FCC Clears Windstream Reorg, Carrier Aims to Emerge From Bankruptcy in Weeks

The FCC cleared Windstream to emerge from bankruptcy. In one notice in Monday's Daily Digest, the Wireline, Wireless and International bureaus granted applications to transfer licenses to the reorganized company, and conditionally granted a request for temporary and limited waiver of sections 1.948, 1.5000(a)(1), 63.03, 63.04, 63.18 and 63.24 of FCC rules. The Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics granted a conditional waiver of sections 1.2105(b)(2), 1.2107(c) or 1.927(h), “to permit it to complete a transaction that amounts to a transfer of control prior to filing a long-form license application and/or prior to the grant of such licenses to the winning bidder.” Another PN let Windstream transfer 3,966 fiber route miles of fiber assets to Uniti. Windstream “is positioned to emerge in the coming weeks from restructuring following FCC approval of our application, which came on the heels of the successful completion of our exit financing,” said CEO Tony Thomas. “Windstream will have a strong balance sheet and liquidity position when we emerge to continue to invest in our business.”