Multiple Address Systems Spectrum Auction; Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments and Other Auction Procedures, 6671-6684 [05-2423]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 8, 2005 / Notices
Database Managers must update the LRS
to reflect the correct licensee name for
call signs and associated links.39
Federal Communications Commission.
John J. Schauble,
Deputy Chief, Broadband Division.
Attachment
Licensees may contact any of the Database
Managers for more information about
registering a link on the Link Registration
System (LRS). Please contact one of the
following Database Managers (listed in
alphabetical order):
• Comsearch—Denise Finney, Comsearch,
19700 Janelia Farm Boulevard, Ashburn, VA
20147, (703) 726–5500, facsimile-(703) 726–
5599, https://www.comsearch.com, https://
www.gigabitlink.com; or
• Frequency Finder—Peter Moncure,
Frequency Finder, Inc., 160 Sosebee Lane,
Demorest, GA 30535, (706) 778–6811,
facsimile-(706) 778–6812, https://
www.mmRadioForms.com; or
• Micronet Communications—Steve
Knauber, Micronet Communications, Inc.,
720 F Avenue, Suite 100, Plano, TX 75074,
(972) 422–7200, facsimile-(972) 422–1900,
micronet@micronetcommunications.com,
https://www.micronetcommunications.com.
[FR Doc. 05–2546 Filed 2–7–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
[Report No. AUC–04–59–B; (Auction No.
59); DA 04–3985]
I. General Information
Multiple Address Systems Spectrum
Auction; Notice and Filing
Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids,
Upfront Payments and Other Auction
Procedures
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This document announces the
procedures and minimum opening bids
for the upcoming auction of 4,226
Multiple Address Systems (MAS)
licenses in the Fixed Microwave
Services from the 928/959 and 932/941
MHz bands. This document is intended
to familiarize prospective bidders with
the procedures and minimum opening
bids for this auction.
DATES: Auction No. 59 is scheduled to
begin on April 26, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Auctions and Spectrum Access Division
(WTB): For legal questions: Howard
Davenport at (202) 418–0660. For
general auction questions: Roy Knowles
39 See, e.g., Report and Order, 18 FCC Rcd 23340
paragraph 49 (third-party entity serves as a
clearinghouse and repository of site path
information).
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or Barbara Sibert at (717) 338–2888. For
service rules questions: Public Safety
and Critical Infrastructure Division,
WTB: Zenji Nakazawa or Stanley
Wiggins at (202) 418–0680. For
technical questions: Joan Donmoyer at
(717) 338–2646. Media Contact: Lauren
Patrich at (202) 418–7944.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a
summary of the Auction No. 59
Procedures Public Notice released on
December 21, 2004. The complete text
of the Auction No. 59 Procedures Public
Notice, including attachments, as well
as related Commission documents, are
available for public inspection and
copying during regular business hours
at the FCC Reference Information
Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW.,
Room CY–A257, Washington, DC 20554.
The Auction No. 59 Procedures Public
Notice and related Commission
documents may also be purchased from
the Commission’s duplicating
contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc.
(BCPI), Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW.,
Room CY–B402, Washington, DC 20554,
telephone 202–488–5300, facsimile
202–488–5563, or you may contact BCPI
at its Web site: https://
www.BCPIWEB.com. The Auction No.
59 Procedures Public Notice and related
documents are also available on the
Internet at the Commission’s Web site:
https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/59/.
A. Introduction
1. The Auction No. 59 Public Notice
announces the procedures and
minimum opening bids for the
upcoming auction of Multiple Address
Systems (MAS) licenses in the Fixed
Microwave Services from the 928/959
and 932/941 MHz bands, scheduled for
April 26, 2005 (Auction No. 59). On
November 15, 2004, in accordance with
section 309(j)(4) of the Communications
Act of 1934, as amended, the Bureau
released a public notice seeking
comment on reserve prices or minimum
opening bids and the procedures to be
used in Auction No. 59. The Bureau
received one comment in response to
the Auction No. 59 Comment Public
Notice, 69 FR 68364, November 24,
2004.
i. Background of Proceeding
2. On January 19, 2000, the
Commission released the MAS Report
and Order, 65 FR 17445, April 3, 2000,
which adopted rules to maximize the
use of spectrum in the MAS service.
Specifically, the Commission: (a)
Designated the 928/952/956 MHz bands
exclusively for private internal services,
licensed on a first-come, first-served,
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6671
site-by-site basis; (b) designated the 928/
959 MHz bands and twenty of the forty
paired channels in the 932/941 MHz
bands to be licensed on a geographic
area basis; (c) reserved twenty of the
forty channel pairs in the 932/941 MHz
bands for public safety/Federal
Government and private internal
services, licensed on a first-come, firstserved, site-by-site basis; (d) designated
five of the twenty channels in the 932/
941 MHz bands’ set-aside exclusively
for public safety/Federal Government
services; (e) grandfathered existing
operations on the MAS bands, while
limiting expansion in the 928/959 MHz
bands; (f) established service areas
based on the Commission’s and the
Department of Commerce’s definitions
of Economic Areas (EAs); (g) established
construction/coverage requirements for
EA licensees; (h) introduced flexibility
to the MAS technical rules; (i) adopted
a flexible approach for defining the
regulatory status of MAS licensees by
allowing the licensee to indicate its
regulatory status; (j) lifted the
suspension on the acceptance of
applications for the 928/952/956 MHz
bands and the twenty channels in the
932/941 MHz bands designated for
public safety/Federal Government and/
or private internal services upon the
release of the MAS Report and Order;
and (k) adopted the part 1 competitive
bidding rules for the MAS spectrum. On
March 3, 2000, the Commission
amended the text of the MAS Report
and Order in an Erratum to the MAS
Report and Order.
3. Subsequently, on May 29, 2001, the
Commission released the MAS
Memorandum Opinion and Order, 66
FR 35107, July 3, 2001, which addressed
four petitions for reconsideration and/or
clarification of the MAS Report and
Order. The Commission granted two of
the petitions, granted the third petition
in part, and dismissed the fourth
petition as moot. Additionally, the
Commission, on its own motion,
adopted minor changes to certain
technical requirements in part 101 of
the Commission’s rules and modified
the application freeze in certain MAS
bands. A second Erratum to the MAS
Memorandum Opinion and Order was
released by the Commission on June 21,
2001.
4. On November 15, 2004, the Bureau
released the Auction No. 59 Comment
Public Notice announcing that Auction
No. 59 will commence on April 26,
2005, setting forth a complete list of
licenses for Auction No. 59, and seeking
comment on reserve prices or minimum
opening bids and other auction
procedures.
