As the record shows, FiberTower was able to
provide meaningful services with a number of its licenses only after it assumed significant risks and invested hundreds of millions of dollars in order to develop viable equipment and the infrastructure
necessary to support a nationwide network. By contrast, most other licensees in this spectrum simply returned their licenses to the Commission, while evidence indicates that those
who submitted construction notifications largely constructed save-builds for the sole purpose of preserving their licenses (if they constructed anything at all).54
And yet, under the Commission’s
substantial service standard, FiberTower’s extensive, bona fide investment efforts, which yielded
tangible and meaningful results, were rewarded with automatic cancellation of nearly all of its
licenses.
