LightSquared donates phones to North American tribes, keeps the agricultural connectivity flame a burnin’

RESTON, Va., Aug. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — LightSquared™, the nation’s first wholesale-only integrated 4G-LTE wireless broadband and satellite network, announced today the delivery of satellite devices for tribal nations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Arizona. These satellite phones represent LightSquared’s commitment to help the Indian Health Service (IHS), Tribes and Tribal Organizations in reaching American Indian and Alaska Native communities located beyond the reach of landline and mobile phone networks.

LightSquared agreed to donate to IHS as much as 2,000 satellite phones along side the service to support them. The donation is a mirrored image of LightSquared’s broader mission to bring twenty-first century communications to rural regions including Tribal areas that during some cases still lack basic telecommunications service.

“These satellite phones will play a critical role for health care workers who often find themselves in locations beyond the reach of traditional communications services. For Public Health Nurses (PHNs) and Community Health Representatives (CHRs), the power to speak to doctors and other health professionals while visiting patients within the remotest parts of Indian Country has a critical impact on delivery of health care,” said IHS CIO Charles Gepford.

IHS is the lead federal health care agency for American Indian and Alaska Native populations. The primary wave of LightSquared-provided satellite phones has already been brought to IHS. These phones can be distributed to Tribally-operated health care facilities including the Coquille Indian Tribe Community Hospital in Coos Bay, Oregon; the Nisqually Tribal Health Clinic in Nisqually, Washington; the Benewah Medical Center in Plummer, Idaho; and facilities inside the Tohono O’odham Nation in Sells, Arizona.

Federal and Tribal CHRs, PHNs and ambulances who work from these and other medical centers can be ready to use the satellite phones as they travel in remote locations to present therapy.

LightSquared has a history of providing communications services for improved connectivity in Tribal communities. Through its business partnerships, LightSquared provides equipment and services to Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement vehicles and to high school buses operating on Tribal lands in New Mexico and Arizona.

With an analogous deal with communities in need, the corporate has delivered essential communications services to areas hardest hit by natural disasters and destruction akin to Hurricane Katrina within the Gulf, the earthquake in Haiti and the tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri.

“When providing health care to Tribal communities, medical providers ought to specialize in the duty to hand, not on whether technology will work in rugged conditions,” said Sanjiv Ahuja, chairman and chief executive officer of LightSquared. “We’re happy to partner with IHS, Tribes and Tribal Organizations to bring critical communications equipment to those underserved communities.”

About LightSquared
LightSquared’s mission is to revolutionize the U.S. wireless industry. With the creation of the primary-ever, wholesale-only nationwide 4G-LTE network integrated with satellite coverage, LightSquared offers people the rate, value and reliability of universal connectivity, wherever they’re within the Usa. As a wholesale-only operator, LightSquared will deploy an open 4G wireless broadband network for use by existing and new service providers to sell their very own devices, applications and services – at a competitive cost and without retail competition from LightSquared. The deployment and operation of LightSquared’s network represent greater than $14 billion of personal investment over the subsequent eight years. For additional info about LightSquared, please visit www.LightSquared.com, www.facebook.com/LightSquared and www.twitter.com/LightSquared.