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ii. Licenses To Be Auctioned
5. Auction No. 59 will offer 4,226
MAS licenses in the Fixed Microwave
Services in the 928/959 and 932/941
MHz bands. Licenses will be offered in
each of the 176 geographic areas known
as Economic Areas (EAs), where
available. These geographic areas
encompass the United States, Guam and
the Northern Marianas Islands, Puerto
Rico and the United States Virgin
Islands, American Samoa, and the Gulf
of Mexico. A complete list of the
licenses available in Auction No. 59 for
each market is provided in electronic
format only, available as ‘‘Attachment
A’’ to the Auction No. 59 Procedures
Public Notice at https://wireless.fcc.gov/
auctions/59/.
6. The following table describes the
MAS block/frequency bands crossreference list for Auction No. 59:
Block
Frequency bands *
(MHz)
Total **
bandwidth
AA ...................................................................................................................
AB ...................................................................................................................
AC ...................................................................................................................
AD ...................................................................................................................
AE ...................................................................................................................
AF ...................................................................................................................
AG ...................................................................................................................
AH ...................................................................................................................
AI .....................................................................................................................
AJ ....................................................................................................................
AK ...................................................................................................................
AL ....................................................................................................................
AM ...................................................................................................................
AN ...................................................................................................................
AO ...................................................................................................................
AP ...................................................................................................................
AQ ...................................................................................................................
AR ...................................................................................................................
AS ...................................................................................................................
AT ...................................................................................................................
AU ...................................................................................................................
AV ...................................................................................................................
AW ..................................................................................................................
AX ...................................................................................................................
AY ...................................................................................................................
AZ ...................................................................................................................
BA ...................................................................................................................
BB ...................................................................................................................
928.85625/959.85625
928.86875/959.86875
928.88125/959.88125
928.89375/959.89375
928.90625/959.90625
928.91875/959.91875
928.93125/959.93125
928.94375/959.94375
928.95625/959.95625
928.96875/959.96875
928.98125/959.98125
928.99375/959.99375
932.00625/941.00625
932.01875/941.01875
932.03125/941.03125
932.04375/941.04375
932.05625/941.05625
932.06875/941.06875
932.08125/941.08125
932.09375/941.09375
932.15625/941.15625
932.16875/941.16875
932.18125/941.18125
932.19375/941.19375
932.20625/941.20625
932.21875/941.21875
932.23125/941.23125
932.24375/941.24375
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
25
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
Pairing
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×
Geographic
area Type
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
12.5
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
EA
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
kHz
* The individual frequencies listed in this chart are the center frequencies of each frequency pair in the block to be auctioned. See 47 CFR
101.147(b)(3), (4). Each block consists of two channels of equal bandwidth. For example, in Block AA, 928.85625 and 959.85625 are the center
frequencies and each frequency pair is comprised of two 12.5 kHz wide channels. Therefore, the two channels in Block AA are 928.85000–
928.86250 MHz and 959.85000–959.86250 MHz.
** This represents the total bandwidth for each block, which is the combination of the two channels in each pair.
Note: For Auction No. 59, licenses are not
available in every block listed in the above
table in every market.
B. Rules and Disclaimers
i. Relevant Authority
7. Prospective applicants must
familiarize themselves thoroughly with
the Commission’s rules relating to the
Multiple Address Systems (MAS),
contained in 47 CFR parts 22 and 101,
and those relating to application and
auction procedures, contained in 47
CFR part 1. Prospective applicants must
also be thoroughly familiar with the
procedures, terms and conditions
(collectively, ‘‘terms’’) contained in the
Auction No. 59 Procedures Public
Notice; the Auction No. 59 Comment
Public Notice; the Part 1 Fifth Report
and Order, 65 FR 52401, August 29,
2000; the MAS Notice of Proposed Rule
Making, 62 FR 11407, March 12, 1997;
the MAS Further Notice of Proposed
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Rule Making and Order; 64 FR 38617,
July 19, 1999; the MAS Report and
Order, the Erratum to the MAS Report
and Order; the MAS Memorandum
Opinion and Order; and the Erratum to
the MAS Memorandum Opinion and
Order (as well as prior and subsequent
Commission proceedings regarding
competitive bidding procedures,
application requirements, and
obligations of Commission licensees).
8. The terms contained in the
Commission’s rules, relevant orders,
and public notices are not negotiable.
The Commission may amend or
supplement the information contained
in our public notices at any time, and
will issue public notices to convey any
new or supplemental information to
applicants. It is the responsibility of all
applicants to remain current with all
Commission’s rules and with all public
notices pertaining to this auction.
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ii. Prohibition of Collusion
9. To ensure the competitiveness of
the auction process, § 1.2105(c) of the
Commission’s rules prohibits applicants
for any of the same geographic license
areas from communicating with each
other during the auction about bids,
bidding strategies, or settlements unless
such applicants have identified each
other on their FCC Form 175
applications as parties with whom they
have entered into agreements under
§ 1.2105(a)(2)(viii) of the Commission’s
rules. Thus, applicants for any of the
same geographic license areas must
conscientiously avoid all discussions
with each other that affect, or in their
reasonable assessment have the
potential to affect, bidding or bidding
strategy. This prohibition begins at the
short-form application filing deadline
and ends at the down payment deadline
after the auction. This prohibition
applies to all applicants regardless of
whether such applicants become
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qualified bidders or actually bid. For
purposes of this prohibition,
§ 1.2105(c)(7)(i) of the Commission’s
rules defines applicant as including all
controlling interests in the entity
submitting a short-form application to
participate in the auction, as well as all
holders of partnership and other
ownership interests and any stock
interest amounting to 10 percent or
more of the entity, or outstanding stock,
or outstanding voting stock of the entity
submitting a short-form application, and
all officers and directors of that entity.
10. Applicants for licenses in any of
the same geographic license areas are
encouraged not to use the same
individual as an authorized bidder. A
violation of the anti-collusion rule could
occur if an individual acts as the
authorized bidder for two or more
competing applicants, and conveys
information concerning the substance of
bids or bidding strategies between the
applicants he or she is authorized to
represent in the auction. A violation
could similarly occur if the authorized
bidders are different individuals
employed by the same organization
(e.g., law firm or consulting firm). In
such a case, at a minimum, applicants
should certify on their applications that
precautionary steps have been taken to
prevent communication between
authorized bidders and that applicants
and their bidding agents will comply
with the anti-collusion rule. However,
the Bureau cautions that merely filing a
certifying statement as part of an
application will not outweigh specific
evidence that collusive behavior has
occurred, nor will it preclude the
initiation of an investigation when
warranted.
