NextWave Fights FCC On Buildouts
wirelessweek.com
BY MARK ROCKWELL
JUNE 3, 2002
WIRELESS WEEK
2002, REED BUSINESS INFORMATION, A DIVISION OF REED ELSEVIER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
WASHINGTON NextWave Telecom Inc. has been quietly, but furiously, building a house of cards to
persuade the FCC to acknowledge it has fulfilled the network buildout requirements that will enable it to
keep its much-contested PCS licenses.
The company has been meeting and corresponding with FCC wireless bureau officials since at least
May 10 to bolster its claims that the agency is wrong in the way it is handling of NextWave's
construction applications. The company has told FCC officials several times via its legal counsel that it
has filed notifications of construction in 67 of the 95 markets where it holds licenses to provide PCS
services. The company contends the commission's universal licensing system doesn't reflect
NextWave's actual fulfillment of the construction requirements. The company also says the settlement
reached with the FCC and winners of a re-auction of NextWave's licenses, which returned the majority
of each bidder's deposit, allowed NextWave more time to meet its buildout requirements. The
resolution of the issue is critical to the company because its ability to hang onto the licenses rests on its
intentions and ability to build a network.
A possible rival for the licenses is NY Telecom, which, according to NextWave officials, is tied to
Eldorado Communications, a small company that bid against NextWave in the 1996 PCS auction and
opposed the FCC settlement with re-auction bidders. The company also opposed the FCC's return last
month of $3.2 billion in deposits to those bidders.
NY Telecom told the FCC in a filing in mid-May that "NextWave has not met deadlines required by
some or all of its licenses and assuming the Supreme Court upholds the court of appeals decision
regarding these licenses, NY Telecom requests that such licenses be revoked and made available
immediately for re-auction." The company contends the five-year buildout deadline for 63 of
NextWave's licenses ended Jan. 3.
It's unclear what action the FCC may take because it won't comment on open filings. But NextWave
officials says the settlement made between the FCC and the re-auction bidders extended the buildout
deadlines. They also contend the FCC is dragging its heels in approving the company's construction
filings.
"Since January, NextWave has repeatedly asked the [wireless] bureau either to confirm that NextWave
has satisfied its initial construction deadlines or to indicate what deficiencies the commission perceives.
The bureau has pointedly refused NextWave's requests," contends Ian Gershengorn, NextWave's
counsel at the law firm of Jenner & Block.
In an "instant petition" last month, NextWave asked for three things from the FCC. The first was a
request that the FCC update its universal licensing system to note the company had met the buildout
requirements for its licenses and to correct "erroneous" construction deadlines. Second, the company
asked the commission to update its records to clarify the construction periods and include the assertion
that the settlement essentially extended the construction deadlines by several months. Third, the
company asked that if the FCC finds that NextWave's construction efforts are deficient or rejects them,
that it be granted a waiver or extension to meet the requirements. |
