Federal Communications Commission DA 12-539 
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
XANADOO, LLC
Applications for Extension of Time to Meet 
Substantial Service Requirement and for Renewal 
of for Broadband Radio Service Station WMY298 
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File Nos. 0004710163, 0004710165
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Adopted:  April 4, 2012 Released:  April 4, 2012
By the Deputy Chief, Broadband Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Memorandum Opinion and Order, we deny Xanadoo, LLC’s (“Xanadoo”) request 
for extension of time until March 31, 2012 to demonstrate substantial service to operate incumbent 
Broadband Radio Service (“BRS”) Station WMY298 and its associated request for a waiver of the May 1, 
2011 substantial service deadline.  We also dismiss Xanadoo’s renewal application and cancel Xanadoo’s 
license to operate Station WMY298.
II. BACKGROUND
2. BRS is a radio communications service that consists of 73.5 megahertz of spectrum in the 
2496-2690 MHz band and is licensed under Part 27 of the Commission’s rules; the remaining 112.5 
megahertz of spectrum in the band is allocated to the Educational Broadband Service (“EBS”) and to two 
four-megahertz guard bands.1 In 2004, the Commission undertook the radical transformation of the 2496-
2690 MHz band to facilitate the development and deployment of advanced wireless services, including 
wireless broadband.2 The Commission radically changed the band plan and technical and licensing rules 
applicable to BRS licenses and required BRS licensees to transition from their old channel locations to 
their new channel locations.3  
3. On April 27, 2006, the Commission required all BRS and EBS licensees to demonstrate 
substantial service on or before May 1, 2011, which coincides with the expiration date for incumbent BRS 
licenses, including the expiration date for Station WMY298.4 Under Section 27.14(o) of the 
  
1 47 C.F.R. § 27.5(i)(2).
2 See Amendment of Parts 1, 21, 73, 74 and 101 of the Commission’s Rules to Facilitate the Provision of Fixed and 
Mobile Broadband Access, Educational and Other Advanced Services in the 2150-2162 and 2500-2690 MHz Bands, 
Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WT Docket No. 03-66, 19 FCC Rcd 14165 (2004) 
(BRS/EBS R&O and FNPRM, as appropriate).
3 Id.
4 47 C.F.R. § 27.14(o).  See Amendment of Parts 1, 21, 73, 74 and 101 of the Commission’s Rules to Facilitate the 
Provision of Fixed and Mobile Broadband Access, Educational and Other Advanced Services in the 2150-2162 and 
2500-2690 MHz Bands, Second Report and Order, WT Docket No. 03-66, 21 FCC Rcd 5606, 5718-5736 ¶¶ 274-
310 (2006) (BRS/EBS Second R&O).  The Commission later gave BRS licenses granted after November 6, 2009 
(continued....)
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Commissions Rules, a BRS licensee may demonstrate substantial service by showing that it meets one or 
more of five safe harbors: that it constructed six permanent links per one million people for licensees 
providing fixed point-to-point services; that it provided coverage of at least 30 percent of the population 
of the licensed area for licensees providing mobile services or fixed point-to-multipoint services; that it 
provided service to “rural areas” or areas with limited access to telecommunications services; that it 
provided specialized or technologically sophisticated service; or that it provided service to niche markets.5  
Or, a BRS licensee may show that it has established a level of service, which is sound, favorable, and 
substantially above a level of mediocre service which just might minimally warrant renewal.6
4. Xanadoo operates fourth generation (“4G”) wireless broadband systems using BRS and 
EBS spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band.7 Xanadoo was one of the first companies to offer 4G Worldwide 
Interoperability for Microwave Access (“WiMAX”) in historically unserved or underserved smaller 
communities and rural areas.8 Xanadoo provides 4G WiMAX service in Abilene, Lubbock, and Wichita 
Falls, Texas; Lawton, Oklahoma; and Springfield and Decatur, Illinois.9
5. On November 2, 2006, Fixed Wireless Holdings, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of 
Clearwire Corporation (“Clearwire”) filed a Transition Initiation Plan to transition the EI Dorado-
Magnolia-Camden, Arkansas Basic Trading Area (BTA 125).10 The majority of the Geographic Service 
Area (“GSA”) of Station WMY298 is located within BTA 125.11 On July 17, 2008, Fixed Wireless 
Holdings, LLC filed a Transition Completion Notification in which it notified the Commission that it had 
completed the transition of BRS and EBS licensees in BTA 125.12 NSAC, LLC, another subsidiary of 
Clearwire, currently holds the BTA license for the EI Dorado-Magnolia-Camden, Arkansas BTA, as well 
as the BTA licenses in the other BTAs that include a portion of the GSA of Station WMY298.13
6. On April 29, 2011, Xanadoo filed a request for an extension of time to demonstrate 
substantial service to March 31, 2012.14 Xanadoo also submitted an application for renewal of license of 
Station WMY298, along with a request for waiver of the May 1, 2011 substantial service deadline 
applicable to BRS licensees.15 Xanadoo argues that it cannot provide substantial service in El Dorado, 
  
(...continued from previous page)
four years from the date of initial license grant to demonstrate substantial service.  See Amendment of Parts 1, 21, 
73, 74 and 101 of the Commission’s Rules to Facilitate the Provision of Fixed and Mobile Broadband Access, 
Educational and Other Advanced Services in the 2150-2162 and 2500-2690 MHz Bands, Third Report and Order,
WT Docket No. 03-66, 25 FCC Rcd 7743 (2010) (BRS/EBS Third R&O).
