Philip Falcone Calls "Foul Ball" At GPS Competitors

Lightsquared CEO Philip Falcone appeared on CNBC on Thursday and criticized the behavior of his competitors in the GPS community. When asked if the spectrum that Lightsquared is preparing to use will interfere with the signals of other companies, Falcone that his company had been mandated to build this network. “The GPS community blessed this eight years ago,” he said. “However, they didn't put the proper filtering on their devices. The fact is, we're not interfering with them. They're interfering with us.” When asked is it would be possible for Lightsquared to use another part of the spectrum that they still own, Falcone said yes. “There are two blocks of spectrum and we can use only the lower block,” he said. “That would solve 99.9 percent of the problem.” Falcone was then asked if AT&T T (who hope to merge with T-Mobile) and Verizon Wireless VZ have been competing fairly. He said no. “They are doing a lot of things behind the scenes, doing what they can to squash innovation,” he said. “It's quite a coincidence when the chief lobbyist at AT&T is also the chief lobbyist for the GPS community. They are using that power to try to stamp out a new entrant in the market place.” Finally, Falcone was asked if he would invest in America were it a company. He replied with a very strong yes. “Absolutely,” he said. “The USA is the most powerful country in the world and that's going to continue.” Regarding taxes on the rich, he said, “We are in a tough place right now. Would I like my taxes to be lower? Of course, but I also like the benefits that I get as an American. It's time we all pull up our bootstraps to get out of this mess.”