NextWave Financing Nearly Complete

NextWave Telecom Inc. has received commitments for most of the financing for its plan to emerge from bankruptcy, the company’s chairman said as he went to Wall Street to detail the company’s blueprint to build a mobile, digital data wireless network.

The company is almost done signing up buyers for $2.5 billion to $3 billion in convertible preferred stock and will unveil, possibly as early as today, deals for $2.5 billion in debt financing, NextWave Chairman and Chief Executive Allen Salmasi said.

He declined to identify the parties involved.

Earlier, wireless technology giant Qualcomm Inc. said it would make a $300-million investment in NextWave and would help the company deploy its high-speed network using its CDMA technology.

NextWave plans to launch its data network in dozens of markets in December and expand to 95 markets by April and add voice services by the end of 2002, Salmasi said.