LightSquared CEO steps down

@CNNMoneyTech February 28, 2012: 2:14 PM ET
sanjiv-ahuja.gi.top.jpg

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja is resigning, the company announced Tuesday.

Doug Smith, LightSquared's chief network officer and Marc Montagner, the company's chief financial officer, will take Ahuja's place while the company searches for a new CEO.

Hedge fund manager Philip Falcone, a backer of LightSquared, was also appointed to the company's board of directors.

Ahuja's resignation follows what's become an ongoing struggle for the venture-backed company to expand its wireless network and compete with major carriers like AT&T (T, Fortune 500) and Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500).

Under current regulations, LightSquared's spectrum isn't licensed for terrestrial transmissions that would enable it to carry wireless phone signals. The spectrum is currently licensed for satellite services only.

The spectrum war's winners and losers

In a fight to become a nationwide wireless carrier LightSquared recently hit a roadblock when government regulators barred the company from launching its network. Regulators said LightSquared's network would cause problems with GPS signals.

But Falcone reaffirmed the company's goal to sell wireless on a wholesale level to continue battling regulations.

"LightSquared's objective, through its wholesale business model, is to provide increased competition and lower prices in the telecommunications industry," Falcone said. "We are, furthermore, committed to working with the appropriate entities to find a solution to the recent regulatory issues." To top of page

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.