Ligado Networks Sues U.S. Government for Unlawful and Uncompensated Taking of Ligado’s Exclusive FCC-Licensed Spectrum

Mobile communications company Ligado Networks sued the U.S. Departments of Defense and Commerce for unlawful taking of Ligado’s constitutionally protected, exclusively licensed spectrum without compensation. Backed by a multiyear misinformation and disparagement campaign against Ligado to conceal these activities, the U.S. government misappropriated Ligado’s exclusively licensed spectrum to support previously undisclosed Defense Department systems that have been using Ligado’s spectrum without permission. The Defense Department’s unauthorized actions, supported by the Commerce Department and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, have blocked the company from developing its allocated spectrum for terrestrial 5G services. The Federal Communications Commission exclusively granted the company rights to use this spectrum after a comprehensive, multiyear regulatory review process. In good faith reliance on the FCC’s order, Ligado raised and invested billions of dollars to prepare its spectrum to support next-generation terrestrial 5G services. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims against the United States, the Defense Department, the Commerce Department, and NTIA, seeks just compensation for the government’s physical, categorical, regulatory and legislative takings of Ligado’s property.