WASHINGTON-While the world awaits the final outcome of the seemingly endless process in Florida to pick the president of the United States, members of the wireless world are also awaiting a decision expected today about an F-block license for a market in (you guessed it) Florida.
If you listen to the carriers involved, the saga began Oct. 30 when staff of the Federal Communications Commission reversed a previous decision that allowed Lakeland PCS to sell its license for the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla., market to Leap Wireless International Inc. Although the agency initially approved the sale, the FCC later said Lakeland could not sell what it did not own.
According to the FCC, Lakeland’s license automatically canceled Oct. 27, 1999, after Lakeland missed its installment payment deadline by two days.
The two sides are disputing when the payment was due.
Lakeland believed the deadline for the April 30, 1999, payment was Oct. 30, 1999, and by sending its payment Oct. 29, it made a timely-albeit late-payment. The FCC staff believes the final deadline before default and cancellation was Oct. 27.
However, FCC staff did not tell Lakeland its license was canceled and the commission continued to accept installment payments from Lakeland until a year later, when it said the license had canceled a year before.
“That you can just wake up and say you were canceled a year ago … I think that is an absurd proposition,” said Thomas Gutierrez, outside counsel for Lakeland.
Leap believes the central Florida market is attractive and still wants to consummate the deal if Lakeland is able to convince the FCC to reverse its reversal.
“We are ready to go as soon as they get this glitch resolved,” said Dan O. Pegg, Leap’s senior vice president for public affairs.
Lakeland is pulling out all of the stops to get a favorable decision so it can proceed with the sale. It filed the petition after FCC staff indicated something formal had to be filed. It also visited with the legal advisers to the commissioners and convinced congressional members to press its case.
Due to an arrangement that Lakeland has with an applicant to participate in next month’s re-auction of C- and F-block licenses, Lakeland needs a decision by the close of business today.
The wireless bureau confirmed staff aims to reach a decision by today.
Also on the C-block front, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said last week the FCC’s 1998 decision to allow C- and F-block auction winners to restructure their debt was not arbitrary and capricious. Judge Douglas Ginsburg, writing for the court, said the winners were not helped by the options to restructure, but rather incurred severe penalties including the option of giving up their licenses.
If the FCC had lost, it may have had to take back licenses won in a 1999 re-auction. That would have unwound deals now moving forward and could have set a precedent if bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc. ever wins litigation surrounding licenses the FCC is re-auctioning.
Also, in an ironic twist, NextWave had intervened on behalf of the FCC, so it also can count a win in its column.
