NextWave emerges from Chapter 11

With this week's completion of its $3 billion spectrum sale to Verizon Wireless, broadband wireless provider NextWave Telecom officially emerged from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan it originally filed on June 8, 1998.

"This is a very special day for me personally and for the entire NextWave family of stakeholders who have traveled a long and challenging road to achieve this result," said NextWave chairman and CEO Allen Salmasi in a statement. "While making a very substantial cash distribution to shareholders, at the same time we are emerging with a strong balance sheet, an experienced and creative management team, substantial spectrum and network assets, and an innovative and well-timed plan to enter the broadband wireless market on a fully-funded basis."

NextWave has stated it now plans to launch 4G services in Las Vegas and New York City, focusing on both the consumer market and the public safety sector.

NextWave filed for bankruptcy protection when it was unable to make payment on $4.6 billion due for more than 200 spectrum licenses it won at FCC auction in 1996. In response, the FCC revoked the company's spectrum rights and re-auctioned the licenses; NextWave sued, claiming U.S. bankruptcy laws guaranteed protection from the FCC license revocation. The dispute ultimately reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that the FCC had improperly seized NextWave's spectrum and forced the commission to refund the roughly $16 billion it earned by reselling the licenses in question. The NextWave spectrum acquired by Verizon spans 23 markets and covers the 10 and 20 MHz licenses in the 1.9 GHz range. The $3 billion deal was originally announced in November and approved by the FCC in early March.