, Virginia-based LightSquared, said in an e-mail that the company expects its network rollout “to proceed on schedule.”
The satellite difficulties were reported earlier by Space News.
--Editors: Ville Heiskanen, Lisa Wolfson
To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Bensinger in New York at gbensinger1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net
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Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Philip Falcone’s new satellite for his LightSquared wireless venture has a malfunction that’s preventing its antenna reflector from opening properly, according to builder Boeing Co.
The satellite, launched Nov. 14, is designed to supplement coverage for the fourth-generation wireless network Falcone is building to compete with AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless in selling mobile services. Falcone is the founder of the Harbinger Capital Partners hedge fund.
“Boeing, in close partnership with its LightSquared customer, has assembled a team of experts to assess progress and continue deployment of the antenna,” Chicago-based Boeing said in an e-mailed statement. “As with any post-launch checkout, it’s not unexpected for minor delays to occur.”
The glitch could imperil discussions between LightSquared and other companies that may be seeking to buy capacity on the network, Jennifer Fritzsche, a Wells Fargo & Co. analyst in Chicago, said in a research note today. She said LightSquared’s authorization from the Federal Communications Commission is contingent on having a working satellite.
Tom Surface, a spokesman for Reston, Virginia-based LightSquared, said in an e-mail that the company expects its network rollout “to proceed on schedule.”
The satellite difficulties were reported earlier by Space News.
--Editors: Ville Heiskanen, Lisa Wolfson
To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Bensinger in New York at gbensinger1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net
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