The FCC Wireless Bureau denied LMDS’s request for additional time...
The FCC Wireless Bureau denied LMDS’s request for additional time to show compliance with the substantial service requirements for its six Local Multipoint Distribution Service licenses. As a result, the licenses automatically terminated June 1, the bureau said. On…
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June 11, the company had asked for an additional extension beyond a four-year extension already in place. “LMDS, L.P., a company comprised of family, friends, and private investors, explains that it did not construct the licenses because it does not have the resources to be tied up unproductively in constructing the Licenses when it had no intention of operating them,” the order said (http://xrl.us/bnu3ju). “While they have undertaken many activities, such as requesting equipment financing and government loans and striving to deploy networks in its markets, LMDS, L.P. states it has been unsuccessful thus far in developing a business plan for constructing the Licenses. LMDS L.P. further states that it has exhausted its financial capital in an effort to build out in their markets only to learn that the equipment did not perform as specified. Finally, LMDS, L.P. states that it has exhausted a variety of strategies to comply with the Commission’s construction requirements for this spectrum.” To be eligible for an extension the company had to demonstrate that its “failure to meet the construction deadline is due to involuntary loss of site or other causes beyond its control,” the bureau said. “We conclude that LMDS, L.P. has not met this threshold.” The bureau also denied a time extension sought by LMDS licensee Mark Twain Communications (http://xrl.us/bnu3kg). “We find that Twain, which made no attempt to commence construction of its LMDS licenses in advance of the construction deadline, is readily distinguishable from several other licensees that attempted to build out their licenses prior to the deadline and that ordered equipment but failed to receive timely delivery of that equipment,” the bureau said. “Twain chose not to build facilities in advance of the deadline. Thus, its failure to construct its licenses was the result of its own business decision."