An association that stresses its “technology-neutral” position has formed to give entrepreneurial-block spectrum licensees a platform for unity and fill the gap left by North American Wireless Inc.
NAWI is believed to be defunct, although the company’s founder, James Valentine, says the organization “is fine.”
“We expect other groups to exist and we look to cooperate with them,” Valentine said.
The National Association of PCS Entrepreneurs is led by a company formerly aligned with NAWI, Poka Lambro Telephone Cooperative Inc.
NAPE formed this summer at a meeting in Florida. The organizing committee is led by Michael Roberts of Roberts Broadcasting in St. Louis. Roberts Broadcasting is a C-block licensee. Michael McIntyre with Communication Ventures of Okemos, Miss., is secretary. William Yandell III, a communications consultant in Memphis, Tenn., is the NAPE treasurer. Albert E.R. Schneider III of Cleveland-based Wireless Ventures is general counsel. Mickey Sims of Tahoka, Texas-based Poka Lambro, is first vice chair. Kevin R. Carroll of NextWave Telecom Inc. is an organizing member. NextWave is a significant C-block license holder.
NAPE is in the process of creating standing committees for legislation/regulation, infrastructure financing, technical standards, network operations and membership. Headquarters for the group is Roberts Broadcasting, St. Louis. The group also still is discussing the purpose, scope and responsibilities of the committees, and identifying “issues of relevance” to NAPE.
NAWI originally formed in November of 1994, before the auction of broadband personal communications services had even begun. It anticipated that small businesses that won spectrum in the C-block auction would need to ally to have the clout to get good vendor financing arrangements, roaming agreements and other working contracts.
NAWI wanted the licensees to pool their interests and build a nationwide network, connected by roaming agreements, based on Code Division Multiple Access technology.
NAWI made preliminary agreements with AT&T Network Systems (now Lucent Technologies) and Cable & Wireless Inc. The plan was for the small licensees to band together and buy equipment from AT&T, which would be network architect and prime contractor as well. C&W would provide long-distance service.
But the winners of the C-block auction were not small players, and the interests of the licensees were vast.
Lucent never finalized a contract with NAWI; no equipment orders were ever made. C&W pulled out of NAWI about a year ago after NAWI leader Valentine made public attacks on Global System for Mobile communications technology. GSM competes with CDMA, the NAWI technology of choice. But London-based C&W is a supporter of GSM technology and felt a conflict in its alliance with NAWI.
