WASHINGTON-The New York Yankees may have won the World Series but in the world where politics and policy converge, as another famous Yankee once said, "it ain't over 'till it's over."That is certainly true in NextWave Telecom Inc.'s quest to keep its 90 personal...
WASHINGTON-In what appears to be a win for bankrupt PCS carriers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans has ruled in favor of Metro PCS (formerly General Wireless Inc.) and against the Federal Communications Commission.The current and future fate...
WASHINGTON-Cook Inlet/VoiceStream bid $195 million for 12 licenses owned by a Pocket Communications Inc. subsidiary in a private bidding war with Leap Wireless International Inc. However, Cook only expects to keep a few of the licenses, selling the others to Leap.On a separate front...
WASHINGTON-With Congress stuck in town at least another week and prospects growing that pending legislation will be rolled into one or two catch-all spending bills, the fate of several key wireless bills remains unclear.GOP lawmakers particularly are anxious to wrap up the 106th Congress...
WASHINGTON-Language to allow the Federal Communications Commission to take back RF licenses from bankrupt entities has been stripped from the FCC spending bill being considered by Congress.Legislation that would allow the FCC to take back the licenses of bankrupt companies was included in a...
WASHINGTON-There's a reason the waning weeks of Congress are collectively called Silly Season.It is because anything is possible during this fall ritual, when lawmakers scramble-against all odds-to complete spending bills before the start of the new fiscal year and try to pass legislation for...
WASHINGTON-NextWave Telecom Inc. asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to stay the Dec. 12 scheduled re-auction of its licenses.NextWave asked for the stay so the appeals court can rule on whether the Federal Communications Commission acted properly when...
As Congress scrambled to come up with a budget for fiscal year 2001 by its deadline this Saturday, rumors circulated that NextWave Telecom Inc. was in negotiations to settle its bankruptcy dispute with the Federal Communications Commission.Legislation that would allow the FCC to take...
WASHINGTON-The lack of transparency in the processes at the Federal Communications Commission is exemplified by the litigation strategy and auction scheduling in the personal communications services C-block, said FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth.While Furchtgott-Roth believes the FCC's Office of General Counsel should have discretion as...
WASHINGTON-Telecom firms-including those with major wireless properties-have contributed nearly $18 million so far in soft money in the 2000 election cycle, according to a new report.Overall, Common Cause said the telecom industry ranked second only to Wall Street in this season of record, unregulated...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission, as expected, last week rejected a request by bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc. that the FCC reconsider its Jan. 12 decision to cancel its licenses and re-auction them. The FCC also set the re-auction for Dec. 12.Meanwhile, the FCC found itself...
TORONTO-The consolidation trend in the North American wireless sector is intensifying. The prevailing wisdom is that it is no longer good enough to be merely a regional or national carrier with transborder capabilities. The game plan is to be part of a global presence,...
WASHINGTON-A little more than a year ago, Nextel Communications Inc. shocked the telecom world by announcing it had reached an agreement with the Federal Communications Commission to buy the licenses of bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc.A year later, the FCC says it will re-auction NextWave's...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has denied a request from NextWave Telecom Inc. to review an earlier decision that said the Federal Communications Commission must first rule on NextWave's petition for reconsideration before the appeals court can act. NextWave...
VoiceStream Wireless Corp. last week reiterated its confidence in its merger with German operator Deutsche Telekom as both companies' stock values dropped since the merger announcement.By press time, the deal was valued at about $45.3 billion, or $171 per VoiceStream share, compared with $50.7...
WASHINGTON-House lawmakers late last week failed to cast a floor vote on appropriations legislation that was to include a repeal of the telephone tax, putting that measure and other wireless-related legislation on hold until Congress returns from its August recess.The House version of the...
WASHINGTON-Cellular carriers have mounted an all-out assault on the Federal Communications Commission to get more spectrum."Spectrum is the `life blood' of wireless services. But not all radio-frequency spectrum is equally useful or suitable. Spectrum-management policies determine the `rule of the game;' that is, who...
WASHINGTON-A congressional subcommittee and the wireless industry put pressure on the Federal Communications Commission to delay the upcoming 700 MHz auction, while private wireless wants the agency to go ahead with the guard-band auction.In addition, Verizon Wireless asked to delay the Nov. 29 re-auction...
WASHINGTON-A federal appeals court last month refused to stay the scheduled re-auction of bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc.'s personal communications services licenses or hear an appeal on their cancellation."A petition filed after a bureau decision but before resolution by the full Federal Communications Commission is...
NEW YORK-SBC Wireless hopes to take a bite out of the Big Apple as one part of a territorial and services expansion plan accompanying combining its wireless operations with those of BellSouth Corp.With the closing of the joint venture agreement, which is expected in...
The Federal Communications Commission received comments from wireless operators over its tentative decision to allow large carriers to bid in the re-auction of C- and F-block personal communications services spectrum. Most large carriers, however, feel the potential rules severely limit their participation.The FCC has...
WASHINGTON-A group of wireless and telecommunications executives are planning to roll out a new service they hope will lead to residential wireless broadband service with what could be megabit data rates.The market for Burst Wireless Inc. are those customers that cannot get access to...
The eight-year dispute between Qualcomm Inc. and the Federal Communications Commission over a pioneer's preference license ended last week. The FCC granted Qualcomm a $125 million auction-discount voucher applicable during the next three years in government spectrum auctions.The commission in 1992 denied Qualcomm pioneer...
There's a virtual reality about government spending these days. Just ask Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), ranking minority member of the House Appropriations Committee.Faced with GOP cuts in Clinton-proposed budgets for the Federal Communications Commission, the Commerce Department and other agencies in fiscal 2001, Obey...
