Sprint Grants LightSquared 30-Day Reprieve on FCC Clearance

Sprint Nextel said Jan 1 it gave billionaire LightSquared a 30-day extension to a Dec. 31 deadline to get Federal Communications Commission clearance to operate its network.

Getting FCC clearance is a condition of a 15-year fourth-generation spectrum-and-equipment-sharing accord between the two companies. LightSquared has said the Sprint accord will help it save $13 billion through the end of this decade. LightSquared has been buffeted by criticism from lawmakers, the Defense Department and device manufacturers who say the company's airwaves can jam global-positioning-system signals.