In Pictures: Top 25 network and IT industry stories of 2012

Dark times at LightSquared

LightSquared, the startup that planned a nationwide wholesale mobile LTE network only to be shot down by regulators because of GPS interference concerns, declared bankruptcy in May that did salvage the company’s commercial satellite-based mobile service. Billionaire Philip Falcone’s LightSquared has vowed to explore other options, such as spectrum set aside for weather balloons, and U.S. lawmakers have even proposed that the Department of Defense consider freeing up spectrum for use by LightSquared. Oh, and one other little LightSquared issue: The hedge fund that owns most of it was rocked by securities fraud charges filed by the SEC.