Sprint Nextel plans to end its network-sharing agreement with LightSquared as early as next week, two people familiar with the plan told Bloomberg. Sprint and LightSquared struck an 11-year deal to share network expansion costs and equipment, provided LightSquared secured regulatory approvals for its mobile service by December. Though Sprint extended the deadline to 15 March, it doesn't plan more extensions, the report said. The FCC said last month it would block LightSquared's planned network due to potential disruptions to GPS devices. The company said after the decision that it remains committed to finding a solution to the concerns. LightSquared has paid Sprint USD 310 million in advance payments for work on the network and its eventual operation. Sprint said in a securities filing last month that it would keep about USD 236 million of those payments and return as much as USD 74 million if the agreement was terminated after the March deadline. Under the agreement announced last year, Sprint was to build and operate LightSquared's network for 11 years in exchange for USD 9 billion in payments and an additional USD 4.5 billion in service credits.
