LightSquared plans to use an LTE/satellite hybrid network to cover 92 percent of the U.S. population with 4G by 2015. The network will be a pure-play wholesale platform, and the company hopes to attract MVNOs from the wireline community, cable operators wanting a wireless component, device manufacturers with embedded LTE (think a 4G Kindle model) and rural and regional operators without large spectrum holdings. Essentially, it’s targeting anyone looking to either provide broadband to the underserved or add a national wireless service to its mix.
Editor Tara Seals sat down with Frank Boulben, CMO at LightSquared, Sue Spradley, North American head of Nokia Siemens Networks, with which it has a $7 million outsourcing deal for the OSS and management of the network.
Tara Seals: Your business model will allow more operators that lack the spectrum to roll out nationwide the opportunity to do so. Are you concerned about a data crunch?
Frank Boulben: There is an undeniable explosion of mobile data usage, but there is not enough capacity. We are looking to install capacity using LTE and employ high-quality and low-cost network covering 92 percent wireless broadband in a context where demand outstrips supply to a great margin.
TS: Monetizing mobile broadband has been a challenge. How will you approach the billing model?
FB: What’s very clear to us in our commercial approach is that we will sell based on usage pricing per gigabyte. Any unlimited or flat-rate model is simply unsustainable. You see this dawning on operators around the world, including a big carrier here in the United States [AT&T], and soon all operators are going to usage-based pricing.
TS: The amount of coverage you plan to offer seems to bode very well for getting broadband out to rural and underserved communities. Is that part of your strategy?
