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: Glenn Petersen who wrote (556)	10/19/2001 8:06:10 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 1088

WSJ -- Negotiations Near Resolution In NextWave Spectrum Dispute October 19, 2001 Negotiations Near Resolution In NextWave Spectrum Dispute By MARK WIGFIELD Dow Jones Newswires WASHINGTON -- Negotiations over a substantial swath of wireless spectrum held by NextWave Telecom Inc., spectrum that has been tied up for years in bankruptcy proceedings, were largely completed Friday. According to a person close to the negotiations, NextWave and its investors will walk away with about $6 billion, while the federal government will receive $10 billion. Still under negotiation is exactly when NextWave will get paid for its licenses, with the company pushing for January 2002, and the government, for September or October 2002. Firms that have been seeking the spectrum licenses, such as Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless and their surrogates, will be required to pay the government for the roughly $16 billion worth of licenses in May, and the government will pay NextWave out of those proceeds. It isn't clear whether the companies will have provisional use of the licenses before then, which have been tied up in legal proceedings since 1996 despite a snowballing demand for wireless capacity. The deal contains a number of safeguards to protect the government against defaults by the new buyers. Those provisions are intended to guarantee that the government will collect at least $10 billion even if it has to re-auction the licenses for a lower price. But even as sources were discussing elements of the deal, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to reject a lower-court decision that had made it necessary to hold negotiations over the fate of the licenses in the first place. The U.S. Court of Appeals in June said the FCC had illegally reclaimed NextWave's licenses while it was in bankruptcy and ordered them returned to the company, effectively overturning the results of the January re-auction which would have netted the government $16 billion. The filing was seen as a tactical move by the government to keep its options open in the negotiations among NextWave, the new bidders, and itself as the final details were reached. Some wireless companies were expected to follow with their own Supreme Court appeals. Filing on behalf of the FCC, the Justice Department said the Appeals Court erred by expanding the reach of bankruptcy law into FCC licensing decisions. The result "voided the results of a spectrum auction that generated more than $15 billion in revenue for the U.S. Treasury, and effectively confiscated licenses from applicants who stood ready to put that spectrum to its most efficient use." The Appeals Court "transfers the licenses to entities that value the spectrum less highly and that, under the FCC rules established at Congress's direction, have forfeited any entitlement to the spectrum." The Supreme Court will decide whether to take the case in the coming months, although the government could withdraw the suit if the settlement is completed. Write to Mark Wigfield at mark.wigfield@dowjones.com Copyright © 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.