Denver-based Mountain Solutions Ltd. has kept alive its challenge of the re-auction of C-block personal communications services licenses by recently opposing the government’s attempt to have the case dismissed.
Mountain Solutions said nearly $3 million is at stake. The woman-owned company was second runner up for two Colorado markets in the original C-block auction held by the Federal Communications Commission earlier this year.
When the winner of PCS licenses in Fort Collins and Colorado Springs was unable to make the first license payment May 15, the FCC put the licenses up for re-auction. Mountain had to increase its total bids by $2.9 million to win the licenses at re-auction.
At the time of the default, Mountain Solutions argued to the FCC that a re-auction was not appropriate, and that the licenses should be awarded to the second runner up, in keeping with the government’s goal of assisting small businesses.
The FCC opted to re-auction. “They never really responded to our concerns regarding the re-auction,” said Lynn Langford, Mountain president and chief executive officer.
Shortly before the auction’s July 3 start date, Mountain Solutions took its complaint to the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Mountain’s complaint failed to stay the auction, but its request that the court review the FCC decision to re-auction remains with the court.
Mountain said the FCC filed a motion to dismiss that case at the end of August, a move which Mountain has opposed.
Mountain’s primary business is call transfer service, an interactive voice mail technology. Customers make calls on a flat-rate basis by accessing the Mountain Solutions network, entering a personal identification number and dialing destinations that would ordinarily result in a toll call involving a long distance provider.
Mountain also holds personal communications services licenses in Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming and Montana.