5 47 C.F.R. § 27.14(o)(1).
6 47 C.F.R. § 27.14(o).  
7 See File No. 0004710165 (Extension Application), Request for Extension of Substantial Service Deadline 
(Extension Request).  See also File No. 0004710163 (Renewal Application), Request for Waiver (Waiver Request).
8 Waiver Request, Extension Request.
9 Waiver Request, Extension Request.
10 Letter from Terri B. Natoli, Clearwire Corporation to Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications 
Commission, WT Docket No. 06-136 (filed Nov. 2, 2006). 
11 See license for Station WMY298.
12 Letter from Terri B. Natoli, Clearwire Corporation to Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications 
Commission, WT Docket No. 06-136 (filed Jul. 17, 2008). 
13 See licenses for call sign B125, B257 (Little Rock, AR), B304 (Monroe, LA), B349 (Pine Bluff, AR), and B419 
(Shreveport, LA).
14 Extension Application.
15 Waiver Request.
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Arkansas where Station WMY298 is located because of “marketplace events” beyond its control.16  
Xanadoo maintains that since it provided services to the markets noted above, the industry has shifted 
away from using equipment based on the WiMAX standard to equipment based on the Long-Term 
Evolution (“LTE”) standard.17 Xanadoo says it cannot buildout Station WMY298 using WiMAX 
equipment because its equipment supplier, Cisco, has exited the WiMAX business altogether.18 It cannot 
obtain financing to purchase WiMAX equipment from another vendor because investors have expressed 
an unwillingness to provide financing for any launch of additional WiMAX markets.19 Xanadoo admits 
that “it is no longer financially viable for Xanadoo to continue launching WiMAX-based systems . . .”20  
Moreover, Xanadoo cannot build out Station WMY298 using LTE equipment because it cannot obtain 
LTE equipment.21 According to Xanadoo, the LTE equipment suitable for the 2.5 GHz band, Time-
Division-Duplex LTE (“TDD-LTE”) is not commercially available and will not become commercially 
available until the fourth quarter of 2011, at the earliest.22
7. Xanadoo further argues that a grant of its requests is in the public interest because 
cancellation of its license to operate Station WMY298 will forestall launch of any wireless broadband 
service over the station for the foreseeable future, with no countervailing benefit to the public.23 The 
Extension Application, Renewal Application, and Waiver Request are unopposed.
III. DISCUSSION
8. BRS licensees may engage in terrestrial point-to-point and point-to-multipoint fixed and 
mobile operations.24 Under Section 27.14(o) of the Commission’s Rules, BRS licensees that were 
originally issued a BRS license prior to November 6, 2009 must demonstrate substantial service on or 
before May 1, 2011.25 In adopting the May 1, 2011 deadline for demonstrating substantial service the 
Commission said that it struck the appropriate balance between ensuring that the band is placed in use and 
giving licensees a fair opportunity to transition their facilities.26 Because WMY298 was initially granted 
before November 6, 2009, Xanadoo was required to demonstrate substantial service on or before May 1, 
2011.  
A. Extension Request
9. Xanadoo requests an extension of time to demonstrate substantial service until March 31, 
2012.27 To be granted an extension of time to construct, under the Commission’s Rules, Xanadoo must 
show that its “failure to meet the construction deadline is due to involuntary loss of site or other causes 
  
16 Waiver Request, Extension Request.
17 Waiver Request, Extension Request.
18 Waiver Request, Extension Request.
19 Waiver Request, Extension Request.
20 Waiver Request, Extension Request.
21 Waiver Request, Extension Request.
22 Waiver Request, Extension Request.
23 Waiver Request,  Extension Request.
24 47 C.F.R. § 27.4.
25 47 C.F.R. § 27.14(o).  
