Twenty-five prospective bidders for licenses in lower 700 MHz ban...

auction that starts June 19 included Pegasus Development, Pappas Telecasting of America, Univision-owned Telefutura and Cybergate, which is owned by e.spire Chmn. George Schmitt, including making down payment on desired licenses. Space Data Spectrum Holdings, which had planned to bid on all licenses in lower band, wasn’t on qualified bidder list, either. It’s deploying national network of balloon- borne wireless repeaters and was high bidder last year on 1.4 MHz of national narrowband PCS spectrum. Leap Wireless had announced earlier that its subsidiary Cricket Licensee III wouldn’t take part in lower 700 MHz bidding, following FCC decision to hold lower band bids on time and delay upper band auction by 7 months. List of 28 nonqualified bidders also included Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises, Preferred Spectrum Acquisitions, Viacel, Alaska Telephone Co., Idaho’s State Board of Education. Commission found 128 applicants to be qualified to bid in auction of 758 licenses in lower band, including Paul Allen’s Vulcan Spectrum, LIN TV, Capitol Bcstg., Arctic Slope Telecommunications, PGTV. Largest upfront payments were made by Council Tree Wireless and Spectrum Holdings, each paying $40 million. Council Tree had been among backers of NextWave re-auction bidder Alaska Native Wireless, which had financing from AT&T Wireless. Omega Communications put up 3rd largest upfront payment -- $18.9 million. Among authorized bidders for Omega is Mario Gabelli, chmn. of Gabelli Asset Management. His media holdings have included stake in Black Entertainment TV and he was backer of Theta Communications, which bid in NextWave re- auction.