WASHINGTON—The negotiators finally reached a settlement agreement on 14 November that will give the personal communications services (PCS) C- and F-block licenses of bankrupt NextWave Telecom to the re-auction winners, but it is unclear whether Congress will pass legislation, as called for in the agreement, by the end of the year.
“This is the largest spectrum auction in American history, and you can bet your bottom dollar our committee will assert jurisdiction,” said Ken Johnson, spokesman for the House Commerce Committee. “We would like to solve this long festering problem before the end of the year.”
“It is my intention to examine the proposed NextWave settlement to ensure that this matter is resolved upon terms that protect the American taxpayer from being short-changed. The American taxpayer must be made whole before being asked to participate in any settlement. Thus, I will review any proposed settlement agreement that the [Federal Communications Commission] or the administration puts forward to ensure that it protects the financial interests of the true owners of all spectrum resources: the American taxpayers,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee.
McCain recently sent a letter strongly criticizing the proposed deal because the government will only get more than US$10 billion rather than the nearly US$16 billion bid by the re-auction winners.
“It’s too early to pop the champagne corks, but with the Bush administration’s leadership on Capitol Hill to enact legislation that will support the recently-announced settlement, we are encouraged that the NextWave situation will be fully resolved very soon. … The sealing of the deal now requires the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to endorse this settlement. This is the one solution that will work, and we strongly encourage the Congress to act immediately to support it,” said Denny Strigl, Verizon Wireless chief executive officer.
Verizon Wireless bid nearly US$9 billion in the re-auction, which concluded earlier this year. On 22 June, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the FCC erred when it cancelled, re-allocated and re-auctioned NextWave’s C- and F-block licenses.
