NextWave responds to ‘meritless’ petition

WASHINGTON—Bankrupt PCS carrier NextWave Telecom, in a strongly worded response, on 30 July urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny a petition filed recently by a group of winning bidders in the re-auction of NextWave’s licenses.
The “petitioners—relying solely on speculation and innuendo—have fabricated grounds for revocation that neither they nor the commission believed existed over the past three years while NextWave has operated under the bankruptcy laws, and they seek primarily to revive long-expired claims, challenge plans that have never been enacted, and prove violations of non-existent regulatory requirements,” said NextWave.
Alaska Native Wireless, an affiliate of AT&T Wireless Services; Verizon Wireless; and VoiceStream Wireless filed a petition on 19 July that urged the FCC to investigate NextWave’s ownership structure and ability to build out its network.