In March 2008, the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Utilities Program (RDUP) approved a $267 million Broadband Access Loan for Open Range, with the prerequisite that private financing also be secured. The OEP investment satisfies the RDUP's loan terms, making the funds available to Open Range. Open Range can now commence deploying wireless broadband service in rural America under a spectrum lease agreement with Globalstar. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted the necessary authority for the Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) service in October 2008.
The spectrum lease agreement with Open Range provides Globalstar with an additional source of revenue. The initial lease down payment is approximately $2.2 million. With full utilization of Globalstar spectrum by Open Range, which covers only five percent of the U.S. population, payments are expected to increase to $10.1 million in year six of the agreement. The total amount of the payments made to Globalstar will depend on a number of factors, including the eventual, geographic coverage of, and the number of customers on, the Open Range system.