FiberTower Gets Part of What It Sought From D.C. Circuit

license term. In a decision Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the FCC’s order on 42 of the licenses, on which FiberTower had stated on its renewal applications that construction had occurred. FiberTower proposes to use the licenses to offer wireless backhaul. The court also ordered the FCC to again consider its request for an extension of substantial service requirement for the other licenses as well. The company told the court last year (see 1410150093) that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2012, but as long as it held the licenses it “maintained a pathway for restructuring the company around its industry-leading technology and customer-development efforts in the 24 and 39 GHz bands.” The Wireless Bureau’s “substantial service analysis was predicated on the finding that there was no ‘construction of any facilities whatsoever’ in any of the terminated license areas,” Judge Judith Rogers wrote on behalf of the court panel. In its filings, the FCC “overstates its position in maintaining that it 'had no notice of FiberTower’s specific objections,’” Rogers said. The court vacated the orders denying the requests for renewal “so that the Commission may rule on FiberTower’s requests in light of an accurate understanding of the license renewal record,” Rogers wrote. The burden “for challenging the Commission’s denial of waiver and extension is heavy,” she said, citing precedent. But “the Commission has acknowledged that the proportion of licenses that have been built out may be relevant to its extension analysis.” FiberTower was represented by Akin Gump on the appeal.