Business

Falcone: ‘I’ll move antennas’

Philip Falcone’s LightSquared wireless venture has offered to limit the power level from its signals as it faces calls for more testing of whether the service interferes with the global-positioning system.

LightSquared, in a Sept. 7 filing with the government, said it can adjust the height and tilt of antennae to keep signal strength that reaches nearby devices at agreed levels.

Federal agencies told a congressional committee that more tests are needed, in part to test for interference to precise gear that helps track hurricanes, monitor volcanoes and map flood plains. LightSquared faces another hearing on Sept. 15, when a House Armed Services subcommittee is to take testimony from witnesses including Defense Department officials and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

LightSquared is seeking FCC approval to build a $14 billion wholesale network of 40,000 base stations using airwaves that were previously reserved mainly for satellites.

Makers and users of GPS devices, which rely on satellite signals, say LightSquared’s network for 260 million users would disrupt navigation by planes, boats, tractors and automobiles.

LightSquared is backed by Falcone’s Harbinger Capital Partners hedge fund, which has invested about $3 billion in the venture.