LightSquared and Smarter Car to Connect Dealerships and Drivers with Critical Vehicle Information

RESTON, Va. and KIRKLAND, Wash., Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- LightSquared™, a wholesale carrier building a nationwide wireless broadband network that will create consumer choice and drive industry innovation, and Smarter Car, a new company that will soon offer mobile services that enable automobile dealerships and drivers to access critical data, ranging from vehicle maintenance diagnostics to location-sharing, have signed a wholesale services agreement. 

Under the agreement, Smarter Car will sell devices and connectivity directly to automobile dealerships who will in turn offer these as options to customers when they purchase new cars. The Smarter Car device will attach to an On-Board Diagnostics (OBD)-specified port and, using LightSquared's 4G-LTE network, will allow drivers and dealerships to use smart phones, tablets or PCs to access and analyze a variety of data about the car. LightSquared's satellite, among the largest and most powerful ever built, will also ensure that users of the Smarter Car device who are out of cellular range always have access to LightSquared's network, regardless of where they are located in the U.S.

"Smarter Car will connect cars with people, and using LightSquared's network we will be able to create an informative, real-time experience for consumers and dealers," said Lonnie Benson, chief executive officer of Smarter Car. "LightSquared will allow us to take advantage of the most advanced wireless technology to create valuable applications that will help dealers and drivers maintain the value and improve the safety of their vehicles." 

"A key tenet of LightSquared's mission is to fuel American innovation, and we are proud to partner with a company that epitomizes the spirit of entrepreneurship," said Sanjiv Ahuja, chairman and chief executive officer of LightSquared. "LightSquared's open network and wholesale-only business model are enabling emerging companies such as Smarter Car to enter the wireless market. By combining wireless technology with smart devices, Smarter Car will provide consumers and dealerships with instant access to critical data about their vehicles."

About LightSquared
LightSquared's mission is to revolutionize the U.S. wireless industry. With the creation of the first-ever, wholesale-only nationwide 4G-LTE network integrated with satellite coverage, LightSquared offers people the speed, value and reliability of universal connectivity, wherever they are in the United States. As a wholesale-only operator, LightSquared will deploy an open 4G wireless broadband network to be used by existing and new service providers to sell their own devices, applications and services – at a competitive cost and without retail competition from LightSquared. The deployment and operation of LightSquared's network represent more than $14 billion of private investment over the next eight years. For more information about LightSquared, please go to www.LightSquared.com, www.facebook.com/LightSquared and www.twitter.com/LightSquared.

About Smarter Car
Smarter Car connects people, cars and car dealers. It enables drivers and dealers to manage the maintenance, operation and safety of their cars through real time wireless technology and the cloud. Automobile security and emergency alerts and connections will be available even when the car is out of cellular range as a result of Smarter Car's partnership with LightSquared. The partnership will also link auto telematics, multimedia and navigation applications with smartphones and other wireless smart devices and offer an open platform, welcoming countless application programmers to the Smarter Car family of services. The Smarter Car cloud will ultimately house enormous amounts of raw and summarized auto telematics that will be available to other interested users. Beginning in the summer of 2012, Smarter Car will revolutionize the way people interact with their cars. 

Forward Looking Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements and information regarding LightSquared and its business. Such statements are based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of LightSquared's management and are, therefore, subject to certain risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements expressed herein relate only to information as of the date of this release. LightSquared has no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release, nor is there any assurance that the plans or strategies discussed in this release will not change.

SOURCE LightSquared

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