Harbinger Capital Partners CEO Phil Falcone said he’s considering seeking bankruptcy protection...

build the network and protect the company from creditors who are more interested in a quick flip,” he said in a written statement Thursday. LightSquared awaits the FCC decision around whether its ancillary terrestrial component authority is to be revoked (CD April 2 p18). Moving toward bankruptcy is unlikely to change how the commission will rule on the proposal, said Tim Farrar, president of TMF Associates. The assumption is they're likely to sue the government for compensation if the FCC rules against them, he said in an interview. He said bankruptcy allows LightSquared “to reduce its spending levels and preserve its resources, which is what they'll need to do to fund what will be a lengthy litigation battle.” A big uncertainty remains around Falcone’s relationship with creditors, Farrar said: “I would assume that creditors would want to engineer a transfer [of control] … but that can be a lengthy process.” Pressure from creditors “may have animated Falcone to concede at this time a bankruptcy option he heretofore has publicly refused to put on the table as he contemplates possible regulatory alternatives and legal action,” Medley Global Advisors analyst Jeff Silva wrote investors. “We do not believe that LightSquared’s chances for regulatory recovery are good,” Silva said: As long as there’s a GPS interference issue with LightSquared’s L-band frequencies, “the value of the company’s spectrum asset will likely remain diminished.”