United States
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) delayed the paging services auction until 24 February, 2000. The FCC said in June that it would auction 2,499 licenses for paging. The licenses, at 929-930 MHz and 931-932 MHz, were originally scheduled for auction in December. Approximately 14,000 licenses in the lower bands will be auctioned later. Several legal issues could cause further changes in the auction. Pending federal court cases are examining whether the FCC should auction paging licenses when so many areas are heavily encumbered.
WinStar Communications said it was awarded 18 additional licenses from the FCC to operate in the 38 GHz band. WinStar said the free licenses cover a portion of or are adjacent to the top 60 markets, including New York, Minneapolis, Kansas City and San Diego. The licenses cover approximately 211 million people and approximately 80 percent of the business market, the company said. “These licenses will allow us to expand the availability of WinStar’s fixed wireless broadband network and provide even more business customers with a wide range of advanced communications services, said William J. Rouhana Jr., chairman and chief executive officer.
