Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Verizon Wireless: Nextel Seeks Even Larger Windfall at Expense of Public Safety andTaxpayers; Most Recent Proposal Offers 'Costume Jewelry for the Taxpayers' Crown Jewels'

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2004 16:12:07 -0400

Verizon Wireless: Nextel Seeks Even Larger Windfall at Expense of Public
Safety andTaxpayers; Most Recent Proposal Offers 'Costume Jewelry" for
the Taxpayers' Crown Jewels'

Wednesday June 9, 3:25 pm ET

Most Recent Ploy is to Exchange 'Junk Spectrum' for
Multi-Billion Dollar Taxpayer Giveaway to Private Company

BEDMINSTER, N.J., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Our nation's public safety
officers, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), federal
legislators concerned about the budget deficit and U.S. taxpayers should
duck for cover as Nextel Communications Inc.  recently offered yet
another self-serving scheme as the FCC works to determine how to best
solve radio interference Nextel's commercial wireless service causes
public safety communications.

In an ironic twist, Nextel is not facing
regulatory punishment for causing
interference to our nation's first
responders, but actually offering
specific and increasingly greedy
proposals as to how much the
private company should be
rewarded for agreeing to eliminate
the dangerous situation Nextel
customers can cause every time
they use the company's service.

More galling is that Nextel itself just
last week pushed for an even more
valuable hand-out with a new
scheme that goes $762 million
beyond the multi- billion windfall it
has requested previously.

Nextel's shrill threats to walk away from its responsibilities to fix
the problem they cause for police, fire and other emergency services
unless the company receives an illegal multi-billion dollar windfall
from the FCC are nothing short of outrageous.
In a filing today at the FCC, Verizon Wireless notes that Nextel's most
recent scheme would have Nextel return wireless spectrum that is already
encumbered and would, if put to commercial use, likely cause public
safety even more interference. Nextel claims this returned 'junk
spectrum' should entail it extreme discounts in the value of prime
spectrum in the 1.9 GHz range -- spectrum for which Verizon Wireless has
demanded a public auction that would bring maximum financial benefit to
public safety and the U.S.  Treasury. Federal law requires spectrum in
the 1.9 GHz range to be auctioned to the highest bidder.
Verizon Wireless also noted that a compromise plan set forth by the
Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA), which
represents the entire U.S.  wireless industry, would best solve Nextel's
interference with life-saving communications with $3 billion to retool
their communications networks. The CTIA compromise plan is the only
legal way for the FCC to quickly and effectively guarantee that Nextel
stops interfering with public safety communications.

Nextel is offering to trade its costume jewelry for the taxpayers' crown
jewels. In contrast, the CTIA compromise proposal addresses and meets
the core objectives of protecting both public safety and the American
taxpayer.  (EDITORS: To see the Verizon Wireless regulatory filing,
click on http://news.vzw.com/pdf/June_4_Nextel_reply.pdf)

About Verizon Wireless Verizon Wireless is the nation's leading provider
of wireless communications. The company has the largest nationwide
wireless voice and data network and 40 million customers. Headquartered
in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon
Communications (NYSE: VZ - News) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD - News
News). Find more information on the Web at
http://www.verizonwireless.com. To receive broadcast-quality video
footage of Verizon Wireless operations, log onto
http://www.thenewsmarket.com/verizonwireless.

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