11. The Commission’s anti-collusion
rules allow applicants to form certain
agreements during the auction, provided
the applicants have not applied for
licenses covering the same geographic
areas. In addition, applicants that apply
to bid for all markets will be precluded
from communicating with all other
applicants until after the down payment
deadline. However, all applicants may
enter into bidding agreements before
filing their FCC Form 175, as long as
they disclose the existence of the
agreement(s) in their Form 175. If
parties agree in principle on all material
terms prior to the short-form filing
deadline, those parties must be
identified on the short-form application
pursuant to § 1.2105(c) of the
Commission’s rules, even if the
agreement has not been reduced to
writing. If the parties have not agreed in
principle by the filing deadline, an
applicant would not include the names
of those parties on its application, and
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may not continue negotiations. By
signing their FCC Form 175 short-form
applications, applicants are certifying
their compliance with § 1.2105(c) of the
Commission’s rules.
12. Section 1.65 of the Commission’s
rules requires an applicant to maintain
the accuracy and completeness of
information furnished in its pending
application and to notify the
Commission within 30 days of any
substantial change that may be of
decisional significance to that
application. Thus, § 1.65 of the
Commission’s rules requires auction
applicants that engage in
communications of bids or bidding
strategies that result in a bidding
agreement, arrangement or
understanding not already identified on
their short-form applications to
promptly disclose any such agreement,
arrangement or understanding to the
Commission by amending their pending
applications. In addition, § 1.2105(c)(6)
of the Commission’s rules requires all
auction applicants to report prohibited
discussions or disclosures regarding
bids or bidding strategy to the
Commission in writing immediately but
in no case later than five business days
after the communication occurs, even if
the communication does not result in an
agreement or understanding regarding
bids or bidding strategy that must be
reported under § 1.65 of the
Commission’s rules.
13. Applicants that are winning
bidders will be required to disclose in
their long-form applications the specific
terms, conditions, and parties involved
in all bidding consortia, joint ventures,
partnerships, and other arrangements
entered into relating to the competitive
bidding process. Any applicant found to
have violated the anti-collusion rule
may be subject to sanctions, including
forfeiture of its upfront payment, down
payment or full bid amount, and may be
prohibited from participating in future
auctions. In addition, applicants are
reminded that they are subject to the
antitrust laws, which are designed to
prevent anticompetitive behavior in the
marketplace. If an applicant is found to
have violated the antitrust laws in
connection with its participation in the
competitive bidding process, it may be
subject to forfeiture of its upfront
payment, down payment, or full bid
amount and may be prohibited from
participating in future auctions.
14. A summary listing of documents
issued by the Commission and the
Bureau addressing the application of the
anti-collusion rules may be found in
Attachment F of the Auction No. 59
Procedures Public Notice.
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iii. Interference Protection
15. Potential bidders are reminded
that there are incumbent licensees
operating on frequencies that will be
subject to the upcoming auction. The
holder of an EA authorization thus will
be required to protect incumbents from
harmful interference. Specifically, an
EA authorization holder will be
required to coordinate with the
incumbent licensees by using the
interference protection criteria in
§ 101.1333 of the Commission’s rules.
However, operational agreements are
encouraged between the parties. Should
an incumbent’s license cancel
automatically or otherwise be recovered
by the Commission, the incumbent’s
frequencies will automatically revert to
the applicable EA licensee without
being subject to further competitive
bidding.
iv. Due Diligence
16. The FCC makes no representations
or warranties about the use of this
spectrum for particular services.
Applicants should be aware that an FCC
auction represents an opportunity to
become an FCC licensee in this service,
subject to certain conditions and
regulations. An FCC auction does not
constitute an endorsement by the FCC of
any particular services, technologies or
products, nor does an FCC license
constitute a guarantee of business
success. Applicants should perform
their individual due diligence before
proceeding as they would with any new
business venture.
17. Applicants are reminded that
there are a number of incumbent
licensees already licensed and operating
on frequencies that will be subject to the
upcoming auction. Such incumbents
must be protected from harmful
interference by MAS Station geographic
area licensees in accordance with the
Commission’s rules. These limitations
may restrict the ability of such MAS
geographic area licensees to use certain
portions of the electromagnetic
spectrum or provide service to certain
areas in their geographic license areas.
The Commission therefore cautions
potential applicants in formulating their
bidding strategies to investigate and
consider the extent to which MAS
frequencies are occupied by
incumbents.
18. Applicants are solely responsible
for identifying associated risks and for
investigating and evaluating the degree
to which such matters may affect their
ability to bid on, otherwise acquire, or
make use of licenses available in
Auction No. 59.
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19. Applicants should also be aware
that certain pending and future
applications (including those for
modification), petitions for rulemaking,
requests for special temporary authority,
waiver requests, petitions to deny,
petitions for reconsideration, informal
oppositions, and applications for review
before the Commission may relate to
particular applicants or incumbent
licensees or the licenses available in
Auction No. 59. In addition, pending
and future judicial proceedings may
relate to particular applicants or
incumbent licensees, or the licenses
available in Auction No. 59. Applicants
are responsible for assessing the
likelihood of the various possible
outcomes, and considering their
potential impact on spectrum licenses
available in this auction.
20. Applicants should perform due
diligence to identify and consider all
proceedings that may affect the
spectrum licenses being auctioned. We
note that resolution of such matters
could have an impact on the availability
of spectrum for Auction No. 59. In
addition, although the Commission may
continue to act on various pending
applications, informal objections
petitions, and other requests for
Commission relief, some of these
matters may not be resolved by the time
of the auction.
21. Applicants may obtain
information about incumbent licenses
that may have an effect on availability
of licenses in Auction No. 59 through
the Bureau’s licensing databases on the
World Wide Web at https://
wireless.fcc.gov/uls. Applicants may
query the database online and download
a copy of their search results if desired.
Detailed instructions on using License
Search (including frequency searches
and the GeoSearch capability) and
downloading query results are available
online by selecting the ‘‘?’’ button at the
upper right-hand corner of the License
Search screen. Applicants should direct
questions regarding the search
capabilities to the FCC ULS/Technical
Support hotline at 1–877–480–3201
option 2.
22. The Commission makes no
representations or guarantees regarding
the accuracy or completeness of
information in its databases or any third
party databases, including, for example,
court docketing systems. To the extent
the Commission’s databases may not
include all information deemed
necessary or desirable by an applicant,
applicants may obtain or verify such
information from independent sources
or assume the risk of any
incompleteness or inaccuracy in said
databases. Furthermore, the
Commission makes no representations
or guarantees regarding the accuracy or
completeness of information that has
been provided by incumbent licensees
and incorporated into the database.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to
physically inspect any prospective
transmitter sites located in, or near, the
service area for which they plan to bid.
