Add UK satellite company Inmarsat to the growing list of entities feuding with hedge fund titan Phil Falcone and his troubled wireless venture LightSquared.
Yesterday, Inmarsat said LightSquared defaulted on a $56.25 million payment due under an agreement the two companies signed in 2007.
LightSquared denied the default and blamed Inmarsat for the delayed payment, citing “several matters that require resolution” before the payment is made.
The fallout follows a death blow delivered to LightSquared last week by the Federal Communications Commission, which has final say over Falcone’s plans to roll out cheaper wireless service to 260 million Americans.
Amid strong opposition from the powerful global positioning systems industry, which says LightSquared’s frequency interferes with its delicate devices, the FCC said it will not approve LightSquared’s launch of its 4G network any time soon.
The FCC’s decision leaves LightSquared in the lurch with creditors and business partners, including Inmarset and Sprint Nextel Corp., which had agreed to help build and operate the network.
Inmarsat had been coordinating its wireless spectrum with LightSquared in an effort to create a bigger, stronger and more contiguous band of wireless spectrum for both parties.
LightSquared had been making regular payments to Inmarsat under the agreement, but failed to make a $56.25 million payment due upon completion of “Phase 1” of the agreement.
In its statement, LightSquared failed to outline the unresolved issues, but a source close to the situation said it may involve a dispute over whether Inmarsat was required to fit its equipment with filters to reduce GPS interference.
“I can say categorically that we have fulfilled what was required on Phase 1 of the agreement,” Inmarsat spokesman Chris McLaughlin said.