Ligado Now Claiming $50 Billion in Damages By Defense Department
The company filed a new takings complaint against the government Friday
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2026 – Damages in Ligado’s takings case against the Defense Department have climbed to $50 billion, the satellite company said.
The company filed a new complaint Friday against the government in its quest to be compensated for secret DoD systems allegedly blocking Ligado’s terrestrial access to its L-band spectrum.
The two sides had reportedly been nearing a settlement earlier this summer, but one has not yet materialized. Ligado didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the issue.
Ligado was initially claiming $39 billion in damages, but that has climbed due to inflation and other factors. The company says it would have built out a 5G network or simply leased or sold the spectrum to someone else to deploy, all potentially lucrative plans Ligado claims have been blocked by secret DOD operations in the band.
The case could have implications for the wireless industry, as it centers on the property rights conferred by a Federal Communications Commission spectrum license.
In Ligado’s telling, any agency other than the FCC should have to compensate license holders for blocking its license rights. DoD has maintained that electromagnetic spectrum is a public resource that license holders don’t actually own, and thus they’re not entitled to payment if the government effectively seizes licensed airwaves.
“The consequences extend well beyond Ligado, potentially chilling investment and weakening confidence in the spectrum marketplace,” a Ligado spokesperson said in an email Friday. “We are confident in our position and believe prevailing on this issue is important for the broader communications industry.”
Broadband trade group USTelecom also told federal judges last year that the case could make wireless carriers think twice about bidding at government spectrum auctions, since their multibillion-dollar businesses are premised on exclusive spectrum licenses from the FCC.
In March, three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sent the case back down to a lower court, saying they didn’t have enough information to rule confidently on whether Ligado had a property right with respect to the DoD.
The new complaint has more specifics on how spectrum is managed by both the FCC, which handles commercial spectrum allocations, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which handles the federal government’s spectrum use.
The crux of the case is the same: Ligado is seeking payment because the DoD allegedly blocked its ability to use spectrum the FCC gave it a terrestrial license for in 2020.
The case was originally filed in 2023 in the Court of Federal Claims, which handles takings cases and which is now considering the case again. The DoD is planning to file another motion to dismiss by Oct. 28, according to court documents.
During an April webinar, spectrum experts said that while the issue in Ligado’s case is genuinely novel, wireless carriers would likely still feel confident about bidding on spectrum. Before an auction, the FCC and NTIA typically make sure they iron out any conflicts.
In Ligado’s case, the company had an existing satellite license for L-band and petitioned the FCC to allow it to also deploy terrestrial assets using the same airwaves.
Companies have been willing to pay up for spectrum licenses while the case plays out. The FCC’s re-auction of AWS-3 licenses brought in $3.5 billion earlier this year, with each of the major carriers participating, and EchoStar is offloading many of its licenses for more than $40 billion.
Exclusive direct-to-device satellite spectrum (like Ligado’s L-band allocation) is becoming a valuable commodity. Companies view it as a means of providing the service without being tied to a mobile carrier, and SpaceX and Amazon are each paying billions to acquire direct-to-device licenses.
Ligado is looking to monetize its L-band holdings in the same way. The company reached a deal with AST SpaceMobile to allow AST to offer service using the airwaves.
The deal still needs FCC approval, and has opposition from
In exchange, AST is providing $550 million for Ligado to repay debts and emerge from bankruptcy. The last roughly $100 million of that is on hold after one of Ligado’s creditors, Inmarsat, opposed the deal at the FCC.
