LightSquared, the once-promising venture whose mission is to sell wholesale wireless services, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York.
The bankruptcy filing had been expected.
LightSquared listed assets and debts each exceeding $1 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing the petition filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.
The filing places the future of LightSquared into further doubt, although companies in Chapter 11 often emerge with significantly less debt.
LightSquared's financial backer, hedge fund manager Philip Falcone, had been negotiating with creditors to keep the company from defaulting on its debt obligations, but the Journal earlier reported a bankruptcy was likely because Falcone had been unable to agree with them on how to cede ownership stakes in LightSquared to them over time.
LightSquared has invested billions of dollars to operate a high-speed wireless network that could provide much needed capacity to U.S. wireless carriers. But its ambitious plans have been stalled due to government concerns that its network will interfere with Global Positioning System devices.
