NII Holdings has announced that its Brazilian unit, Nextel Brazil, has won 20 MHz of spectrum in the 1.9-2.1 GHz frequency band auctioned by the Brazilian telecoms regulator, Anatel.  Its bids totalled US$714.4 million. The operator was granted 11 out of 13 regional licences won by Nextel cover major Brazilian metropolitan markets, totalling approximately 182.4 million people, or 97% of the Brazilian population. Nextel Brazil plans to launch nationwide commercial 3G services in the next 12 to 18 months.

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(R) 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(R) 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

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