SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.-NextWave Telecom Inc. added to its growing resale distribution chain last week by signing up prepaid provider One-Stop Wireless of America Inc., a move further enhancing resale’s credibility and visibility in the wireless industry.
One-Stop, of Irvine, Calif., agreed to buy 5 billion minutes of airtime from NextWave and resell it on a prepaid basis nationwide.
The announcement was made last week at the National Wireless Resellers Association’s fall conference here.
The accord with One Stop follows mega-resale deals by NextWave with MCI Communications Corp., Cellexis International Inc. and Personal Communications Network Inc.
NextWave, headquartered in San Diego and New York, was the biggest C-block personal communications services auction winner, offering nearly $5 billion for 63 licenses covering geographic areas encompassing 110 million people. NextWave networks will use Code Division Multiple Access technology.
PCS carriers and wireless resellers are watching NextWave’s resale strategy closely for what could become a model for next-generation pocket telephone service distribution.
PCS operators face enormous financial competitive pressure to put subscribers on their systems. Resale, which has experienced spotty success in the duopoly cellular business, could become more popular with the addition of more wireless carriers in each market.
Congress and the Federal Communications Commission have refused to mandate resale or unbundled interconnection for wireless services, believing resellers will be aided by market forces.
NWRA attendees were told efforts are underway at the state and federal levels to secure greater resale rights. Number portability, roaming, contracting, marketing and financing were topics of discussion at the fall conference.
Concern was expressed that if NextWave fails to make an initial public offering or to successfully deploy CDMA technology, it could have serious repercussions for other C-block PCS carriers and hopeful wireless resellers.
