LightSquared Closes $586M Round of Financing

4G wireless broadband wholesaler-to-be will use money to build out its network

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/22/2011 12:03:00 PM

4G wireless broadband wholesaler-to-be LightSquared says it has closed on its latest round of financing, to the tune of $586 million.

The company, which has raised over $2 billion in debt and equity, says it will use the money to build out its network, which is right in the wheelhouse of a big push from the Obama administration. LightSquared will combine satellite and terrestrial delivery to provide wholesale LTE broadband access to cable operators, device manufacturers, retailers and others.

The President has been stumping over the past several weeks for his National Wireless Plan--announced in the State of the Union speech, which calls for rolling out 4G wireless service to 98% of the population within five years. That works for LightSquared, which is targeting 2015 for its nationwide 4G service that will reach more than 90% of the country, says the company.

Private equity firm Harbinger Capital Management, which is headed by Philip Falcone, owns LightSquared.

LightSquared last week said it had completed post-launch testing of the SkyTerra 1 satellite that launched Nov. 14, 2011. The satellite will relay high-data-rate signals to Light Squared head ends in the U.S. and Canada.

The FCC last month granted LightSquared's request for a waiver of FCC rules to provide the combination satellite/terrestrial service. The FCC conditioned the waiver, which allows the dual service to offer terrestrial-only devices as well, on working with the FCC, NTIA and other agencies to resolve a number of issues, including potential interference with GPS receivers.

"In approving this transfer of control, we observed that if LightSquared successfully deploys its integrated satellite/terrestrial 4G network, it will be able to provide mobile broadband communications in areas where it is difficult or impossible to provide coverage by terrestrial base stations such as in remote or rural areas," the FCC said in approving the conditional waiver.

That would further the FCC's National Broadband Plan public interest goals, a point the FCC made in granting the approval and that LightSquared points out on its Web site.

Privaris raises $2.9M for biometric keychain security devices - TechJournal

RALEIGH, NC – Privaris Inc., a company that sells which makes biometric ID products, has raised $2.96 million in debt, according to a regulatory filing. The company raised $2.67 million in debt in June, $2 million in November 2009, and a $15.7 million A round in 2005.
The company’s institutional investors including Harbert Venture Partners, Noro-Moseley Partners, River Cities Capital Funds, RedShift Ventures, and SpaceVest Capital. It was funded by private individuals prior to its first round in 2005.
In the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing the financing, principals cited include: Brian Carney and Wayne Hunter, Richmond-based Harbert Venture Partners and Edward McCarthy of Raleigh-based River Cities Capital Funds.
The core Privaris product is a patented, wireless, keychain device that uses fingerprint-based biometrics to authenticate its user prior to releasing the information needed to perform a transaction.
The products work with existing physical and IT security infrastructure to authenticate the identity of an individual prior to that individual being granted access to facilities, IT resources, services and transactions.
The fingerprint data is stored and processed only on the device and is never released so as to protect an individual’s personal privac