London-based Inmarsat has a major customer in the shape of US-based Lightsquared. On July 2nd Inmasat confirmed what the market had suspected, that Ligtsquared was missing paying its quarterly bills.

Virginia-based Lightsquared has a long-standing ‘Cooperation Agreement’ with Inmarsat. Lighsquared, founded by hedge fund player Phil Falcone, is developing a 4G-Satellite broadband communications network. It filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection in May 2012.

Inmarsat’s relationship with Lightsquared is based on L-band spectrum that increases the amount of spectrum available over the USA. The Inmarsat agreement saw payments of $337 million flow to Inmarsat under Phase 1, and $115 million a year under Phase 2, and which Lightsquared invoked on March 31st 2014.

Inmasat, in a statement, said “On March 31st 2014, LightSquared elected to restart Phase 2 of the Cooperation Agreement. On July 1st 2014, a quarterly Phase 2 payment of approximately $4.1 million and a related payment of $5.0 million became due, resulting in an aggregate amount due from LightSquared of approximately $9.1 million. This payment has not been received.”

“On July 2nd 2014 Inmarsat issued a notice of default to LightSquared under the Cooperation Agreement. This notice triggers a period of 60 calendar days during which LightSquared can remedy the payment before Inmarsat is entitled to enforce its rights and remedies under the agreement for payment default, including pre-agreed spectrum arrangements and termination of certain LightSquared rights under the Cooperation Agreement.”

Inmarsat’s London Stock Exchange price tumbled 44.5p to 706p.

Other posts by Chris Forrester:

1. Virgin Galactic in stock split
2. Thuraya-3 suffers major problem
3. AST SpaceMobile hit by Class Action
4. Optimism under threat at SES
5. Rivada visits Terran Orbital’s manufacturing HQ
6. Avanti wins spectrum debt obligation case
7. SpaceX breaks records for re-use launchers
8. IRIS2 already in trouble?
9. Intelsat contemplates next steps

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