It has been two years since the FCC sent the bitter 2012 Valentine to broadband aspirant LightSquared (“Sorry Phil, but it could harm GPS”), all but dashing any hope the company may have had of proceeding with its plan. The almost-daily LightSquared news since has been dominated by bankruptcy proceedings, resignations, abandoned alliances, debt deals, financial chest thumping, and some rather obtuse lawsuits – but little if nothing at all about the relative merits of the original plan. Has the relevancy of the original plan been lost in the drama?

The relentless engines of LTE expansion and spectrum-crunch-defying innovation have plowed ahead while the LightSquared saga has stalled. The other day I overheard a comment prompted by the recent news that Dish was dropping its bid for LightSquared’s spectrum (for now). An acquaintance lamented the latest twist: “I guess we will never see rural broadband” (one of the promises offered…