NextWave Loses Bid to Delay Auctions

A federal appeals court refused to delay the December auction of wireless licenses--denying a request by NextWave Telecom Inc. Nextwave had sought the delay in a bid to keep licenses it won in 1996 but later lost when regulators repossessed them for nonpayment. The Hawthorne, N.Y.-based company, which is undergoing bankruptcy reorganization, also is pursuing other legal challenges. The Supreme Court is considering whether to hear an appeal by NextWave, but has already rejected one appeal request so far. The refusal to grant a delay clears another hurdle for the Federal Communications Commission, which plans to begin on Dec. 12 auctioning 422 licenses for airwaves designed for wireless and data services--the so-called C and F block licenses.