Pcstel/ Mq- Re: Nextwave ??
Nextwave, More details-
Can anyone clarify this- The settlement “requires NextWave to relinquish 90% of it spectrum”, yet Nextwave “retains 30- 10Mhz licenses in 25 markets such as NY city, DC, Boston – with 73M POPs nationally.
Is Nextwave still in business and does the 10% retained provide Nextwave with 70M POPS of spectrum?
The stock is up nicely on the news, yet "relinquishing 90% of its spectrum" doesn't appear to be positive news.
Any Ideas on investment prospects?
Snips>>>>>
The settlement, announced late yesterday by the commission, requires NextWave to relinquish 90 percent of its spectrum; looks to recover $1.6 billion in cash, including NextWave's down payment; and anticipates a total of about $4 billion when cash and spectrum recovery are combined.
NextWave is looking forward to the next step in the process: review by the bankruptcy court judge. The court is expected to rule on the matter on May 25, says Michael Wack, spokesman for the company, adding that no decision has been made yet on whether to sell the licenses. The 30 10 MHz licenses retained by the company in 25 markets across the United States give the company a national footprint that could be ideal for a data network, Wack says. The retained licenses include footprints in markets such as New York City, Washington, D.C., and Boston. "It gives us 73 million pops nationally," he said.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Industry Eyes FCC/NextWave Settlement Implications
BY MARK ROCKWELL
APRIL 21, 2004
WASHINGTON -- While the wireless industry breathes a sigh of relief over the spectrum settlement between NextWave Telecom and the FCC, some analysts are wondering if it could ripple into the fight over 800 MHz spectrum and other burning issues.
The settlement, announced late yesterday by the commission, requires NextWave to relinquish 90 percent of its spectrum; looks to recover $1.6 billion in cash, including NextWave's down payment; and anticipates a total of about $4 billion when cash and spectrum recovery are combined. The deal also puts a nail in the coffin of the 7-year-old case, saying that it "extinguishes" any possibility of future claims by NextWave against the commission.
The deal requires approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York, the court handling NextWave's re-emergence from bankruptcy.
The agreement also would require NextWave to compensate the FCC on the sale of the spectrum the company retains if a "dramatic" increase in the value of that spectrum occurs.
For its part, NextWave is looking forward to the next step in the process: review by the bankruptcy court judge. The court is expected to rule on the matter on May 25, says Michael Wack, spokesman for the company, adding that no decision has been made yet on whether to sell the licenses. The 30 10 MHz licenses retained by the company in 25 markets across the United States give the company a national footprint that could be ideal for a data network, Wack says. The retained licenses include footprints in markets such as New York City, Washington, D.C., and Boston. "It gives us 73 million pops nationally," he said.
The re-emergence of the long-contested NextWave spectrum into the public arena has some industry observers wondering about the implications for another long running spectrum battle -- Nextel Communications' bid to swap 800 MHz spectrum with public safety. Nextel would get about 10 MHz in the 1.9 GHz band in that deal, which has Verizon Wireless crying foul. Verizon Wireless has called for a public auction of that spectrum and has said its opening bid for it would be $5 billion.
Because the NextWave spectrum is similar in bandwidth and has national reach, one analyst is questioning whether Verizon Wireless, in making a $5 billion pledge for the Nextel spectrum, had stumbled. "I wonder if Verizon has painted itself into a corner on a bid for any NextWave spectrum," says Jane Zweig, CEO and partner at The Shosteck Group.
Verizon Wireless has tried to acquire NextWave spectrum in the past. Its notorious $8.7 billion bid for 67 re-auctioned NextWave licenses two years ago resulted in a bitter fight with the FCC over refunding a $1.5 billion down payment on the spectrum after NextWave asserted it still owned the spectrum after it declared bankruptcy.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in January 2003 that the FCC acted unlawfully in canceling NextWave's PCS licenses after the company filed for bankruptcy shortly following its winning $4.7 billion bid in a 1996 spectrum auction. Before the court's decision, the FCC had already re-auctioned the licenses to other bidders, including Verizon Wireless, only to be subsequently held up as the legal case proceeded. The FCC finally relented on refunding deposits to the re-auction winners.
Verizon Wireless officials wouldn't comment specifically on whether they had inadvertently set the bar on any bid the carrier may place on the NextWave spectrum when it comes up for another auction at the commission in the coming months. A Verizon Wireless spokesman did say, however, that "whether it's the 1.9 MHz or return spectrum from NextWave, it should be publicly auctioned."
Nextel officials declined comment on the matter. FCC officials said Verizon's proposed bid could inadvertently set the bar for the NextWave spectrum, but that it would have no effect on the ongoing 800 MHz proceeding at the commission.
In any case, Verizon's proposed bid on the Nextel spectrum is most likely a foundation for an appeal of the FCC ruling on the matter and not an official offer, analysts say. In any case, the $5 billion for the Nextel spectrum would be a good deal, says Roger Entner, Yankee Group program manager, wireless/mobile services. |
