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Philip Falcone’s LightSquared Inc. will probably get U.S. regulatory approval to use its wireless spectrum by 2015 and may buy more airwaves, a member of a special committee of the company’s board told a bankruptcy judge, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. LightSquared, based in Reston, Va., sought bankruptcy protection in 2012 after the Federal Communications Commission blocked the company’s wireless service, saying it might interfere with civilian and military global-positioning-system navigation equipment. “I believe they will allow the spectrum to be used terrestrially,” Christopher Rogers, a member of a committee specializing in airwave issues, told Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman. He was testifying at the outset of what may be a multi-day hearing in which LightSquared is seeking final approval of its plan to exit bankruptcy. Rogers cited two meetings with the FCC in December. The agency also has some airwaves right next to LightSquared’s slice of the spectrum, and the company could make a bid should they go up for auction, Rogers said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration currently uses some of that spectrum.

Broadband company LightSquared on Monday urged a judge to find that its largest creditor, Dish Network Corp. Chairman Charles Ergen, acquired his debt holding improperly, Reuters reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman was hearing closing arguments in a trial over whether Ergen concealed his identity to acquire his controlling stake of LightSquared's debt. The outcome of the trial is likely to determine the fate of LightSquared's wireless rights after it emerges from chapter 11. LightSquared has proposed to exit bankruptcy under a plan that would subordinate Ergen's claims while paying other secured creditors in full and allow Harbinger to retain an ownership stake. A bankruptcy confirmation hearing is to start tomorrow.

LightSquared Inc. said that it will ask a judge not to count a “no” vote on its bankruptcy reorganization plan cast by a fund controlled by Dish Network Corp. Chairman Charles Ergen, saying that the fund acted in bad faith, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The fund, SP Special Opportunities LLP, owns $1 billion of debt in LightSquared, the wireless broadband company controlled by Philip Falcone’s Harbinger Capital Partners LLC. LightSquared has accused Ergen of secretly accumulating the debt so he can buy the company’s airwaves for a below-market price through bankruptcy. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman on Feb. 24 approved the terms of a reorganization plan, which was then sent to creditors for a vote. The plan values LightSquared at $7.7 billion and doesn’t hinge on regulatory approval for airwaves that are its main asset. A denial of such approval pushed the company into bankruptcy in 2012.

Sorenson Communications Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday, a court filing showed, as declining revenue and mounting debt forced the company to consider restructuring, Reuters reported today. Sorenson, which provides video relay services for people with hearing loss, said in less than a year it would be obligated to pay about $1.28 billion. Due to regulatory changes, the debtors cannot pay or refinance the obligations based on its projected revenue and cash flow, the court filing showed. The Federal Communications Commission's 2010 reduction in rates and increased minimum performance requirements for video conferencing services, made it infeasible to provide the service over the long term, the company said.

Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman ruled yesterday that wireless venture LightSquared can move forward with a restructuring proposal over the objections of its biggest creditor, Dish Network Corp Chairman Charles Ergen, Reuters reported yesterday. Judge Chapman approved the framework of a plan at a hearing yesterday, which means LightSquared can lobby creditors to support its plan before a hearing on final confirmation next month. Ergen contends that the plan would treat his claims unfairly, while LightSquared has argued in a separate lawsuit that Ergen built up his debt position illegally and that it should be reduced or wiped out. Judge Chapman ruled the debate should be left until the confirmation stage. A final confirmation hearing is due to begin on March 17. Closing arguments in the lawsuit against Ergen are set for March 12.

Charlie Ergen, the largest creditor of bankrupt wireless venture LightSquared, on Friday objected to a framework of the company's restructuring plan that would pay him in the form of a note while giving other lenders cash payouts, Reuters reported on Friday. Ergen, through his investment vehicle SP Special Opportunities, filed court papers asking Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman to rule that the plan is not financially feasible, and to do so before parties devote resources to obtaining creditor support for it. LightSquared's $33 million bankruptcy loan is set to run out around the end of March.

Bankrupt wireless company LightSquared Inc. has proposed a new restructuring plan that would remove certain regulatory hurdles to its exit from chapter 11 while potentially subordinating the bankruptcy claim held by its largest creditor, an entity run by Dish Network Corp Chairman Charles Ergen, Reuters reported on Saturday. In court papers filed late on Friday night, LightSquared outlined a restructuring plan fueled by $2.35 billion in new financing from Fortress Investment Group and others, which would not be contingent on gaining regulatory approval for a planned wireless network, as was its previous plan. It would allow its current equity owner, Phil Falcone's Harbinger Capital Partners, to retain a stake in the company post-bankruptcy, along with Fortress and Melody Capital, also a financier of the new loans. But Ergen's investment vehicle, despite being the largest holder of LightSquared's loan debt, would be paid out in the form of new debt, rather than cash, like other lenders. The new debt may or may not be secured by collateral, depending on whether Ergen votes in favor of the plan.

LightSquared hopes to submit a consensual restructuring plan by Friday, although the judge overseeing the wireless venture's bankruptcy isn't convinced that will happen, Reuters reported yesterday. A lawyer for the company said in a court hearing yesterday that it aims to file a reorganization plan that has the support of its creditors by Friday, putting the company, owned by Phil Falcone's Harbinger Capital Partners, on track to exit bankruptcy around the end of March. But Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman voiced skepticism that parties in the fractious case could reach a deal by then. Three competing restructuring proposals are on the table — one backed by Harbinger and two others from creditor groups — but the company has said it plans to engage creditors and work toward a consensual deal. The key question is whether any restructuring plan would have the support of an investment vehicle run by Dish Network Corp Chairman Charles Ergen. The Ergen entity holds enough LightSquared debt to give him sufficient voting clout to block any restructuring plan that he opposes.

Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman yesterday approved a $33 million loan from a group that includes Dish Network Corp. Chairman Charles Ergen, to keep wireless venture LightSquared afloat as it tries to hash out a bankruptcy exit plan, Reuters reported yesterday. LightSquared's equity owner, Phil Falcone's Harbinger Capital Partners, is fighting to keep control of the company in chapter 11. An investment vehicle owned by Ergen has bought up much of LightSquared's debt, while Dish offered and later withdrew a $2.2 billion offer to purchase the company's spectrum, an offer Harbinger did not accept. LightSquared, which had been on pace to run out of cash by March, needed a loan to be able to extend restructuring talks that could go past that.

Wireless venture LightSquared has reached a deal for a short-term bankruptcy loan from the holders of its bank debt, a group that includes Dish Network Corp. Chairman Charlie Ergen, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The $33 million loan proposal comes three days after LightSquared said for the first time that it would include Ergen in its reorganization plan. A hearing on the loan, which would keep LightSquared afloat as it negotiates a restructuring proposal, is set for today. As recently as last week, Ergen, a group of hedge funds holding LightSquared’s bank debt, and Fortress Investment Group LLC had all proposed separate loans.