Cingular Completes Acquisition Of NextWave Licenses

[jones]

Cingular Completes Acquisition Of NextWave Licenses
April 9, 2004 (2:40 p.m. EST)
TechWeb News

Cingular Wireless on Friday said it had closed its $1.4 billion acquisition of 34 PCS licenses from NextWave Telecom Inc.
The licenses for digital cellular transmission that competes with analog and digital services in the 800MHz and 900MHz bands cover about 83 million potential customers for Cingular. The covered spectrum is primarily in markets where the wireless carrier has voice and data operations.

"This spectrum will greatly benefit our customers, allowing us to deliver additional products and services, expand coverage in key markets and better accommodate overall future growth," Ralph de la Vega, chief operating officer for Cingular, said in a statement.

Under the deal, Cingular paid $1.4 billion in cash, and obtained FCC licenses to operate personal communications services (PCS) in the markets covered by the licenses. The markets are spread throughout the company, from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Boston and Washington, D.C.

All claims of the FCC and third parties related to the licenses have been satisfied, including $714 million owed by NextWave to the FCC. The money was paid directly to the FCC out of the $1.4 billion total, Cingular said.

For NextWave, which is working its way through bankruptcy, closing the deal was a "very important event," Allen Salmasi, chairman and chief executive of the company said.

"It strengthens NextWave's capitalization and positions the company to complete its reorganization," Salmasi said in a statement.

Cingular Wireless, a joint venture between SBC Communications and BellSouth, serves more than 24 million voice and data customers across the United States.

I THINK THEY mean 1900 MHZ

[agentHibby]

does Cingular just filp a switch on the base station to get the extra channels???

[ShoresGuy]

900 Mhz lol [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img], so with this new GSM 850/1900 spectrum I wonder if Cingular has gained actual GSM 850 licenses for CA since they're currently only GSM 1900 there. But Cingular will get GSM 850 soon through the AT&T acquisition anyway so things will definitely look up for them. Any extra Nextwave spectrum gained for CA is automatically beneficial to T-Mobile as well since they currently use Cingular's towers but with the merger being completed later this year, who knows what Cingular will do with its shared network agreement with T-Mobile.

I doubt the FCC will allow Cingular to operate 2 GSM 1900 networks in CA/NV.

[agentHibby]

They could have 800 Mhz now, CA if Pac Tel did not make a dumb move.
Pacific Telesis decided to end Pacific Telesis Moblie in 1994 to become Airtouch
Pac Tel started PCS wireless later on.

Airtouch now Verizon
Pac Tel wireless now Cingular
A big mistake to spinoff wireless for Pac Tel in California.

[agentHibby]

FCC has no problem with Cingular having 2 PCS licenses, Many PCS providers sometimes have more than one license in a market. Only problem would be in the number of current providers offering service goes down or you have too much of a market share in a market the FCC can deny you to get the license. no limit now to PCS or Cellular, or SMR! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[ILUVSOCAL]

Cingular will have 2 licenses in Lake and Mendocino Counties with this acquisition of Nextwave.

[jones]

Well, it is official. Despite complaints from rivals, NextWave Telecom and Cingular Wireless have closed their previously announced PCS license sale. Cingular paid $1.4 billion in cash to snap up the spectrum.

In August 2003, Cingular announced plans to purchase the spectrum from NextWave. The majority of the licenses cover markets where Cingular already offers services -- of the 34 markets, Cingular already offers service in all but seven. The potential customer base is 83 million.

In February, the companies cleared their final hurdle to the close of the sale when the FCC approved the deal. The approval came despite a complaint filed by Nextel Communications protesting an application submitted by NextWave Telecom and Cingular Wireless to get approval for a waiver to pay $170 million in interest for the 34 C and F block PCS licenses. Nextel also argued that NextWave would pocket $700 million from the sale. The FCC, however, said that ongoing litigation "to recover for the public a portion of the value of the public spectrum resource would only hinder the immediacy of our ability to recover such value."

NextWave said the completed sale will help it move forward with its reorganization while Cingular COO Ralph de la Vega said the closing also is significant for Cingular. "This spectrum will greatly benefit our customers, allowing us to deliver additional products and services, expand coverage in key markets and better accommodate overall future growth," he said.

Cingular is currently wrapped up in plans to purchase AT&T Wireless for $41 billion. If the merger meets all regulatory approvals, the combined company will operate as the largest wireless carrier in the United States.

[ShoresGuy]

Ok I understand the point about two licenses but what being allowed to own two GSM 1900 networks one of which is shared with T-Mobile? Is Cingular going to continue the network sharing agreement for CA/NV or will the FCC force Cingular to give up the original GSM 1900 network and give it to T-Mobile?Wouldn't allowing Cingular to have two GSM 1900 would put T-Mobile at a disadvantage?

I think it's great if Cingular combines the two GSM 1900 network assets in CA, that will clearly strengthen coverage [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img].

[agentHibby]

Cingular and T-mobile are sharing towers not networks.
If you are in LA and you get service with T-moblie you will be on same tower as Cingular. Your number is stored at a different mobile switching center than a person serviced by Cingular.


Reason for this is that T-molbile had tons of areas need to be covered (or the FCC could get after them for no metting buildout requirements) and needed to be improved (So they would not become unpopluar like sprint was in 2001-03)

[agentHibby]

Cingular will be powerful in Salt Lake 60 MHz!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

[ShoresGuy]

Originally posted by: agentHibby
Cingular and T-mobile are sharing towers not networks.
If you are in LA and you get service with T-moblie you will be on same tower as Cingular. Your number is stored at a different mobile switching center than a person serviced by Cingular.


Reason for this is that T-molbile had tons of areas need to be covered (or the FCC could get after them for no metting buildout requirements) and needed to be improved (So they would not become unpopluar like sprint was in 2001-03)

I am aware them sharing towers, the language of their sharing agreement should be called "tower sharing agreement" [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] and not "network sharing agreement". I don't use T-Mobile back home in CA, for the moment it's Cingular [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img].