AFTERMATH OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION RULING : FCC Delays Deadline on Wireless Bid Applications : Telecom: Move will allow regulators to evaluate court decision, which could jeopardize preferences for minority firms.

With billions of dollars of revenue at stake, federal regulators Tuesday postponed this week’s application deadline for the next government auction of the airwaves in order to evaluate whether its special preferences for minority bidders will pass legal muster.

The move came after the Supreme Court issued a ruling Monday that could jeopardize government programs aimed at assisting minority entrepreneurs. The application delay ordered by the Federal Communications Commission will give the agency and potential bidders time to analyze the Supreme Court’s decision, FCC Chairman Reed E. Hundt said. The deadline had been Thursday.

The auction of 500 new wireless communications licenses, an event expected to draw between $2 billion and $4 billion in bids, is currently restricted to small business. Female and minority bidders receive credits, extended payment terms and other financial breaks to bolster their participation.

The auction is still set to begin Aug. 2, the agency said.

In a speech Tuesday at Howard University, Hundt said the court ruling “means that all of us who very much want to ensure that the opportunities of the communications revolution are available to all Americans will have to work harder to demonstrate the compelling importance of creating opportunity for those historically excluded from communications businesses.”

To that end, Hundt said, he has asked FCC general counsel William Kennard for a review of all the procedures and rules that the FCC now uses to promote affirmative action and minority entrepreneurship.

Hundt did not say when the new deadline would be for those wanting to participate in the next auction.

This is the second time this year that the Aug. 2 auction has been threatened.

In March, Telephone Electronics Corp., a rural Mississippi-based company, sued the FCC, alleging the agency’s auction rules were unconstitutional. However, the suit was dropped after the FCC agreed to allow the company to form an alliance with PCS PrimeCo in bidding for the licenses. PCS PrimeCo is a joint venture between Bell Atlantic Corp., Nynex Corp., US West Corp. and AirTouch Communications Inc.

“My clients are pretty happy with how things worked out,” TEC lawyer James Troup said.

But others may be less content.

Thomas A. Hart Jr., a Washington lawyer who represents several minority bidders, said: “There are people willing to stand up and defend the minority enhancements. They [the FCC] are going to have litigation on their hands if they change the rules now.”