23. In addition, licenses in EAs that
border Canada may be subject to the
Arrangement between the Federal
Communications Commission and the
National Telecommunications and
Information Administration of the
United States and Industry Canada
concerning the use of the bands 932 to
935 MHz and 941 to 944 MHz along the
United States-Canada border. Licenses
in EAs that border Mexico may be
subject to the Protocol Concerning the
Allotment and Use of Channels in the
932–932.5 and 941–941.5 MHz bands
for Fixed Point-to-Multipoint Services
along the Common Border.
24. Licenses may, in some EAs, be
required to protect quiet zones. Licenses
in EAs that would affect quiet zones are
subject to § 101.1329 of the
Commission’s rules.
laws; or (c) the investment will yield
unrealistically high short-term profits.
In addition, the offering materials often
include copies of actual FCC releases, or
quotes from FCC personnel, giving the
appearance of FCC knowledge or
approval of the solicitation.
26. Information about deceptive
telemarketing investment schemes is
available from the FTC at (202) 326–
2222 and from the SEC at (202) 942–
7040. Complaints about specific
deceptive telemarketing investment
schemes should be directed to the FTC,
the SEC, or the National Fraud
Information Center at (800) 876–7060.
Consumers who have concerns about
specific proposals regarding Auction
No. 59 may also call the FCC Consumer
Center at (888) CALL–FCC ((888) 225–
5322).
v. Bidder Alerts
28. The auction will begin on
Tuesday, April 26, 2005, as announced
in the Auction No. 59 Comment Public
Notice. The initial schedule for bidding
will be announced by public notice at
least one week before the start of the
auction. Unless otherwise announced,
bidding on all licenses will be
conducted on each business day until
bidding has stopped on all licenses.
25. As is the case with many business
investment opportunities, some
unscrupulous entrepreneurs may
attempt to use Auction No. 59 to
deceive and defraud unsuspecting
investors. Common warning signals of
fraud include the following:
• The first contact is a ‘‘cold call’’
from a telemarketer, or is made in
response to an inquiry prompted by a
radio or television infomercial.
• The offering materials used to
invest in the venture appear to be
targeted at IRA funds, for example, by
including all documents and papers
needed for the transfer of funds
maintained in IRA accounts.
• The amount of investment is less
than $25,000.
• The sales representative makes
verbal representations that: (a) The
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Federal
Trade Commission (FTC), Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC), FCC, or
other government agency has approved
the investment; (b) the investment is not
subject to State or federal securities
vi. National Environmental Policy Act
Requirements
27. Licensees must comply with the
Commission’s rules regarding the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA). The construction of a wireless
antenna facility is a federal action and
the licensee must comply with the
Commission’s NEPA rules for each such
facility.
C. Auction Specifics
i. Auction Date
ii. Auction Title
29. Auction No. 59—Multiple
Address Systems.
iii. Bidding Methodology
30. The bidding methodology for
Auction No. 59 will be simultaneous
multiple round bidding. The
Commission will conduct this auction
over the Internet, and telephonic
bidding will be available as well.
Qualified bidders are permitted to bid
telephonically or electronically.
iv. Pre-Auction Dates and Deadlines
31. Listed are important dates
associated with Auction No. 59:
Auction Seminar ...................................................................................................................................................
Short-Form Application (FCC Form 175) Filing Window Opens .....................................................................
Short-Form Application (FCC Form 175) Filing Window Deadline .................................................................
Upfront Payments (via wire transfer) ..................................................................................................................
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February 23, 2005
February 23, 2005; 12 p.m. ET
March 4, 2005; 6 p.m. ET
April 1, 2005; 6 p.m. ET
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 8, 2005 / Notices
Mock Auction .......................................................................................................................................................
Auction Begins ......................................................................................................................................................
v. Requirements for Participation
32. Those wishing to participate in
the auction must:
• Submit a short-form application
(FCC Form 175) electronically by 6 p.m.
ET, March 4, 2005.
• Submit a sufficient upfront
payment and an FCC Remittance Advice
Form (FCC Form 159) by 6 p.m. ET,
April 1, 2005.
• Comply with all provisions
outlined in the Auction No. 59 Public
Notice.
vi. Any Filings to Auction No. 59
33. An electronic copy of any filings
that are submitted to the Commission
GENERAL AUCTION INFORMATION
General Auction Questions
Seminar Registration
Additional Copies of Commission Documents
PRESS INFORMATION
FCC FORMS
vii. General Contact Information
Lauren Patrich (202) 418–7944
(800) 418–3676 (outside Washington, DC)
(202) 418–3676 (in the Washington Area)
https://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html
https://www.fcc.gov
https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions
https://wireless.fcc.gov/uls
FCC INTERNET SITES
II. Short-Form (FCC Form 175)
Application Requirements
35. Guidelines for completion of the
short-form (FCC Form 175) are set forth
in Attachment D of the Auction No. 59
Procedures Public Notice. All applicants
must certify on their FCC Form 175
applications under penalty of perjury
that they are legally, technically,
financially and otherwise qualified to
hold a license.
A. License Selection
36. The Bureau has modified Form
175 for Auction No. 59. In Auction No.
59, Form 175 will include a mechanism
that allows an applicant to filter the
licenses by Market Number and Channel
Block to create customized lists of
licenses. The applicant will make
selections for one or more of the filter
criteria and the system will produce a
Jkt 205001
related to Auction No. 59, including
filings made with the Commission’s
Office of the Secretary, should also be
submitted by electronic mail to the
following address: auction59@fcc.gov.
34. Following is a list of general
contact information relating to Auction
No. 59:
FCC Auctions Technical Support Hotline
(202) 414–1250 or 1–877–480–3201, Press Option #9
(202) 414–1255 (TTY)
Hours of service: 8 a.m.–6 p.m. ET,
Monday through Friday
FCC Auctions Accounting Branch
(202) 418–0578
(202) 418–2843 (Fax)
Will be furnished only to qualified bidders
Best Copy and Printing, Inc.
445 12th Street, SW., Room CY–B402
Washington, DC 20554
(800) 378–3160
https://www.bcpiweb.com
PAYMENT INFORMATION
Wire Transfers
Refunds
TELEPHONIC BIDDING
FCC COPY CONTRACTOR
18:12 Feb 07, 2005
April 21, 2005
April 26, 2005
FCC Auctions Hotline
(888) 225–5322, Press Option #2 or direct (717) 338–2888
Hours of Service: 8 a.m.–5:30 p.m. ET,
Monday through Friday
Auctions and Spectrum Access Division
Legal Branch (202) 418–0660
Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure Division
(202) 418–0680
AUCTION LEGAL INFORMATION
Auctions Rules, Policies, Regulations
LICENSING INFORMATION
Rules, Policies, Regulations
Licensing Issues
Due Diligence
Incumbency Issues
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Electronic Filing
FCC Automated Auction System
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list of licenses satisfying the specified
criteria. The applicant may apply for all
the licenses in the customized list by
using the ‘‘Save all filtered licenses’’
option; select and save individual
licenses separately from the list; or
create a second customized list without
selecting any of the licenses from the
first list. Applicants also will be able to
select licenses from one customized list
and then create a second customized list
to select additional licenses.
