WASHINGTON - Federal regulators reached a $4 billion settlement yesterday with NextWave Telecom Inc., ending years of legal wrangling over lucrative wireless licenses.
The deal announced by the Federal Communications Commission frees a large chunk of spectrum in dozens of crowded markets, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle. The agreement is expected to result in clearer cell phone calls and more advanced wireless options, such as Internet-connected mobile phones, in those areas.
Making additional next-generation wireless services available is good for the economy and good for broadband deployment
FCC Chairman Michael Powell said.
If the deal is approved by a U.S. bankruptcy court in New York, the FCC gets about 90 percent of the licenses back for resale. Greenwich, Conn.-based NextWave would keep the remaining 10 percent, most of them in the profitable Northeast region. 17
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