Subject: [NEXTEL-1] NextWave Gets Deadline Break, As Expected

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 02:19:58 -0500

NextWave Gets Deadline Break, As Expected

BY MARK ROCKWELL
MARCH 4, 2003
NEWS@2 DIRECT

WASHINGTON - As expected, after years of legal imbroglio that have delayed NextWave
Telecom's business plan, the FCC is cutting
the bankrupt company some deadline slack.

The commission is giving NextWave another 703 days from the original January 3, 2002
deadline to meet build-out requirements
needed to keep its licenses, which means the company has another 7-8 months to build out
its networks. The carrier has said it has
networks up and running in all its major markets but has never provided significant
details of its buildout, raising speculation that it
has turned on just enough coverage to meet license deadlines.

'We appreciate the Wireless Bureau's positive action relating to NextWave's compliance
with the commission' s PCS build-out
requirements,' NextWave says. 'By dismissing the petition filed against us concerning
filing deadlines, the bureau has cleared the
way for substantive consideration of the demonstrations we submitted last year.'

NextWave had asked the FCC for additional time to meet the full build-out requirements in
light of the ongoing court cases, license
cancellation and subsequent re-auction of those licenses. It had filed 96 construction
notifications, which, company vice president
Michael Wack has said, met the FCC's requirements at the time. The company has argued
that, although it had sought to meet the
FCC's requirements, possession of a valid license is required to build. Without clear
title to the licenses, the company couldn't
proceed with large-scale network construction.

After the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the FCC's re-auction of NextWave's
repossessed spectrum was invalid, FCC
officials had indicated the commission would be lenient in holding the company to
stringent build-out requirements, as the
intervening legal wrangling and questionable licenses were substantial obstacles.

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