Alltel, MetroPCS hint at 700 MHz plans

Alltel Corp. made clear its interest in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction in filings with the Federal Communications Commission, and requested that the commission avoid plans to set aside a chunk of the spectrum for a national private/public-safety network and make sure that smaller regional licenses are available for bidding.
“Alltel is very interested in the upcoming 700 MHz auction and the enormous potential of the 700 MHz spectrum to bring innovative new services to rural areas given the exceptional propagation characteristics of this band,” the company said in its filing. Alltel went on to encourage the FCC to structure the auction with multiple license blocks of at least 11 megahertz and small geographic areas-particularly Cellular Market Areas, which split the country into more than 700 separate licenses. The smaller licenses will encourage rural deployments, Alltel argued. The company also said it favored completely open bidding for the auction rather than limitations on bidding information. The wireless pure-play company also suggested that the FCC “should consider imposing ‘bid premiums’ in this auction on bidders affiliated with incumbent local exchange carriers that hold significant CMRS [commercial mobile radio service] spectrum.”
Alltel also urged the FCC to ignore a “last-minute, self-serving” plan from Frontline Wireless L.L.C., which calls for the commission to set aside a 10-megahertz block in the upper 700 MHz band for a national commercial license, with the caveat that a buyer must build and operate an interoperable broadband network to be shared by public-safety users.
In other auction-related news, MetroPCS Communications Inc. noted in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that its wholly owned subsidiary, MetroPCS Wireless Inc., plans to make a private offering of notes up to $300 million in principal, expected to close in June. In addition to up to $1 billion in notes offered last fall, the company said the funds would be used for general corporate purposes, “which could include financing participation in and acquisition of additional spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission’s upcoming 700 MHz auction.”