Nokia to Make Phones for LightSquared 4G Networks

We recently heard about LightSquared and its plans to build a wholesale 4G or LTE network, but it didn’t take too long before it decided to make mobile phones that will be compatible with that network. It’s a wise move on Nokia’s part since LightSquared plans on covering about 260 million people in the U.S. within the next five years.

According to Bloomberg:

The Finnish handset maker will provide LightSquared customers with “branded, data-centric” products, Reston, Virginia-based LightSquared said today in a statement, without elaborating.

The venture plans to compete with Sprint Nextel Corp., AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless by selling capacity on its so-called 4G network to partners such as consumer-electronics companies and retailers. It is building its network in as many as nine U.S. metro areas by the end of next year, according to company documents distributed late last year.

While the idea is nice, it sort of reeks of the failed MVNO market in the U.S. It would be a dream to have some solid Nokia hardware running MeeGo on a blazing fast LTE network for dirt cheap monthly prices from an electronics retailer. However, it will be difficult in areas where MVNOs have failed: customer service and support, coverage, marketing and advertising and more.

But if anyone has the money and the drive to do it, LightSquared appears to be it:

LightSquared plans to begin trials in Baltimore, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Denver by early 2011 and has committed to spending $7 billion over eight years through an agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks, which will build and manage the network.

I’m very curious to see how this plays out. Historically, smaller carriers or newcomers have had difficulty making a dent in the Big Four’s business, but maybe LightSquared can actually do it. After all, current carrier practices, monopolies and control over handsets are beginning to piss a lot of people off.

[Via: Bloomberg]