Nextel Mexico Announces $375 Million Loan From the China Development Bank (CDB) to Fund 3G Network Build-Out

RESTON, Va., July 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- NII Holdings, Inc. [NASDAQ: NIHD], announced today that its operating subsidiary, Nextel Mexico, and China Development Bank (CDB) have signed an agreement that provides for Nextel Mexico to receive a $375 million loan from CDB to acquire 3G network infrastructure from Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., a global provider of next generation telecommunications network solutions.

Under the terms of the agreement, Nextel Mexico will receive up to $375 million in financing from CDB to assist in the deployment of its 3G network in Mexico. The financing has a final maturity of ten years, with a three year drawdown period and a seven year repayment term. In February 2011, NII Holdings signed agreements with Huawei to provide end-to-end W-CDMA solutions to build Nextel Mexico's W-CDMA networks relating to its 3G spectrum licenses in Mexico.

"We are extremely pleased that Nextel Mexico secured this funding, which is consistent with our strategy of obtaining long-term financing with attractive rates at the market level," said Gokul Hemmady, executive vice president and chief financial officer of NII Holdings. "We believe this financing places us in a strong position to evolve our business while pursuing our growth initiatives in Mexico. This agreement with CDB further enables Nextel Mexico to take a significant step forward in executing its 3G strategy," he added.

About NII Holdings, Inc.

NII Holdings, Inc., a publicly held company based in Reston, Va., is a leading provider of mobile communications for business customers in Latin America. NII Holdings has operations in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile, offering a fully integrated wireless communications tool with digital cellular voice services, data services, wireless Internet access and Nextel Direct Connect® and International Direct Connect(SM), a digital two-way radio feature. NII Holdings, a Fortune 500 and Barron's 500 company, trades on the NASDAQ market under the symbol NIHD and is a member of the NASDAQ-100 Index. Visit the company's website at www.nii.com

Nextel, the Nextel logo, Nextel Online, Nextel Business Networks and Nextel Direct Connect are trademarks and/or service marks of Nextel Communications, Inc. iDEN is a registered trademark of Motorola.

About China Development Bank

China Development Bank provides various financial services in the People's Republic of China. It offers credit services that include medium and long-term loans for infrastructure, basic industries, and pillar industries, as well as technology upgrading projects; short-term loans for preparatory funds, funding for equipment, loans for production and operation; foreign-currency loans; and on-lent loans, including loans from governments of foreign countries, export credit, debt issued overseas, international syndicates, and international financial organizations. China Development Bank was founded in 1994 and is based in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

Safe Harbor Statement

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This news release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the securities laws. The statements in this news release regarding the deployment of 3G networks and service offerings and the availability of financing, as well as other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are estimates and projections reflecting management's judgment based on currently available information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. With respect to these forward-looking statements, management has made assumptions regarding, among other things, the timing of various events and the economic and regulatory environment. Future performance cannot be assured and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include the risks and uncertainties relating to the impact of more intense competitive conditions and changes in economic conditions in the markets we serve; the risk that our network technologies will not perform properly or support the services our customers want or need, including the risk that technology developments to support our services will not be timely delivered; the risk that customers in the markets we serve will not find our services attractive; unexpected results of litigation; and the additional risks and uncertainties that are described from in NII Holdings' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, as well as in other reports filed from time to time by NII Holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release speaks only as of its date, and NII Holdings disclaims any duty to update the information herein.

Contact Information

NII Holdings, Inc.
1875 Explorer Street, Suite 1000
Reston, VA.  20190
(703) 390-5100
www.nii.com

Investor Relations: Tim Perrott
(703) 390-5113
[email protected]

Media Relations: Claudia E. Restrepo
(786) 251-7020
[email protected]

SOURCE NII Holdings, Inc.