NextWave asks Appeals Court to reconsider decision
--From AOL news-- Cooters
NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Bankrupt wireless telephone company NextWave Telecom Inc. on Friday said it asked a U.S. Appeals Court to reconsider an earlier decision as part of its lengthy battle to keep valuable wireless licenses.
NextWave asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reconsider its Dec. 22, 1999 decision. The appeals court overturned a bankruptcy court's initial finding that the Federal Communications Commission had committed fraud in selling the wireless licenses to NextWave.
The Hawthorne, N.Y.-based wireless company contended that the Second Circuit's decision overlooked legal provisions that grant bankruptcy courts the authority to conduct proceedings such as NextWave's case against the FCC in this case.
NextWave asked the three-judge panel that originally decided the appeal to reconsider its ruling. The company also requested the full Court of Appeals to hear the case if the three-judge panel does not change its decision.
NextWave's request continues years of legal wrangling over licenses it won at government auctions in 1996 for more than $4.8 billion, which were intended to stimulate new wireless competitors.
It said it made the request after the FCC refused to accept NextWave's recent offer to pay its remaining $4.3 billion license obligation in full and put the licenses into immediate
NextWave, like other leading bidders, was unable to pay for its winning bids and filed for bankruptcy protection in 1998. use.
After announcing new equity investments in December from Global Crossing Ltd. <GBLX.O> and Liberty Media Group <LMGa.N>, NextWave had pledged to pay all it owed for the licenses.
On Jan. 12, however, the FCC announced that NextWave's licenses had been canceled for non-payment and would be reauctioned in July.
Companies such as Nextel Communications Inc. <NXTL.O>, which recently dropped a short-lived bid to acquire NextWave, and SBC Communications Inc. <SBC.N> of San Antonio, Texas were eager to bid for the licenses. Both carriers would need special waivers from the FCC to bid at the reauction, which was reserved for small and upstart carriers.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday rejected the FCC's move to cancel the licenses. A spokeswoman for the FCC said on Monday that the agency was reviewing the decision but planned to appeal.
17:26 02-04-00
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