B. Ownership Disclosure Requirements
(FCC Form 175 Exhibit A)
37. All applicants must comply with
the uniform part 1 of the Commission’s
rules ownership disclosure standards
and provide information required by
§§ 1.2105 and 1.2112 of the
Commission’s rules. Specifically, in
completing FCC Form 175, applicants
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will be required to file an ‘‘Exhibit A’’
providing a full and complete statement
of the ownership of the bidding entity.
The ownership disclosure standards for
the short-form are set forth in § 1.2112
of the Commission’s rules.
C. Consortia and Joint Bidding
Arrangements (FCC Form 175 Exhibit B)
38. Applicants will be required to
identify on their short-form applications
any parties with whom they have
entered into any consortium
arrangements, joint ventures,
partnerships or other agreements or
understandings that relate in any way to
the licenses being auctioned, including
any agreements relating to post-auction
market structure. Applicants will also
be required to certify on their short-form
applications that they have not entered
into any explicit or implicit agreements,
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arrangements or understandings of any
kind with any parties, other than those
identified, regarding the amount of their
bids, bidding strategies, or the particular
licenses on which they will or will not
bid.
39. A party holding a non-controlling,
attributable interest in one applicant
will be permitted to acquire an
ownership interest in, form a
consortium with, or enter into a joint
bidding arrangement with other
applicants for licenses in the same
geographic license area provided that (i)
the attributable interest holder certifies
that it has not and will not
communicate with any party concerning
the bids or bidding strategies of more
than one of the applicants in which it
holds an attributable interest, or with
which it has formed a consortium or
entered into a joint bidding
arrangement; and (ii) the arrangements
do not result in a change in control of
any of the applicants. While the anticollusion rules do not prohibit nonauction related business negotiations
among auction applicants, applicants
are reminded that certain discussions or
exchanges could touch upon
impermissible subject matters because
they may convey pricing information
and bidding strategies.
D. Eligibility
i. Bidding Credit Eligibility (FCC Form
175 Exhibit C)
40. A bidding credit represents the
amount by which a bidder’s winning
bids are discounted. The size of the
bidding credit depends on the average
of the aggregated annual gross revenues
for each of the preceding three years of
the bidder, its affiliates, its controlling
interests, and the affiliates of its
controlling interests.
41. In the MAS Report and Order, the
Commission adopted bidding credits on
a ‘‘tiered’’ basis for all small businesses
participating in the auction of MAS
spectrum Bidding credits are available
to small and very small businesses, or
consortia thereof, (as defined in 47 CFR
1.2110(c) and 101.1319). For Auction
No. 59, bidding credits will be available
to small business or consortia thereof, as
follows:
• A bidder with attributed average
annual gross revenues of not more than
$15 million for the preceding three
years (‘‘small business’’) will receive a
25 percent discount on its winning bids;
• A bidder with attributed average
annual gross revenues of not more than
$3 million for the preceding three years
(‘‘very small business’’) will receive a 35
percent discount on its winning bids.
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42. Small business bidding credits are
not cumulative; a qualifying applicant
receives the 25 percent or 35 percent
bidding credit on its winning bid, but
only one credit per license.
ii. Tribal Lands Bidding Credit
43. To encourage the growth of
wireless services in federally recognized
tribal lands the Commission has
implemented a tribal land bidding
credit.
iii. Applicability of Part 1 Attribution
Rules
44. Controlling interest standard. The
Commission uses a ‘‘controlling
interest’’ standard for attributing to
auction applicants the gross revenues of
their investors and affiliates in
determining small business eligibility
for future auctions. The Commission has
recently modified its rules governing the
attribution of gross revenues for
purposes of determining small business
eligibility. These changes included
exempting the gross revenues of the
affiliates of a rural telephone
cooperative’s officers and directors from
attribution to the applicant if certain
specified conditions are met. The
Commission also clarified that in
calculating an applicant’s gross
revenues under the controlling interest
standard, the personal net worth,
including personal income, of its
officers and directors will not be
attributed to the applicant.
45. Control. The term ‘‘control’’
includes both de facto and de jure
control of the applicant. Typically,
ownership of at least 50.1 percent of an
entity’s voting stock evidences de jure
control. De facto control is determined
on a case-by-case basis. The following
are some common indicia of de facto
control:
• The entity constitutes or appoints
more than 50 percent of the board of
directors or management committee;
• The entity has authority to appoint,
promote, demote, and fire senior
executives that control the day-to-day
activities of the licensee; or
• The entity plays an integral role in
management decisions.
46. Attribution for small business and
very small business eligibility. In
determining which entities qualify as
small businesses or very small
businesses, the Commission will
consider the gross revenues of the
applicant, its affiliates, its controlling
interests, and the affiliates of its
controlling interests. The Commission
does not impose specific equity
requirements on controlling interest
holders. Once the principals or entities
with a controlling interest are
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determined, only the revenues of those
principals or entities, the affiliates of
those principals or entities, and the
applicant and its affiliates, will be
counted in determining small business
eligibility.
47. A consortium of small businesses
or very small businesses is a
‘‘conglomerate organization formed as a
joint venture between or among
mutually independent business firms,’’
each of which individually must satisfy
one of the definitions of small business
or very small business in §§ 1.2110(f)
and 101.1319 of the Commission’s rules.
iv. Supporting Documentation
48. Applicants should note that they
will be required to file supporting
documentation to their FCC Form 175
short-form applications to establish that
they satisfy the eligibility requirements
to qualify as small business or very
small business (or consortia of small
businesses or very small businesses) for
this auction.
49. Applicants should further note
that submission of an FCC Form 175
application constitutes a representation
by the certifying official that he or she
is an authorized representative of the
applicant, has read the form’s
instructions and certifications, and that
the contents of the application and its
attachments are true and correct.
Submission of a false certification to the
Commission may result in penalties,
including monetary forfeitures, license
forfeitures, ineligibility to participate in
future auctions, and/or criminal
prosecution.
50. Small business or very small
business eligibility (Exhibit C). Entities
applying to bid as small businesses or
very small businesses (or consortia of
small businesses or very small
businesses) will be required to disclose
on Exhibit C to their FCC Form 175
short-form applications, separately and
in the aggregate, the gross revenues for
the preceding three years of each of the
following: (i) The applicant, (ii) its
affiliates, (iii) its controlling interests,
and (iv) the affiliates of its controlling
interests. Certification that the average
annual gross revenues for the preceding
three years do not exceed the applicable
limit is not sufficient. A statement of the
total gross revenues for the preceding
three years is also insufficient. The
applicant must provide separately for
itself, its affiliates, its controlling
interests, and the affiliates of its
controlling interests, a schedule of gross
revenues for each of the preceding three
years, as well as a statement of total
average gross revenues for the three-year
period. If the applicant is applying as a
consortium of small businesses or very
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small businesses, this information must
be provided for each consortium
member.
