An auction of 306 fixed wireless licenses in Canada brought in $45.4 million, Industry Canada announced. Canada sold licenses in the 2.3 and 3.5 GHz bands to be used for wireless broadband across the nation. Bell Canada was the largest bidder by far, bidding $45.4 million during the 17 day auction for 55 licenses. Telus Mobility came in 2nd, bidding $7 million for 130 licences. A numbered company bid $6 million for 25 licences. Rogers Wireless bid $3.8 million for 40 licences. Industry Canada said 8 other firms also bought licenses.

ICO Satellite Services asked the FCC Mon. to approve its 4th milestone condition of constructing and launching 2 non-geostationary satellites by the Jan. 17 deadline, even though the first of the 2 birds, F1, was destroyed when the launch vehicle malfunctioned March 12, 2000. The 2nd satellite, F2, was successfully launched June 19, 2001. In addition to F1 and F2, 6 other satellites have been nearly fully assembled and tested, and significant assembly has been completed for 4 more satellites, officials said in the filing. As a result of the progress, ICO previously certified well ahead of schedule with the first 3 milestones, ICO said. To date, ICO has invested almost $4 billion in its 2 GHz mobile satellite service system infrastructure, $1.2 billion of which has been invested in the last 5 years, the company said. Should the Commission determine that meeting the milestone requires both the launch and operation of the 2 satellites, ICO wants a waiver. The company said neither the FCC’s rules nor the letter of intent authorization defines the term “launch.” The company notes that under similar circumstances, the Commission has granted milestone waivers to licensees that have made substantial progress toward completing their systems.

With interest in ultra wideband (UWB) on the rise in the U.S. and parts of Asia, Europe is wrestling with whether and how to regulate the new technology. The most vexatious issue -- how to prevent UWB frequencies from interfering with existing services on the same frequencies -- is under study by several groups and the UWB industry is pressing the European Commission (EC) to act, sources said. However, they said, resistance to UWB from some quarters, and the fact that the technology isn’t a top priority for the EC, has left UWB’s status in Europe unsettled.

Vonage said it exceeded 400,000 lines on its network, doubling its subscriber base in less than 6 months. It said it ended 2004 with more than 390,000 lines in service having added 115,000 lines in the 4th quarter alone. Vonage also announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Wed.: (1) It has teamed with UTStarcom to introduce a Wi-Fi handset, F1000, configured with Vonage’s VoIP services. It said the product will be available to Vonage subscribers during spring or summer for 802.11b networks nationwide. (2) It has extended its relationship with Texas Instruments (TI) to include TI VoIP software and semiconductors in new Vonage-compatible communications products available from Viseon and VTech Communications. The 2 new devices include a digital home telephone from Viseon and a cordless broadband telephone system from VTech and are expected to be available in 2005. (3) It has joined with VTech to develop a 5.8 GHz expandable broadband phone system configured with Vonage’s service. It said the product, configured with the TI TNETV1060 VoIP chipset, will be available at over 8,000 retail locations nationwide during spring-summer.

The boards of Sprint and Nextel unanimously approved a $35 billion “merger of equals,” which company officials said they expected would get quick regulatory approval. The new company, to be called Sprint Nextel, would spin off to its shareholders Sprint’s local telecom business after the merger and likely would lay off workers. Officials also outlined the company’s network transition path.

The FCC Wed. approved a Second Report and Order and Second Memorandum Opinion and Order on ultra wideband. FCC said the order will promote the introduction of a new group of unlicensed wideband devices in the 6-GHz, 17-GHz and 24-GHz bands. UWB remains controversial. The order, which changed UWB rules, wasn’t immediately available Wed. “This is an example of where we have a promising new technology and we need to make some refinements to it,” Comr. Abernathy said. “We've done that. We're going to provide for greater flexibility… We will continue to continue to look at, be concerned about and make sure that there isn’t interference between the ultra wideband providers and the licensed service providers.” Comr. Copps said: “Everyone of these wideband items is difficult and technically challenging. I think we've made the right cuts here.”

The give and take between fixed-wireless carriers and the satellite industry continued Wed. as an order on earth stations on board vessels (ESVs) made the FCC’s Sunshine notice, cutting off further lobbying at the FCC. On Tues., the Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition (FWCC) insisted that ESV officials have been unwilling to cooperate on investigations of potential interference (CD Dec 8 p1). FWCC referred specifically to an incident in Newport News. Va., which FWCC describes in some detail in a 2002 filing. Though the example is 2 1/2 years old, FWCC said “nothing has changed.” On Wed., ESV operator MTN denied the accusation to the FCC. MTN said it has “never been directly contacted by the FWCC” to request information about a potential case of interference in the 6 GHz band: “FWCC did indeed place a case of potential interference in the record of the Notice of Inquiry stage of this proceeding -- without ever bringing the matter directly to the attention of MTN. Nonetheless, MTN investigated the allegation and responded with a comprehensive analysis proving FWCC’s allegation of ESV interference to be without merit or foundation.”

NextWave disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, White Plains, that it plans to reemerge as a going concern after all, after buying ITFS spectrum from the Archdiocese of N.Y. A reorganization plan filed with the court Tues. says that after selling its remaining PCS spectrum to Verizon Wireless for $3 billion and paying its debts in full, the new NextWave will reemerge with $265 million in hand and the intention of becoming a broadband provider.

Nextel’s decision on whether to accept the terms of the FCC’s 800 MHz rebanding order probably will slip a month or more beyond the company’s previously stated year- end target date -- CEO Timothy Donahue told us Mon.

Some key wireless industry players weighed in at the FCC on a public notice seeking comment on Nextel’s ex parte presentations on the 800 MHz rebanding. One of the most noteworthy developments was what they didn’t say: Nearly all avoided the issue of whether the FCC should change the costs of 1.9 GHz spectrum Nextel would receive through the order. They focused instead on assorted technical issues.