Sprint gives LightSquared 6 more weeks to get FCC approval

From the Dow Jones Newswire: Sprint Nextel Corp. granted LightSquared a new six-week extension to get FCC clearance for its planned nationwide fourth-generation network.

A Sprint spokesman on Tuesday said the carrier had given LightSquared until mid-March to resolve FCC concerns that its network interferes with global-positioning systems. This follows a 30-day extension Sprint gave LightSquared at the end of last year.

Getting the FCC’s approval is a condition of Sprint’s and LightSquared’s 15-year accord to share spectrum and network construction and equipment costs. LightSquared has said the agreement will help it save about $13 billion through the end of this decade.

The FCC is accepting public comment until Feb. 27 on LightSquared’s argument that GPS device manufacturers aren’t entitled to legal protection from interference caused by its signals.