E. Provisions Regarding Defaulters and
Former Defaulters (FCC Form 175
Exhibit D)
51. Each applicant must certify on its
FCC Form 175 application under
penalty of perjury that the applicant, its
controlling interests, its affiliates, and
the affiliates of its controlling interests,
as defined by § 1.2110 of the
Commission’s rules are not in default on
any payment for Commission licenses
(including down payments) and not
delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to
any Federal agency. In addition, each
applicant must attach to its FCC Form
175 application a statement made under
penalty of perjury indicating whether or
not the applicant, its affiliates, its
controlling interests, or the affiliates of
its controlling interests, as defined by
§ 1.2110 of the Commission’s rules, have
ever been in default on any Commission
licenses or have ever been delinquent
on any non-tax debt owed to any
Federal agency. Applicants must
include this statement as Exhibit D of
the FCC Form 175.
52. ‘‘Former defaulters’’—i.e.,
applicants, including their attributable
interest holders, that in the past have
defaulted on any Commission licenses
or been delinquent on any non-tax debt
owed to any Federal agency, but that
have since remedied all such defaults
and cured all of their outstanding nontax delinquencies—are eligible to bid in
Auction No. 59, provided that they are
otherwise qualified. However, as
discussed infra in section III.D.3, former
defaulters are required to pay upfront
payments that are fifty percent more
than the normal upfront payment
amounts.
F. Installment Payments
53. Installment payment plans will
not be available in Auction No. 59.
G. Other Information (FCC Form 175
Exhibits E and F)
54. Applicants owned by minorities
or women, as defined in 47 CFR
1.2110(c)(2), may attach an exhibit
(Exhibit E) regarding this status. This
applicant status information is collected
for statistical purposes only and assists
the Commission in monitoring the
participation of ‘‘designated entities’’ in
its auctions. Applicants wishing to
submit additional information may do
so on Exhibit F (Miscellaneous
Information) to the FCC Form 175.
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H. Minor Modifications to Short-Form
Applications (FCC Form 175)
55. After the short-form filing
deadline (6 p.m. ET March 4, 2005),
applicants may make only minor
changes to their FCC Form 175
applications. Applicants will not be
permitted to make major modifications
to their applications (e.g., change their
license selections, change the certifying
official, change control of the applicant,
or change bidding credits). See 47 CFR
1.2105. Permissible minor changes
include, for example, deletion and
addition of authorized bidders (to a
maximum of three) and revision of
exhibits. Applicants should make these
modifications to their FCC Form 175
electronically and submit a letter,
briefly summarizing the changes, by
electronic mail to the attention of
Margaret Wiener, Chief, Auctions and
Spectrum Access Division, at the
following address: auction59@fcc.gov.
The electronic mail summarizing the
changes must include a subject or
caption referring to Auction No. 59. The
Bureau requests that parties format any
attachments to electronic mail as
Adobe Acrobat (pdf) or Microsoft
Word documents.
56. A separate copy of the letter
should be faxed to the attention of
Kathryn Garland at (717) 338–2850.
Questions about other changes should
be directed to Howard Davenport of the
Auctions and Spectrum Access Division
at (202) 418–0660.
I. Maintaining Current Information in
Short-Form Applications (FCC Form
175)
57. Section 1.65 of the Commission’s
rules requires an applicant to maintain
the accuracy and completeness of
information furnished in its pending
application and to notify the
Commission within 30 days of any
substantial change that may be of
decisional significance to that
application. Amendments reporting
substantial changes of possible
decisional significance in information
contained in FCC Form 175
applications, as defined by 47 CFR
1.2105(b)(2), will not be accepted and
may in some instances result in the
dismissal of the FCC Form 175
application.
III. Pre-Auction Procedures
A. Auction Seminar
58. On Wednesday, February 23,
2005, the FCC will sponsor a seminar
for Auction No. 59 at the Federal
Communications Commission, located
at 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC
20554. The seminar will provide
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attendees with information about preauction procedures, auction conduct,
the FCC Automated Auction System,
auction rules, and the MAS service
rules.
59. For individuals who are unable to
attend, Audio/Video of this seminar will
be available via webcast from the FCC’s
Audio/Video Events page at https://
www.fcc.gov/realaudio/.
B. Short-Form Application (FCC Form
175)—Due March 4, 2005
60. In order to be eligible to bid in this
auction, applicants must first submit an
FCC Form 175 application. This
application must be submitted
electronically and received at the
Commission no later than 6 p.m. ET on
March 4, 2005. Late applications will
not be accepted.
61. There is no application fee
required when filing an FCC Form 175.
However, to be eligible to bid, an
applicant must submit an upfront
payment. See section III.D.
i. Electronic Filing
62. Applicants must file their FCC
Form 175 applications electronically.
Applications may generally be filed at
any time beginning at noon ET on
February 23, 2005, until 6 p.m. ET on
March 4, 2005. Applicants are strongly
encouraged to file early and are
responsible for allowing adequate time
for filing their applications. Applicants
may update or amend their electronic
applications multiple times until the
filing deadline on March 4, 2005.
63. Applicants must press the
‘‘SUBMIT Application’’ button on the
‘‘Submission’’ page of the electronic
form to successfully submit their FCC
Form 175s. Any form that is not
submitted will not be reviewed by the
FCC. When an applicant has
successfully submitted the initial
version of its FCC Form 175, the
applicant receives an electronic
confirmation that contains its FCC
Registration Number (FRN) and
associated password.
64. Information about accessing the
FCC Form 175 is included in
Attachment C of the Auction No. 59
Procedures Public Notice. Technical
support is available at (202) 414–1250,
1–877–480–3201 option 9, or (202) 414–
1255 (text telephone (TTY)); hours of
service are Monday through Friday,
from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. In order to
provide better service to the public, all
calls to the hotline are recorded.
ii. Completion of the FCC Form 175
65. Applicants should carefully
review 47 CFR 1.2105, and must
complete all items on the FCC Form
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175. Instructions for completing the FCC
Form 175 are in Attachment D of the
Auction No. 59 Procedures Public
Notice.
iii. Electronic Review of FCC Form 175
66. The FCC Form 175 electronic
review system may be used to locate
and print applicants’ FCC Form 175
information. There is no fee for
accessing this system. See Attachment C
of the Auction No. 59 Procedures Public
Notice for details on accessing the
review system.
