Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Who Needs NextWave? Verizon Poised On Northcoast

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 02:03:14 -0500

Who Needs NextWave? Verizon Poised On Northcoast
BY WIRELESS WEEK STAFF
DECEMBER 19, 2002

An apparently imminent deal to buy wireless holdings controlled by Cablevision
Systems may show how Verizon Wireless and others plan to proceed on
consolidation and the acquisition of needed spectrum.

Verizon had no comment today on reports it was nearing an agreement to pay
some $700 million to acquire spectrum licenses held by Cablevision entity
Northcoast Communications, which cover 47 million POPs in such major Verizon
markets as New York, Boston and Minneapolis.

But since Cablevision embarked on a major restructuring this past summer, there
has been speculation that Verizon would move to snare Northcoast as an
alternative to other, significantly costlier options for acquiring more spectrum.

The carrier was a prime force in pressing the industry's case for the FCC to let
bidders back out of their obligations in the so-called Auction 35 sale of spectrum
held by bankrupt NextWave Telecom. Verizon itself had about $8 billion freed up
by the FCC's decision, money that will go toward paying down debt and making
acquisitions.

Perhaps coincidentally, Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday cut the
long-term debt ratings for Verizon Wireless and its majority owner Verizon by a
couple of notches citing the tough competitive landscape facing wireless carriers.
However, the Wall Street credit rating firm did revise its outlook for Verizon
Wireless to 'stable' from 'negative,' citing partly the parent company's work at
cutting its debt burden.

Northcoast offers service only in Cleveland although it holds spectrum in some 50
markets. Cablevision acquired the licenses as part of an aborted plan to offer
bundled telecom services in its cable markets, but recently has been selling off
non-core assets - such as the Bravo cable channel - or shutting them down, as it
did with about half of its Nobody Beats the Wiz retail stores.

Other carriers conceivably could challenge Verizon for Northcoast, but those
prospects were not immediately clear. Analysts say Cingular Wireless, for
example, has spectrum needs in many Northcoast markets

http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=newsat2direct&starting=1&pubdate=12/19/02

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