Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NEXTLINK COMMUNICATIONS TO ACQUIRE WNP COMMUNICATIONS FOR $695 MILLION
- --NEXTLINK to Become Largest Holder of LMDS Wireless Spectrum in North America,
Covering Approximately 95 Percent of the POPs in the United States' Top 30
Markets --
Bellevue, Wash., January 14, 1999 --NEXTLINK Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:
NXLK), one of the nation's leading providers of competitive telecommunications
services, announced today it reached an agreement to acquire WNP Communications,
Inc. for $695 million, payable in cash and stock. NEXTLINK will pay
approximately 542.1 million to WNP and $152.9 million in license charges to the
Federal Communications Commission. The agreement is subject to Federal
regulatory approvals.
NEXTLINK will receive WNP's 39 A block LMDS (local multipoint distribution
service) wireless licenses covering 98 million POPs and one B block LMDS
wireless license covering 16 million POPs. LMDS is a fixed wireless transmission
technology that provides integrated, two-way digital distribution of multimedia
services using a combination of large, high-quality bandwidth similar to fiber
optic cable, yet delivered wireless via a small rooftop antenna. The company
will use the licenses to build fixed wireless extensions to its local fiber
optic networks planned to cover most major cities in the United States.
NEXTLINK also announced a broad agreement in principle to acquire Nextel
Communications, Inc.'s 50 percent interest in NEXTBAND, a joint venture of
Nextel and NEXTLINK that owns 13 A block LMDS licenses and 29 B block LMDS
licenses for approximately $137.7 million. The acquisition price for Nextel's
interest in NEXTBAND will be based on the same value per megahertz per thousand
POPs as used in the WNP transaction. Nextel will continue to focus on its
successful core business of mobile wireless communications for business.
"This is a very important strategic announcement for NEXTLINK and will allow us
to rapidly extend our local networks to a much broader target audience and
advance our goal of becoming a complete facilities-based, end-to-end provider of
telecommunications services," said Wayne Perry, NEXTLINK's chief executive
officer. "Fixed wireless will give us another important transport and access
capability to complement our local and inter-city fiber networks that are being
developed throughout the United States."
After combining the wireless licenses acquired through WNP with those owned
through its investment in NEXTBAND, NEXTLINK will become the largest owner of
LMDS wireless spectrum in North America, covering approximately 95 percent of
the top 30 markets in the United States.
The company intends to use the wireless licenses to extend and complement its
local fiber networks as well as the company's 16,000 mile inter-city long haul
fiber network called INTERNEXT, which is currently under development and planned
to be completed in 2001. By the end of the year 2000, NEXTLINK expects to have
networks in most of the top 30 markets in the United States. Already, NEXTLINK
operates fiber networks in many of those top markets including Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Cleveland and
New York City.
"By using fixed wireless as an alternative means to reach our customers, we can
further reduce our reliance on the ILEC, thereby relieving our provisioning
bottleneck, accelerating our installation time, and increasing the number of
on-net buildings we serve," said George Tronsrue, NEXTLINK's president and chief
operating officer. "Our wireless solution will serve as spurs from our SONET
fiber rings in major cities. Since the wireless building antennas are portable,
the combination of fiber and fixed wireless will give us tremendous flexibility
to design our networks with maximum capital efficiency."
"We will have the capability of running the equivalent of up to eight OC-3's per
hub site over our wireless transmission, giving a building significant
telecommunications capacity for voice and data services," continued Tronsrue.
"We can choose the best transmission solution for each customer, giving us cost
and service quality advantages over both the wired-only and wireless-only local
service providers. It's a matter of having all the right tools and then choosing
the best one for the job."
NEXTLINK is currently working with equipment vendors who are developing fixed
wireless technology for the LMDS spectrum and expects to begin testing the
service early this year and begin offering commercial service in limited areas
by the end of the year.
NEXTLINK Communications, Inc. was founded by Craig McCaw in 1994 to provide
local, long distance and enhanced communications services to commercial
customers and is one of the fastest growing competitive telecommunications
providers in the nation. Headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., NEXTLINK currently
operates 22 facilities-based networks providing switched local and long distance
services in 36 markets in 14 states.
# # #
The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts are
"forward-looking statements" (as such term is defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Management wishes to caution the reader that
these forward-looking statements, regarding matters that are not historical
facts, are only predictions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. No
assurance can be given that the future results
will be achieved. Such risks include those identified in the Company's Form
10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 1997 and other reports and filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, and also include, but are not limited
to, the Company's ability to successfully market its services to current and new
customers, to design and construct fiber optic networks, install cable and
facilities, including switching electronics, to develop, install and provision
LMDS equipment and interconnect that equipment with the Company's fiber networks
and connect the networks, including LMDS equipment to customers and to
interconnect with existing local exchange carriers, all in a timely manner, at
reasonable costs and on satisfactory terms and conditions, and certain risks
related to the Company's national network strategy.
Contact: Todd Wolfenbarger / media and industry analysts
425.519.3946 / 206.399.6770 portable
Nancy Bacchieri / financial analysts
425.519.8940