67. Applicants may also view other
applicants’ completed FCC Form 175s
after the filing deadline has passed and
the FCC has issued a public notice
explaining the status of the applications.
NOTE: Applicants should not include
sensitive information (i.e., TIN/EIN) on
any exhibits to their FCC Form 175
applications.
C. Application Processing and Minor
Corrections
68. After the deadline for filing the
FCC Form 175 applications has passed,
the FCC will process all timely
submitted applications to determine
which are acceptable for filing, and
subsequently will issue a public notice
identifying: (1) Those applications
accepted for filing; (2) those
applications rejected; and (3) those
applications which have minor defects
that may be corrected, and the deadline
for filing such corrected applications.
D. Upfront Payments—Due April 1,
2005
69. In order to be eligible to bid in the
auction, applicants must submit an
upfront payment accompanied by an
FCC Remittance Advice Form (FCC
Form 159). After completing the FCC
Form 175, filers will have access to an
electronic version of the FCC Form 159
that can be printed and faxed to Mellon
Bank in Pittsburgh, PA. All upfront
payments must be received at Mellon
Bank by 6 p.m. ET on April 1, 2005.
Please note that:
• All payments must be made in U.S.
dollars.
• All payments must be made by wire
transfer.
• Upfront payments for Auction No.
59 go to a lockbox number different
from the lockboxes used in previous
FCC auctions, and different from the
lockbox number to be used for postauction payments.
• Failure to deliver the upfront
payment by the April 1, 2005, deadline
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will result in dismissal of the
application and disqualification from
participation in the auction.
i. Making Auction Payments by Wire
Transfer
70. Wire transfer payments must be
received by 6 p.m. ET on April 1, 2005.
To avoid untimely payments, applicants
should discuss arrangements (including
bank closing schedules) with their
banker several days before they plan to
make the wire transfer, and allow
sufficient time for the transfer to be
initiated and completed before the
deadline.
71. Applicants must fax a completed
FCC Form 159 (Revised 2/03) to Mellon
Bank at (412) 209–6045 at least one hour
before placing the order for the wire
transfer (but on the same business day).
On the cover sheet of the fax, write
‘‘Wire Transfer—Auction Payment for
Auction Event No. 59.’’ In order to meet
the Commission’s upfront payment
deadline, an applicant’s payment must
be credited to the Commission’s account
by the deadline. Applicants are
responsible for obtaining confirmation
from their financial institution that
Mellon Bank has timely received their
upfront payment and deposited it in the
proper account.
ii. Amount of Upfront Payment
72. In the Part 1 Order, 62 FR 13540,
March 21, 1997, the Commission
delegated to the Bureau the authority
and discretion to determine appropriate
upfront payment(s) for each auction. In
addition, in the Part 1 Fifth Report and
Order, the Commission ordered that
‘‘former defaulters,’’ i.e., applicants that
have ever been in default on any
Commission license or have ever been
delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to
any Federal agency, be required to pay
upfront payments 50 percent greater
than non-‘‘former defaulters.’’ For
purposes of this calculation, the
‘‘applicant’’ includes the applicant
itself, its affiliates, its controlling
interests, and affiliates of its controlling
interests, as defined by § 1.2110 of the
Commission’s rules (as amended in the
Part 1 Fifth Report and Order).
73. In the Auction No. 59 Comment
Public Notice, the Bureau proposed that
the amount of the upfront payment will
determine the number of bidding units
on which a bidder may place bids. In
order to bid on a license, otherwise
qualified bidders that applied for that
license on Form 175 must have an
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eligibility level that meets or exceeds
the number of bidding units assigned to
that license. At a minimum, therefore,
an applicant’s total upfront payment
must be enough to establish eligibility to
bid on at least one of the licenses
applied for on Form 175, or else the
applicant will not be eligible to
participate in the auction. An applicant
does not have to make an upfront
payment to cover all licenses for which
the applicant has applied on Form 175,
but rather to cover the maximum
number of bidding units that are
associated with licenses on which the
bidder wishes to place bids and hold
high bids at any given time.
74. In the Auction No. 59 Comment
Public Notice, the Bureau proposed
upfront payments on a license-bylicense basis using a formula based on
bandwidth and license area population:
$0.00000375 * kHz * License Area
Population with a minimum of $1,000
per license.
75. Advanced Metering Data Systems,
Inc. (AMDS) suggests that the upfront
payment for all licenses is too high and
should be $500 per license or be
calculated by a different formula.
76. After reviewing AMDS’s
comment, the Bureau concludes that it
should adopt the upfront payments
proposed in the Auction No. 59
Comment Public Notice. The Bureau
also believes that the upfront payment
amounts are not too high as discussed
in the Reserve Price or Minimum
Opening Bid section. The specific
upfront payments and bidding units for
each license are set forth in Attachment
A of the Auction No. 59 Procedures
Public Notice.
77. In calculating its upfront payment
amount, an applicant should determine
the maximum number of bidding units
on which it may wish to be active
(bidding units associated with licenses
on which the bidder has the standing
high bid from the previous round and
licenses on which the bidder places a
bid in the current round) in any single
round, and submit an upfront payment
covering that number of bidding units.
In order to make this calculation, an
applicant should add together the
upfront payments for all licenses on
which it seeks to bid in any given
round. Applicants should check their
calculations carefully, as there is no
provision for increasing a bidder’s
maximum eligibility after the upfront
payment deadline.
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EXAMPLE: UPFRONT PAYMENTS AND BIDDING FLEXIBILITY
Market No.
Block
BEA010 ......................................................................
AA
BEA044 ......................................................................
AF
Bidding
units
Market name
New York-No. New ....................................................
Jer.-Long Island, NY–
NJ–CT–PA–MA–VT
Knoxville, TN ..............................................................
Upfront
payment
$2,400
$2,400
1,000
1,000
If a bidder wishes to bid on both licenses in a round, it must have selected both on its FCC Form 175 and purchased at least 3,400 bidding
units (2,400 + 1,000). If a bidder only wishes to bid on one, but not both, purchasing 2,400 bidding units would meet the requirement for either license. The bidder would be able to bid on either license, but not both at the same time. If the bidder purchased only 1,000 bidding units, it would
have enough eligibility for the Knoxville, TN license but not for the New York-No. New Jer.-Long Island, NY–NJ–CT–PA–MA–VT license.
Former defaulters should calculate their
upfront payment for all licenses by
multiplying the number of bidding units
they wish to purchase by 1.5. In order
to calculate the number of bidding units
to assign to former defaulters, the
Commission will divide the upfront
payment received by 1.5 and round the
result up to the nearest bidding unit.
iii. Applicant’s Wire Transfer
Information for Purposes of Refunds of
Upfront Payments
78. The Commission will use wire
transfers for all Auction No. 59 refunds.
