FCC Put the Cart Before the Horse on LightSquared Deal

On Friday, Jan. 27, the Federal Communications Commission kicked off a regulatory review process requested by startup wireless broadband carrier LightSquared to determine whether or not GPS receivers are entitled to interference protection from the company's networks.

LightSquared included that petition as an attachment to a separate filing, which in essence rehashed year-long arguments on why the company should be allowed to operate its network.

But careful reading of the FCC file on LightSquared, which as of today includes 3,736 comments, shows that the company did not formally file that petition and have it accepted by the FCC until Monday, Jan. 30, even though the FCC International Bureau announced the review the previous Friday.

I know the span of a weekend does not amount to much, but I do wonder how the FCC seemingly bent its procedures and rules on such a high-profile and contentious topic, which has morphed over the past year from a regulatory proceeding into a political football.

I sent Tammy Sun, FCC director of media relations, an email yesterday asking for an explanation, but have not heard back from her.