26 BRS/EBS Second Report and Order, 21 FCC Rcd at 5733 ¶ 304.
27 Extension Request.
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beyond its control.”28 Under the Commission’s Rules, a request for extension cannot be granted for 
failure to obtain financing, failure to obtain an antenna site, failure to order equipment, or because of a 
transfer of control of the licensee.29  
10. We conclude that Xanadoo has not shown that its failure to construct is due to 
circumstances beyond its control.  We find that Xanadoo’s inability to obtain financing is the cause of its 
inability to meet the May 1, 2011 deadline.  As explained above, the Commission’s Rules expressly 
prohibit an extension of a construction deadline because of a licensee’s failure to obtain financing.30  
Therefore, we deny Xanadoo’s request for an extension of time to construct.  
11. Although Xanadoo argues that “marketplace events” beyond its control have caused it to 
miss the substantial service deadline, it has not shown that these “market place events” affected the ability 
of any other BRS licensees to comply with the May 1, 2011 deadline.  On the contrary, the vast majority 
of BRS licenses were constructed by the May 1, 2011 deadline.  Only 77 of the over 800 licenses that 
were subject to the May 1, 2011 deadline were not constructed by the deadline.  Of these 77 licenses that 
did not meet the May 1, 2011 deadline, only one, Station WMY298, was affected by “marketplace 
events.”31 Thus, those “marketplace events” have affected only one license and not the actual 
marketplace.  Therefore, we find that Xanadoo has not shown that its inability to meet the deadline was 
caused by “marketplace events,” or that these “marketplace events” were circumstances beyond its 
control.
12. While we recognize that BRS licensees operating systems using WiMAX equipment in 
the 2.5 GHz band may, at some point, transition to systems based on TDD-LTE, most BRS licensees met 
the May 1, 2011 deadline for demonstrating substantial service.  The three largest operators in the 2.5 
GHz Band, Clearwire, DigitalBridge, and Xanadoo, itself, provide service using WiMAX equipment.  
Xanadoo reports that it is operating WiMAX service in six markets covering over 900,000 people 
throughout the Midwest and Southwest.32 Clearwire also reports that it offers pre-4G service in 17 
markets in the United States covering 2 million people while it offers 4G mobile WiMAX in 71 markets 
covering 119 million people. 33 DigitalBridge Communications reports that it offers mobile WiMAX in 
six states covering 390,000 people.34 Thus, despite Cisco’s exit from the WiMAX market, there are 
WiMAX systems operating in the 2.5 GHz band.  Clearly, there are other WiMAX equipment suppliers.  
Xanadoo also cannot attribute its failure to the industry’s transition to systems based on TDD-LTE.  Such 
a shift affects all licensees in the band, and yet, most licensees are providing service based on WiMAX 
equipment.  Xanadoo’s inability to meet the May 1, 2011 is because it cannot obtain financing, which our 
  
28 47 C.F.R. § 1.946(e)(1).
29 47 C.F.R. § 1.946(e)(2), (3).    
30 See, e.g., Douglas SMR Works, Letter, 24 FCC Rcd 8596, 8597 (WTB MD 2009) (“Section 1.946 also specifies 
circumstances where an extension will not be granted, such as “a failure to obtain financing . . .”); Stephen E. Coran, 
Esq., Letter, 22 FCC Rcd 1921, 1923 (WTB MD 2007) (“Section 1.946(e) of the Commission's rules specifically 
precludes extensions of construction deadlines “due to delays caused by a failure to obtain financing. . .”); Michael 
V. Roberts, Letter, 16 FCC Rcd 21968 (WTB CWD 2001) (“Section 1.946(e)(2) states that “[e]xtension requests 
will not be granted for failure to meet a construction or coverage deadline due to delays caused by a failure to obtain 
financing. . . .”).
31 The remaining requests for extensions which have been granted cited difficulties in obtaining backhaul (see, e.g., 
File No. 0004701713), difficulties caused by severe weather (see, e.g., File No. 0004711567), or had shown 
concrete steps towards developing and constructing facilities.
32 Waiver Request, Extension Request.
33 See File No. 0004872955.
34 See File No. 0004725410.
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rules specifically prohibit using as justification for an extension under Section 1.946(e)(2) of the 
Commission’s Rules.35 Thus, we conclude that Xanadoo may not be granted an extension of time to 
construct. 
