Verizon Wireless is withdrawing petition to U.S. Supreme Court se...
Verizon Wireless is withdrawing petition to U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., ruling that overturned FCC decision to cancel NextWave’s PCS licenses. Opposition briefs were due Fri. on FCC petition for high court review in…
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NextWave case. While main petition for certiorari was from FCC, Verizon Wireless and other carriers had filed in support of Commission as intervenors. NextWave filed brief Fri. arguing Supreme Court shouldn’t agree to hear oral argument. Verizon Wireless had won largest block of licenses in Jan. 2001 re-auction of what at time had been PCS spectrum of NextWave. Verizon said it still disagreed with D.C. Circuit ruling that overturned FCC decision to cancel NextWave licenses. But Verizon told court it was withdrawing petition for review: “The public interest in putting the spectrum to use, rather than letting it lie fallow, is better served by quickly obtaining certainty in ownership of the NextWave licenses than by this court’s making the correct decision on the legal question presented.” Uncertainty over existing litigation has led to “a stalemate over the use of the spectrum that harms the public interest,” Verizon said. “The spectrum is totally unavailable to petitioner and the other Auction No. 35 bidders.” Re-auction winners, NextWave and govt. had reached settlement agreement last fall over NextWave’s licenses, but agreement expired when Congress failed to pass implementing legislation by Dec. 31. Verizon argued in Fri. filing that “NextWave itself cannot reasonably make the substantial investments needed to develop fully the spectrum without the certainty of title that would be provided by an end to this litigation.” Verizon also said that in congressional testimony last fall, FCC had testified that its main concern was immediate deployment of spectrum that had been tied up in 5 years of litigation. “The market could make faster and more reasonable adjustments if the case were ended now than if this court were to grant certiorari, hear oral argument in the autumn of 2002 and decide the case in petitioner’s favor in the spring of 2003,” Verizon said. “Even such a victory would not end this lawsuit: the case would be remanded to the D.C. Circuit for consideration of issues left open in its decision and then presumably remanded to the Commission.”