USA Spectrum License Complaint Rejected

America's telecoms regulator, the FCC has rejected a complaint that could have further shaken up the issuance of the PCS spectrum licenses being claimed by NextWave. During the auction several companies were able to bid as entrepreneur companies as they were small companies - although they had financial backing from the larger networks who were barred from bidding for some of the licenses available.

TPS Utilicom filed a Petition with the USA telecoms regulator last March against Alaska Native Wireless, claiming that Alaska Native Wireless' qualifications as an entrepreneur eligible for last years C and F spectrum block of "closed" bidding licenses and as a designated entity eligible for bidding credits as a very small business for "open" bidding licenses should be revoked.

TPS Utilicom had claimed that AT&T Wireless exerts both de jure and de facto control over Alaska Native Wireless and that AT&T Wireless' gross revenues and assets accordingly should have been included in Alaska Native Wireless' entrepreneurial eligibility and designated entity calculations. TPS Utilicom also argued that the failure to include AT&T Wireless' gross revenues and assets constitutes a lack of candor disqualifying Alaska Native Wireless as a licensee.

The FCC had several reasons for rejecting Utilicom's application, saying that the complaint rules require that Utilicom had to have personally suffered a direct injury, which the FCC said was not the case as Utilicom did not bid for any of the licenses that were won by Alaska Native Wireless. The FCC also said that AT&T Wireless does not have a majority control over Alaska Native Wireless, so there is no financial agreement to answer.

Finally, Utilicom argued that Alaska Native Wireless has failed to be fully candid in its attempt "to qualify under the entrepreneur and very small business provisions . . . making [Alaska Native Wireless] ineligible to be a licensee." The FCC disagreed, saying that Utilicom fails to allege specific facts demonstrating that Alaska Native Wireless did not disclose information that would affect the determination of Alaska Native Wireless' eligibility as an entrepreneur or designated entity."

Posted to the site on 5th March 2002