WASHINGTON-MCI Communications Corp. made a $25 million loan to personal communications services hopeful U.S. AirWaves Inc., according to an interview with MCI’s President Gerald Taylor published by Dow Jones Investor Service.
Taylor reportedly said the loan was not an equity investment in the company. An MCI spokesman would neither confirm nor deny the accuracy of the report. U.S. AirWaves also refused comment.
All PCS bidders in the C-block auction are required to disclose their equity backers as well as any loans that are convertible into equity positions. On its Form 175 application, U.S. AirWaves did not disclose an equity relationship with MCI, but PCS bidders can amend their applications at a later date as long as adding a new investor does not change control of the company.
MCI previously announced it had no interest in obtaining PCS spectrum and building out its own network, preferring instead to leverage its strong brand name as a reseller of wireless service.
The company last month announced signing a letter of intent to provide a package of network services-called networkMCI Wireless Integrated Network-to U.S. AirWaves.
