FCC Revokes Brevet Capital's Spectrum Licenses After 2024 Filing Failure

The Federal Communications Commission revoked Brevet Capital's spectrum licenses in 2024 after an independent, court-appointed bankruptcy receiver failed to make a timely filing related to an insurance bond on the spectrum, New York Post reported. 5 billion in assets, took over licenses for 112 satellites as part of a bankruptcy proceeding in 2021.

The bureaucratic snafu with regulators began that year and has lasted two years.

The FCC is blocking Brevet Capital's access to wireless spectrum and threatening to take away its licenses due to the paperwork filing error. Brevet Capital aims to build out high-speed internet access to rural America, according to firm representatives. The FCC can take away spectrum licenses from companies for cause, such as failure to build out telecom networks in a timely fashion.

Brevet Capital and the Federal Communications Commission have been haggling since the 2024 license revocation, representatives from the firm stated. Douglas Monticciolo, CEO of Brevet Capital, said, 'Should the FCC reject the licenses outright, this could have real-world implications.

It runs counter to the Trump administration’s goals of expanding nationwide connectivity – all over a paper filing mix-up.

' The situation draws parallels to a previous case involving Charlie Ergen, the billionaire CEO of EchoStar. The FCC alleged that Ergen failed to completely build out a 5G network as part of a deal with the Justice Department to approve the 2019 Sprint merger with T-Mobile.

Key to approval of the 2019 Sprint merger with T-Mobile was Ergen buying Sprint’s Boost Mobile subsidiary and building out a fourth wireless carrier.

The FCC claimed Ergen was not meeting his deadlines and threatened to take control of licenses. President Trump intervened in the EchoStar situation, allowing Ergen to sell his licenses mainly to SpaceX and AT&T. Brendan Carr serves as the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.