WASHINGTON-Heavy lobbying by NextWave Telecom Inc. to have Congress stop the Federal Communications Commission from taking back NextWave’s 90 personal communications services licenses failed Thursday when the congressional leadership agreed to strip it from a bill to reform bankruptcy law.
“We agreed that if an item was in neither the House nor the Senate bills it would not be included in the conference bill,” said Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.).
NextWave, which hired top lobbyists including the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, looked victorious as congressmen and senators met behind closed doors to discuss the fate of the bankruptcy bill.
“It is a $4 billion rip-off of the taxpayers if it happens, and it could happen,” said Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), who strongly opposed the provision.
The Thursday night meeting clarified procedure and language of the bankruptcy bill, which has been languishing in Congress for several years. The House passed its version-which the White House vowed to veto-in 1999, and the Senate passed a more White-House-friendly version earlier this year.
The White House May 12 expressed concern that the pro-NextWave provision would be included in the bankruptcy bill.
“The administration would strongly oppose the inclusion of provisions, under the bankruptcy law or other law, that would alter the police and regulatory exception or the legal principles that allow governmental units to enforce regulatory programs with regard to debtors who may hold interests in licenses, permits, franchises or entitlements issued by the government,” said the White House.
The wireless industry mobilized last week to kill any provision that would prevent NextWave’s licenses from being re-auctioned as scheduled on July 26.
“Congress should not reward those who refuse to play by the rules, penalize wireless telecommunications competitors, or rob the U.S. taxpayers. Congress should protect taxpayers, promote real competition and `Just say no’ to NextWave!,” read a paper passed out by a lobbyist for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association.
The legislative battle surrounding the fate of NextWave’s licenses is not expected to be over any time soon.
The FCC is urging Senate appropriators to insert language similar to a provision dropped last year that would allow the FCC to take back licenses from all bankrupt C-blockers.
And NextWave is not giving up the fight, claiming its position is “broad-based, bipartisan and gathering momentum.”
“NextWave will continue to support efforts in Congress and the administration to develop a solution that frees the company to pay its full financial obligation for spectrum licenses and put those licenses into productive use in the near term,” said Michael Wack, spokesman for NextWave.
In other C-block action, Airadigm Communications Inc. last week told the FCC to grant its petition for declaratory relief, allowing it to keep its licenses, or the company will simply go out of business.
The FCC has informally told Airadigm that its licenses were canceled after Airadigm failed to make an installment payment last fall when the company was in the midst of a bankruptcy proceeding.
“If the FCC cancels Airadigm’s licenses-or allows Airadigm to slip out of existence with no FCC action-the public interest would be harmed … What would the FCC achieve by cutting off service to [Airadigm’s] subscribers? Nothing good. At best, the FCC would show that it is `really tough’ about its payment rules, and that it will push the outer limits of the law to enforce those rules. At worst, it will cut off service to thousands of Americans on a legal theory of dubious merit,” said Robert Galle, chief executive officer of Airadigm.
Airadigm won licenses to cover most of the state of Wisconsin. It filed bankruptcy after turning on service. It is the only bankrupt C-blocker to have customers.
