Unsecured creditors of Pocket Communications Inc. have subpoenaed the Federal Communications Commission for information omitted from the reorganization plan approved last month by several creditor-vendors, the FCC and the Justice Department.
Unsecured creditors believe knowledge of private portions of the secured lenders term sheet is crucial to evaluate the plan and possibly offer an alternative.
Pocket filed for bankruptcy because of financial problems stemming from its purchase of 43 C-block personal communications services licenses from the FCC for $1.43 billion in May 1996.
Lenders with secured claims against Pocket-Pacific Eagle Investments Ltd. and its subsidiaries, Masa Telecom Asia Investment Pte. Ltd., Ericsson Inc. and Siemens Telecom Networks-disagree.
“The redacted provisions of the term sheet merely describe the capitalization and financing of NewGSM Co. and have no bearing on the ability of any third party to submit an alternative proposal to the United States,” they said in a court filing last week.
The lenders added, “There is no reason whatsoever-aside from mischief-for others to know the confidential terms of the equity and vendor financing.”
The FCC last month asked for public comment by May 7 on the Pocket reorganization plan that was unveiled March 20 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore.
There is speculation Pocket’s creditors may keep the Dallas and Chicago PCS licenses and return the remaining 41 licenses to the FCC to be re-auctioned in February.
Key telecom lawmakers on Capitol Hill have expressed concern about the Pocket reorganization being a much sweeter deal than those options available to other financially strapped C-block PCS licenses under the new FCC debt-restructuring ruling.
“I think the FCC would have been better off offering the Pocket deal to everybody,” said Jack Robinson, president of National Telecom.
National Telecom has filed a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit against Pocket and a petition to deny all its licenses.
Robinson predicted the federal government will get about 35 cents on the dollar from the Pocket reorganization, which he says is better than what the FCC would collect in a re-auction of Pocket licenses.
