The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has extended the review period of Verizon Wireless’s proposed $3.9bn purchase of Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum from four cable operators by 21 days, citing delays in gathering of data from the companies.
The FCC said it is extending the commission’s informal 180-day transaction review period by 21 days as Verizon Wireless and the operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks could not provide responsive documents and other information by March 22 2012.
The FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau chief Rick Kaplan wrote in a letter to the companies none of the applicants completed a responsive production by March 22.
"Indeed, nearly two-thirds of the responsive documents the Applicants have submitted to date were submitted after April 6, and more than half of the Applicants’ total production was submitted after April 19," he added.
"Cox and Bright House Networks did not submit the great majority of responsive documents in
proper form until April 24."
The FCC noted the applicants’ untimely productions have delayed staff’s review of the proposed transactions by at least three weeks and other parties’ document reviews have also been affected.
In December, Verizon has entered into a deal to acquire spectrum from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, and Cox Communications, which the company says will be used to deploy next-generation 4G Long Term Evolution wireless service.
