The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) has issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order (Order) addressing substantial service showings of three 39 GHz Common Carrier Microwave stations licensed to Nextlink Wireless, LLC (Nextlink). 39 GHz band licensees are held to a flexible “substantial service” performance requirement in order to renew their licenses, including a point-to-point safe harbor of four links per one million population within a service area. As described by the Bureau, Nextlink was using various channels on its three 39 GHz licenses as part of a point-to-multipoint “hub” station as well as part of a series of point-to-point links serving the San Diego Port Authority. The Bureau determined that Nextlink satisfactorily demonstrated substantial service to two of its three 39 GHz licenses, and retroactively terminated the one license that was found wanting. According to the Order, the now-terminated license had reached only 6% of the population within its service area, and it was not being used as part of Nextlink’s point-to-point links. The Bureau indicated that its determinations were not based upon “any single factor” but rather the entire record, including “the level of point-to-multipoint coverage, the number of point-to-point links, the unique nature and history of the 39 GHz band, and [the Bureau’s] review of the services and markets in question.”
