NII Holdings' Subsidiary Nextel Brazil Wins Wireless Licenses in Brazil

RESTON, Va., Dec. 14, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NII Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: NIHD) announces that its subsidiary, Nextel Brazil, was the winning bidder for 20 MHz licenses in the 1.9-2.1GHz frequency band (H band) auctioned by Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel).  Nextel Brazil was the successful bidder for 11 of the 13 lots included in the H Band auction.  The regional licenses won by Nextel Brazil cover approximately 182.4 million people in the country, or 97% of the Brazilian population, and 97% of the areas that generate the GDP in Brazil.  These licenses cover all major metropolitan areas in Brazil including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia.  

Nextel Brazil plans to utilize this spectrum to invest, build and deploy a 3G network across Brazil in order to expand coverage and service offerings, providing customers in Brazil with more choices in their wireless products and services, while continuing to provide the market with its best-in-class customer service.  

This 3G network will complement the company's existing iDEN® network and provide customers in Brazil next-generation wireless services at broadband speeds. The company expects to launch commercial services on this network in certain markets in the next 12 to 18 months. Nextel Brazil's winning bids for the spectrum totaled R$1.215 billion (US$714.4 million) for the 20MHz in eleven of the thirteen lots included in the H band auction.

"This is an exciting time for NII and Nextel Brazil. Winning 3G spectrum in Brazil is an important milestone for the company, and it will allow us to invest, build and deploy a 3G network across the country, expanding our coverage and enabling us to provide a wider range of high-value wireless services to our current and future customers in the country," said Steven Dussek, Chief Executive Officer of NII Holdings.

"Today marks an important day for Nextel Brazil as we move forward with the development of our 3G network," said Sergio Chaia, President, Nextel Brazil.  "By complementing our existing best-in-class communications solutions and providing customers in Brazil more choices in their wireless services, our 3G network will position us to offer a more powerful combination of services."

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, Inc. has operations in Mexico, Brazil, 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, Inc., a Fortune 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, and Nextel Direct Connect are trademarks and/or service marks of Nextel Communications, Inc.

Nextel Brazil

Nextel has been in Brazil since 1997 and has invested R$ 5.3 billion in the country. It has 3.1 million corporate users in its area of coverage, which takes in 385 cities in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Goias, Bahia, Ceara, Pernambuco, Espirito Santo and Brasília. For further information, go to www.nextel.com.br

Forward-Looking Statement Safe Harbor

This news release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the securities laws. The statements in this news release regarding network coverage and speeds, future service offerings, business outlook and future performance, as well as other statements that are not historical or current facts and deal with potential future circumstances and developments are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are qualified by the inherent risk and uncertainties surrounding future expectations generally and may materially differ from actual future experience. 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 Brazil and the other markets we serve; the impact on our financial results, and potential reductions in the recorded value of our assets, that may result from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and, in particular, fluctuations in the relative values of the currencies of the countries in which we operate compared to the U.S. dollar; 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, 2009, 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.

SOURCE NII Holdings, Inc.