WASHINGTON—With the House of Representatives leaving town and the Senate expected to leave shortly, bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc and Verizon Wireless Inc. reacted to the lack of legislation codifying the settlement that would give a majority of NextWave’s PCS C- and F-block spectrum to Verizon.
“NextWave greatly appreciates the efforts of the many members of Congress who supported the proposed settlement agreement. As the congressional hearing and extensive legislative debate concerning the settlement agreement made clear, consumers will be best served by ending pending litigation and putting NextWave’s licenses into productive use as quickly as possible. NextWave has continued to construct its wireless network during the settlement proceedings, and we will be in a position to start providing service to the public in the new year,” said Michael Wack, NextWave’s senior vice president and deputy general counsel.
“Verizon Wireless appreciates the work of the Congress on this issue. We regret that Congress was unable to provide a legislative endorsement of the agreement prior to completing the 2001 session. As a result, America’s wireless consumers will be denied the benefits that the prompt use of the spectrum would have afforded them. We thank [FCC] Chairman [Michael K.] Powell and all the other parties for their efforts to resolve the NextWave issue. We will continue to work to secure sufficient spectrum to meet the increasing needs of our customers,” said Dennis F. Strigl, Verizon Wireless’ chief executive officer.
The Federal Communications Commission declined comment.
