PowerNet Global is staying abreast of any and all news that could potentially affect the VoIP call center industry. And recently PNG wrote in its blog that Sprint could be parting ways with LightSquared (News - Alert) due the fact that the company has yet to meet vital contract demands that are supposed to be resolved by Thursday, March 15th.
Now according to the post, in spite of the fact that Sprint had extended the deadline until this upcoming date, that will be last for the company’s 11 year pending agreement in which they would both hold financial responsibility in regards to network expansion and next-generation equipment.
Last week, TMCnet reported that if Sprint does in fact decide to end its deal, it would conclude a 9-month period that has encountered multiple obstacles including when the FCC (News - Alert) ruled that the joint network could potentially get in the way of GPS receivers and flight control systems. The FCC judgment prompted countless device makers, government agencies and consumer interest groups to then actively work to try and bar the partnership.
In fact, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration told the FCC that “there are no mitigation strategies that both solve the interference issues and provide LightSquared with an adequate commercial network deployment.”
Additionally, Bloomberg (News - Alert) recently revealed that LightSquared has yet to come through with a $56.3 million payment it owes to Inmarsat since February. Adding to the challenges, Sanjiv Ahuja (News - Alert) also resigned last month, on top of the company cutting its employees by nearly half.
What will the potential ramifications be to the VoIP call center space if LightSquared’s deal with Sprint is kaput? One thing is for sure, AT&T (News - Alert) and Verizon will not be facing any competition within the national wireless carrier arena any time soon.
Edited by Amanda Ciccatelli