NextWave Wireless Inc. was a wireless technology company that produced mobile multimedia solutions and speculated in the wireless spectrum market. The company consisted principally of various wireless spectrum holdings.
The company is most notable for successfully suing the U.S. government for improperly seizing its assets while under bankruptcy protection.
AT&T
AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
announced its acquisition of NextWave in 2012.
History
The company original spun out of
QUALCOMM
Qualcomm Incorporated () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless techn ...
in 1995 and began life as the biggest bidder in the FCC C-Block. NextWave originally won the licenses in an auction intended for small businesses with limited resources in 1996. NextWave, which bid $4.7 billion for the licenses, made the minimum 10 percent down payment of $500 million for the spectrum.
But shortly thereafter NextWave filed for bankruptcy protection and defaulted on its payments for the licenses. The FCC, in turn, confiscated the licenses and re-sold them to Verizon Wireless and the subsidiaries of AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless, among others, for $17 billion in an auction that ended in January 2001.
Ultimately NextWave prevailed in the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, 8-1, and was permitted to keep the PCS licenses. NextWave's bankruptcy protection lasted approximately ten years, during which time the asset value of the licenses had dramatically increased and NextWave was able to repay the original debt and sell their spectrum assets to Verizon Wireless, Cingular (now AT&T) and MetroPCS. They re-emerged as NextWave Wireless with $550M in capital.
The reborn company had several areas of focus: development of a
4G broadband network through its Network Solutions Group in Las Vegas, NV, development of
WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options.
The WiMA ...
baseband and
RF integrated circuits and related technology in its Advanced Technology Group in San Diego, CA, and accumulation of spectrum and other carrier assets both in the U.S. and internationally.
NextWave made several significant acquisitions that shaped its business and technology strategy.
PacketVideo
PacketVideo Corporation or PV was a San Diego–based company that produced software for wireless multimedia, including the display of video on mobile handsets. The PacketVideo name wasn't actively used after being acquired by Lynx Technology.
H ...
was acquired in 2005, as was a majority share in Cygnus Multimedia (a start up firm focusing on WiMax). In 2007 NextWave completed the acquisition of GoNetworks (a startup developing
beamforming
Beamforming or spatial filtering is a signal processing technique used in sensor arrays for directional signal transmission or reception. This is achieved by combining elements in an antenna array in such a way that signals at particular angles ...
WiFi equipment) and IP Wireless (a UK firm that developed
TD-CDMA
The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a 3G mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. UMTS uses wideband code-division multiple access (W-CDMA) radio access technology to offer greater spectral efficiency ...
equipment) for $100M. The IP Wireless business failed to produce expected revenue and in late 2008 it was sold back to its management team for $1M. Due to financial difficulties, NextWave was forced to shut down the GoNetworks subsidiary and the Network Solutions Group in 2008, followed by the 3-year-old Advanced Technology Group and the cessation of
WiMax
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options.
The WiMA ...
development in 2009.
Business Week reported on August 2, 2012 that AT&T agreed to acquire NextWave with its debt for a price of up to $600 million. AT&T wishes to use NextWave's spectrum to bolster its own.
The acquisition closed on January 24, 2013.
References
{{Reflist
External links
AT&T Agrees to Pay as Much as $600 Million for NextWave
Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq
Technology companies based in San Diego
Networking companies of the United States
Defunct telecommunications companies of the United States
AT&T subsidiaries
2012 mergers and acquisitions