BELLEVUE, WASH. - Nextlink Communications is betting that $840 million it has invested in local multipoint distribution services (LMDS) will let the company quickly offer customers a variety of new wireless voice and data services.
Earlier this month, Nextlink snapped up WNP Communications for $549 million largely because of the 40 LMDS licenses the firm held in many large metropolitan areas. Nextlink will also be paying the FCC an additional $153 million for WNP's LMDS licenses.
Nextlink then bought Nextel's 50% interest in Nextband for $138 million. Nextband is the second-largest holder of LMDS licenses, with 42, and Nextlink already owns the other half of the company. The moves give Nextlink about 95% of the LMDS licenses available in the U.S.
LMDS is a high-bandwidth, fixed wireless technology that will let customers bypass local exchange carriers (LEC) and tie directly into the LMDS provider. The bypass feature is expected to reduce the time and cost of carrier provisioning. It is one of the key reasons why Nextlink plans on using LMDS, says George Tronsrue, president and chief operating officer at Nextlink, based here. Nextlink is also depending on LMDS to speed the deployment of services to new customers because the service provider won't have to strike deals with incumbent LECs or competitive LECs throughout the country.
Today, Nextlink is primarily offering voice services to small business users in geographic pockets around the U.S.
The company is also offering customers Internet services through a private deal with PSINet.
Nextlink plans to add frame relay and ATM services to the mix by next year.
It also plans to offer users competitive voice and data rates nationwide, Tronsrue says.
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