WASHINGTON-A New York judge said Verizon Wireless can purchase bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc.’s remaining licenses for $3 billion.
A NextWave spokesman said the transaction will be worked into the plan of reorganization the company expects to file with the bankruptcy court Dec. 6.
Once the deal closes, which is scheduled for the middle of next year, Verizon Wireless-which fell to the No. 2 mobile-phone carrier after the government approved Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc.-will gain 1.9 GHz spectrum licenses covering 73 million potential customers in 23 markets. The licenses include 20 megahertz of spectrum in New York, Boston, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., as well as 10 megahertz of spectrum in 19 markets, including Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Portland, Ore.
According to The RCR Wireless News Wireless Carrier Database, Verizon Wireless will also gain spectrum in a number of new markets, including Tulsa, Okla.; Corpus Christi, Texas; Daytona Beach and Ocala, Fla.; El Centro-Calexico, Calif.; Madison and Janesville-Beloit, Wis.; and Dover, Del.
Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group plc, previously said it would fund the transaction through cash flow from operations and inter-company loans.