B. Waiver Request
13. In the alternative, Xanadoo requests a waiver of Section 27.14(o) of the Commission’s 
Rules, which establishes May 1, 2011 as the deadline for BRS licenses that were initially granted before 
November 6, 2009 to demonstrate substantial service.  To be granted a waiver of the May 1, 2011 
construction deadline, Xanadoo must show that either (1) the underlying purpose of the rule(s) would not 
be served or would be frustrated by application to the instant case, and that a grant of the requested waiver 
would be in the public interest; or (2) in view of the unique or unusual circumstances of the instant case, 
application of the rule(s) would be inequitable, unduly burdensome or contrary to the public interest, or 
the applicant has no reasonable alternative.36
14. We conclude that Xanadoo has not shown that a waiver of the substantial service 
deadline is warranted in this case.  With respect to the first prong of the waiver standard, the underlying 
purpose of the BRS substantial service requirement is to fulfill our statutory duty to “ensure prompt 
delivery of service to rural areas, … prevent stockpiling or warehousing of spectrum by licensees or 
permittees, and . . . promote investment in and rapid deployment of new technologies and services.”37  
Xanadoo has not shown how an extension would be consistent with those underlying purposes.   Xanadoo 
fails to provide a specific plan for how it will obtain financing to purchase and construct TDD-LTE 
equipment.  We further reject Xanadoo’s argument that it is in the public interest to grant its waiver 
request because cancellation of its license will forestall launch of any wireless broadband service over 
Station WMY298 for the foreseeable future with no countervailing benefit to the public.38 Cancellation 
of Xanadoo’s license to operate Station WMY298 does not mean that the spectrum that it holds reverts to 
BRS white space, which cannot be licensed or used for the foreseeable future.  On the contrary, under 
Section 27.1206(b) of the Commission’s rules,39 Xanadoo’s Geographic Service Area (“GSA”) for 
Station WMY298 dissolves and the right to operate in that area automatically reverts to the BTA holder, 
which in this case is Clearwire.40 As mentioned above, Clearwire offers 4G mobile WiMAX service in 71 
markets covering 119 million people.
15. Xanadoo also fails to justify a waiver under the second prong of the waiver standard.  As 
explained above, the only “unique circumstance” Xanadoo demonstrates is its inability to obtain 
financing, which cannot serve as an excuse for failure to construct.  Thus, we find that Xanadoo has not 
shown that a waiver is justified in this case.
16. An authorization for a BRS license automatically terminates if the licensee fails to meet 
construction or coverage requirements.41 In light of our conclusion that grant of an extension to Xanadoo 
is not in the public interest, we find that Xanadoo’s license to operate Station WMY298 automatically 
  
35 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.946(e)(2).
36 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.925(b)(3); see also Northeast Cellular Telephone Co. v. FCC, 897 F.2d 1164, 1166 (D.C. Cir. 
1990); WAIT Radio v. FCC, 418 F.2d 1153 (D.C. Cir. 1969), aff'd, 459 F.2d 1203 (1972), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 
1027 (1972); 47 C.F.R. § 1.3.  
37 BRS/EBS Second Report and Order, 21 FCC Rcd at 5720 ¶ 278, citing 47 U.S.C. § 309(j)(4)(B).
38 Waiver Request, Extension Request.
39 47 C.F.R. § 27.1206(b).
40 See license for Station B125.
41 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.955(a)(2).  See also 47 C.F.R. § 27.14(o).
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terminated on May 1, 2011, the date that BRS licensees that were issued before November 6, 2009 were 
required to demonstrate substantial service.  We will therefore deny the Extension Application and 
dismiss the Renewal Application.  Under Section 27.1206(b) of the Commission’s Rules, the GSA 
associated with Station WMY298 is dissolved into Clearwire’s license for BTA 125.
IV. CONCLUSION AND ORDERING CLAUSES
17. Xanadoo has failed to justify an extension of time to meet the substantial service deadline 
for Station WMY298 or to justify a waiver of the May 1, 2011 deadline for establishing substantial 
service.  We therefore deny the Extension Application and the Waiver Request, dismiss its Renewal 
Application, and declare that Xanadoo’s license to operate Station WMY298 automatically terminated as 
of May 1, 2011.
18. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections 4(i) and 309 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 309, and Sections 1.925 and 1.946 of the 
Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.925, 1.946, that the request for waiver and the application for 
extension of time to demonstrate substantial service (File No. 0004710165) filed by Xanadoo, LLC on 
April 29, 2011 ARE DENIED.
19. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections 4(i) and 309 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 309, and Section 1.949 of the 
Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.949, that the application for renewal of Broadband Radio Service 
license WMY298 filed by Xanadoo, LLC on April 29, 2011 (File No. 0004710163) IS DISMISSED 
WITH PREJUDICE.
20. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections 4(i) and 303(r) of the 
Communications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 303(r), and Section 1.955(a)(2) of the 
Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.955(a)(2), that the license issued to Xanadoo, LLC for Station 
WMY298 IS DECLARED TERMINATED as of May 1, 2011.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
John J. Schauble
Deputy Chief, Broadband Division
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau