AST SpaceMobile reaches deal to settle Ligado's Viasat dispute
NEW DELHI:
AST SpaceMobile
has reached a deal under which the bankrupt satellite operator
Ligado Networks
would pay more than $500 million it owes to
Viasat
, and in turn, will gain long-term access to the
L-band spectrum
to accelerate its planned direct-to-smartphone services in the US and Canada.
As per a joint statement on Friday, AST SpaceMobile would provide about $550 million to Ligado, of which, $535 million would be paid to Viasat-owned
Inmarsat
, settling the mobile satellite services (MSS) operator's opposition to its bankruptcy restructuring plan.
Ligado will make a $420 million lump sum payment to Inmarsat on October 31, 2025, and another $100 million on March 31, 2026, including the December and March quarterly payments. Inmarsat expects to receive a total of $568 million in FY26, which it will primarily utilise to manage near-term maturities and address its extended maturity profile.
Starting on September 30, 2025, Ligado will resume making quarterly payments of nearly $16 million per quarter to Inmarsat. The quarterly payment amount will gradually increase by 3% per year through the contract, which will run until 2107.
Texas-based AST SpaceMobile, which has secured commitments for a $550 million loan to support the deal, currently operates five commercial BlueBird satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).
To recall, shortly after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Ligado had sued Inmarsat on January 7 for allegedly breaching their 2007 L-band cooperation deal by not upgrading satellite terminals to avoid interference with the network.
The lawsuit has now been stayed effective immediately, and will be dismissed under conditions outlined in the deal.
'We are pleased that our patient and disciplined approach to Ligado's bankruptcy paid off, resulting in a positive outcome for Viasat and our employees, customers, and shareholders,' said Mark Dankberg, chairman & CEO, Viasat.
'We saw the opportunity of a favorable outcome when completing the Inmarsat acquisition and not only anticipated the potential of utilising the cash proceeds from such an agreement to repay debt, which will soon further strengthen our capital position, but to also advance our growth strategy,' Dankberg added.
As per the terms, as part of Ligado's ongoing restructuring, Inmarsat will support AST SpaceMobile receiving long-term spectrum usage rights for more than 80 years to up to 40 MHz of L-Band MSS spectrum in the United States and Canada held by Ligado, in addition to, access to an additional 5 MHz in the 1670-1675 MHz Band in the United States.
Further, Inmarsat has agreed to provide its support of AST SpaceMobile's planned regulatory applications with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States and ISED in Canada, seeking authority to operate an NGSO system within the L-Band mid-band spectrum in North America.
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