Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS) is a land-based system for sending wireless broadband signals over a part of the electromagnetic spectrum usually reserved for satellite television (within the frequency range of 12.2 to 12.7 GHz).
It filed its first patent applications by 1994, using ideas from engineers Saleem and Carmen Tawil, and was formally founded in 1996 with investment money from various prominent individuals.
[4] However, the FCC rejected Northpoint's petition for a license, and instead decided to hold a public auction to sell off the land-based use of the spectrum.
[6] Northpoint claimed the FCC's decision was unfair, since satellite companies had received a special exemption from Congress from having to bid for spectrum.
[1] Through the political connections of its founders and paid lobbyists, the company succeeded in having language that would block the auction inserted into a Senate spending bill.
[6] This provoked criticism from Senator John McCain, who called it "an example of the power of money and special interests", and others, including the Bush administration.
The FCC granted it an experimental license, and the company arranged for tests to be held in Florida using equipment furnished by its subsidiary, MDS International.
[4][11] Additionally, the defense introduced a 1970 paper which they claimed showed Northpoint's patented physical direction idea constituted prior art.