NextWave heads toward bankruptcy despite a spectrum goldmine

NextWave, a wireless spectrum holding company, said it could not renegotiate the terms of its debt with lenders, which means its next stop may be the bankruptcy courts. But amid a coming spectrum shortage, NextWave has hundreds of megahertz that could be used for mobile broadband that it has tried to sell since November 2009. NextWave’s woes help explain why the U.S. spectrum policy is so difficult.

The company owns huge chunks of spectrum in the 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz bands that could be used for mobile broadband, and it covers some important metro areas such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and Boston, as well as dozens of other cities. So why can't it sell, given the looming spectrum shortage and the all-out effort from the FCC and Congress to get some of the spectrum currently used by the local broadcasters? Maybe if NextWave and its spectrum assets hit the bankruptcy courts, we'll see someone pick up those airwaves with the intent to deploy mobile broadband, or maybe we'll see another speculator.