Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Nextwave Telecom Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gdichaz who wrote (394)	7/4/2001 12:31:09 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 1088

WSJ article on NextWave / Lucent stuff. July 3, 2001 NextWave Sets Deal With Lucent To Begin Building Wireless Network By YOCHI J. DREAZEN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL NextWave Telecom Inc. said it hired Lucent Technologies Inc. to build the first phase of a planned wireless voice and data network, signaling that the bankrupt company plans to begin using the coveted spectrum it won back from federal regulators last month. The $100 million, all-cash deal calls for Lucent to build the early stages of a network capable of offering wireless voice and data services in Detroit and in Madison, Wis., as well as wireless-data services in NextWave's remaining 93 markets. NextWave, Hawthorne, N.Y., said the work should be completed within 10 months. The contract is the first indication NextWave plans to fulfill its promise to use the spectrum it is to get from the Federal Communications Commission later this year. NextWave won the spectrum at a 1996 FCC auction for $4.7 billion, but the government reclaimed the licenses after the company failed to meet its debt obligations. The FCC later resold the spectrum to other wireless companies for nearly $17 billion, but the reauction was thrown into disarray a few weeks ago when a federal appeals court ruled the FCC broke the law by repossessing the spectrum and ordered it returned to NextWave. Despite Monday's announcement that NextWave would use the spectrum, many analysts believe NextWave will ultimately reach a deal with the FCC that would transfer the spectrum to AT&T Wireless and other winners of the reauction in exchange for several billion dollars. Political opposition to the high cost the Treasury would pay to get the spectrum back would make it extraordinarily difficult for the two sides to reach agreement, however, even if they were both amenable to a settlement. For now, there isn't any indication that is the case. The FCC, for instance, is still considering whether to appeal the ruling, a move favored by senior officials at the regulatory agency who feel the specter of further litigation will pressure NextWave into beginning settlement talks with the government. NextWave, meanwhile, has been adamant it will press ahead with plans to build itself into a provider of high-speed mobile Internet access. "It's somewhat offensive for everyone to keep talking about a settlement," said NextWave Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Allen Salmasi. "If the goal were to settle, I wouldn't have wasted six years of my life fighting the FCC." NextWave said it will announce deals with other network and equipment makers in coming months and hopes to have elements of its network up and running by December. The company estimates it will spend about $3 billion on the network. For Lucent the deal represents another burst of good news after an especially rocky period that has seen the company's share price plummet amid questions about its survival as a stand-alone venture. In recent months, Lucent has reached a number of deals to provide equipment for next-generation wireless services, including a $1 billion dollar pact with Sprint PCS last week. A Lucent spokeswoman said the two companies had been in discussions prior to NextWave's forfeiture of the spectrum and said the companies restarted the talks after the court ruling last month. -- Dennis Berman contributed to this article Write to Yochi J. Dreazen at yochi.dreazen@wsj.com Copyright © 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.