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www.leapwireless.com
Leap Wireless, which operates under the Cricket brand, has announced
an MVNO agreement with LightSquared's planned nationwide LTE network.
The US operator will use the LTE roaming deal with
LightSquared to supplement its own LTE coverage, which will be rolled
out over the next few years.
Leap Wireless International, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEAP), a leading provider
of innovative and value-driven wireless communications services, and
LightSquared(TM), the nation'sfirst wholesale-only
integrated wireless broadband and satellite network company, today
announced that they have entered into a long-term 4G roaming agreement.
The new arrangement will allow Cricket, Leap's operating
subsidiary, to supplement the LTE coverage that Cricket plans to
deploy across its own networks over the next few years with LTE roaming
services from LightSquared.
"Our business progress demonstrates how data services are increasingly
important to our customers, as evidenced by our customers' significant
uptake of smartphones and data-focused, higher-ARPU
service plans," said Doug Hutcheson, Leap's President and CEO. "We
intend to deploy our own LTE networks beginning this year to complement
the existing nationwide 3G services we currently offer to
customers. This new roaming arrangement will allow us to offer
customers an even-greater 4G service area as LightSquared expands its
own network. We believe that the broad coverage resulting from
this business agreement will enhance our ability to offer compelling
products and services and allow us to strengthen our retail
relationships and distribution capabilities. It will also give us
flexibility to access additional 4G capacity where needed as
data-centric devices become more popular and require more and more
bandwidth."
"Leap is a fantastic company and we're excited to do business with
them," said SanjivAhuja, chairman and CEO of LightSquared. "Cricket
customers' appetite for wireless data is growing exponentially
and in ways no one could have envisioned even a few years ago. By
providing a wholesale-only nationwide 4G LTE network complemented by
satellite coverage, LightSquared will help Leap meet its
customers' demand for universal, affordable broadband connectivity. We
are fully committed to delivering our roaming services on time and with
the quality, speed, coverage and capacity required to
support Leap's business needs."
Financial and other terms of the roaming agreement were not disclosed.
About Leap
Leap provides innovative, high-value wireless services to a
fast-growing, young and ethnically diverse customer base. With the value
of unlimited wireless services as the foundation of its
business, Leap pioneered its Cricket(R) service. The Company and its
joint ventures now operate in 35 states and the District of Columbia and
hold licenses in 35 of the top 50 U.S. markets. Through
its affordable, flat-rate service plans, Cricket offers customers a
choice of unlimited voice, text, high-speed data and mobile Web
services. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Leap is traded on
the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "LEAP." For
more information, please visit www.leapwireless.com.
About LightSquared
LightSquared's mission is to revolutionize the U.S. wireless industry.
Through the creation of the first-ever wholesale-only nationwide 4G-LTE
network complemented by satellite coverage,
LightSquared offers people the speed, value, and reliability of
universal broadband connectivity, wherever they are in the United
States. Through its wholesale-only business model, those without
their own wireless network or who have limited geographic coverage or
spectrum can develop and sell their own devices, applications, and
services using LightSquared's open 4G network--at a
competitive cost and without retail competition from LightSquared. The
company plans to invest more than $14 billion in network
infrastructure, deployment and operations over the next eight
years.
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