Spectrum Policy Watch: FCC Schedules PCS License Auction; NextWave Licenses Included

Telecom Policy Report, June 30, 2004

The FCC on Jan. 12, 2005, will auction off some 234 broadband Personal Communications Services (PCS) licenses, including some licenses previously held by NextWave Telecom Inc., the bankrupt wireless carrier that managed to hang onto billions of dollars worth of spectrum without actually paying for it.

The upcoming auction, dubbed Auction No. 58, marks the third time the FCC has attempted to return NextWave's spectrum to the wireless industry following the original PCS auctions in 1996 and the commission's failed efforts in 2001 to re-auction the spectrum.

This past April, NextWave said it planned to return 60 of its PCS licenses to the FCC. NextWave's gesture was aimed at eliminating barriers the company might otherwise face in its own efforts to either auction off or use its remaining spectrum.

Earlier this month, NextWave announced plans to auction six of its remaining licenses next month, including a coveted 10 MHz in New York City for at least $1 billion. The wireless carrier last week asked the bankruptcy court overseeing its reorganization for permission to auction its rights to PCS licenses in New York, Denver, Portland, Ore., Sarasota, Fla., Tampa, Fla., and Tulsa, Okla. (see TPR, July 9).

[Copyright 2004 PBI Media, LLC. All rights reserved.]