To ensure that refunds of upfront
payments are processed in an
expeditious manner, the Commission is
requesting that all pertinent information
as listed be supplied to the FCC.
Applicants can provide the information
electronically during the initial shortform filing window after the form has
been submitted. Wire Transfer
Instructions can also be manually faxed
to the FCC, Financial Operations Center,
Auctions Accounting Group, ATTN:
Gail Glasser, at (202) 418–2843 by April
1, 2005. All refunds will be returned to
the payer of record as identified on the
FCC Form 159 unless the payer submits
written authorization instructing
otherwise.
E. Auction Registration
79. Approximately ten days before the
auction, the FCC will issue a public
notice announcing all qualified bidders
for the auction. Qualified bidders are
those applicants whose FCC Form 175
applications have been accepted for
filing and have timely submitted
upfront payments sufficient to make
them eligible to bid on at least one of
the licenses for which they applied.
80. All qualified bidders are
automatically registered for the auction.
Registration materials will be
distributed prior to the auction by two
separate overnight mailings, one
containing the confidential bidder
identification number (BIN) and the
other containing the SecurID cards, both
of which are required to place bids.
These mailings will be sent only to the
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contact person at the contact address
listed in the FCC Form 175.
81. Qualified bidders that do not
receive both registration mailings will
not be able to submit bids. Therefore,
any qualified bidder that has not
received both mailings by noon on
Wednesday, April 20, 2005, should
contact the Auctions Hotline at (717)
338–2888. Receipt of both registration
mailings is critical to participating in
the auction, and each applicant is
responsible for ensuring it has received
all of the registration material.
82. Qualified bidders should note that
lost bidder identification numbers or
SecurID cards can be replaced only by
appearing in person at the FCC
headquarters, located at 445 12th St.,
SW., Washington, DC 20554. Only an
authorized representative or certifying
official, as designated on an applicant’s
FCC Form 175, may appear in person
with two forms of identification (one of
which must be a photo identification) in
order to receive replacements. Qualified
bidders requiring replacements must
call technical support prior to arriving
at the FCC.
F. Remote Electronic Bidding
83. The Commission will conduct this
auction over the Internet, and
telephonic bidding will be available as
well. The FCC Wide Area Network will
no longer be available as a contingency
plan. Qualified bidders are permitted to
bid telephonically or electronically.
Each applicant should indicate its
bidding preference—electronic or
telephonic—on the FCC Form 175. In
either case, each authorized bidder must
have its own SecurID card, which the
FCC will provide at no charge. Each
applicant with one authorized bidder
will be issued two SecurID cards, while
applicants with two or three authorized
bidders will be issued three cards. For
security purposes, the SecurID cards
and the FCC Automated Auction System
user manual are only mailed to the
contact person at the contact address
listed on the FCC Form 175. Please note
that each SecurID card is tailored to a
specific auction; therefore, SecurID
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cards issued for other auctions or
obtained from a source other than the
FCC will not work for Auction No. 59.
The telephonic bidding phone number
will be supplied in the first overnight
mailing, which also includes the
confidential bidder identification
number.
84. Please note that the SecurID cards
can be recycled, and we encourage
bidders to return the cards to the FCC.
We will provide pre-addressed
envelopes that bidders may use to
return the cards once the auction is
over.
G. Mock Auction
85. All qualified bidders will be
eligible to participate in a mock auction
on Thursday, April 21, 2005. The mock
auction will enable applicants to
become familiar with the FCC
Automated Auction System prior to the
auction. Participation by all bidders is
strongly recommended. Details will be
announced by public notice.
IV. Auction Event
86. The first round of bidding for
Auction No. 59 will begin on Tuesday,
April 26, 2005. The initial bidding
schedule will be announced in a public
notice listing the qualified bidders,
which is released approximately 10
days before the start of the auction.
A. Auction Structure
i. Simultaneous Multiple Round
Auction
87. The Bureau will award all licenses
in Auction No. 59 in a simultaneous
multiple round auction. We received no
comment on this issue. The Bureau
concludes that it is operationally
feasible and appropriate to auction the
MAS licenses through a simultaneous
multiple round auction. Unless
otherwise announced, bids will be
accepted on all licenses in each round
of the auction. This approach, we
believe, allows bidders to take
advantage of synergies that exist among
licenses and is administratively
efficient.
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ii. Maximum Eligibility and Activity
Rules
88. The amount of the upfront
payment submitted by a bidder will
determine the initial (maximum)
eligibility (as measured in bidding
units) for each bidder. We received no
comment on this issue.
89. Note again that each license is
assigned a specific number of bidding
units equal to the upfront payment
listed in Attachment A of the Auction
No. 59 Procedures Public Notice on a
bidding unit per dollar basis. The total
upfront payment defines the maximum
number of bidding units on which the
applicant will be permitted to bid and
hold high bids in a round. As there is
no provision for increasing a bidder’s
eligibility after the upfront payment
deadline, applicants are cautioned to
calculate their upfront payments
carefully. The total upfront payment
does not affect the total dollar amount
a bidder may bid on any given license.
90. In order to ensure that the auction
closes within a reasonable period of
time, an activity rule requires bidders to
bid actively throughout the auction,
rather than wait until late in the auction
before participating.
91. A bidder’s activity level in a
round is the sum of the bidding units
associated with licenses on which the
bidder is active. A bidder is considered
active on a license in the current round
if it is either the high bidder at the end
of the previous bidding round and does
not withdraw the high bid in the current
round, or if it submits a bid in the
current round (see ‘‘Minimum
Acceptable Bids and Bid Increments’’ in
Section IV.B.iii). The minimum required
activity is expressed as a percentage of
the bidder’s current bidding eligibility,
and increases by stage as the auction
progresses. Because these procedures
have proven successful in maintaining
the pace of previous auctions (as set
forth under ‘‘Auction Stages’’ in Section
IV.A.3iii and ‘‘Stage Transitions’’ in
Section IV.A.iv), the Commission adopts
them for Auction No. 59.
iii. Auction Stages
92. The Commission will conduct the
auction in two stages and employ an
activity rule. In each round of Stage
One, a bidder desiring to maintain its
current eligibility would be required to
be active on licenses encompassing at
least 80 percent of its current bidding
eligibility. Finally, in each round of
Stage Two, a bidder desiring to maintain
its current eligibility would be required
to be active on at least 95 percent of its
current bidding eligibility.
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93. The Bureau reserves the discretion
to further alter the activity percentages
before and/or during the auction.
Stage One: During the first stage of the
auction, a bidder desiring to maintain
its current eligibility will be required to
be active on licenses encompassing at
least 80 percent of its current bidding
eligibility in each bidding round.
Failure to maintain the required activity
level will result in a reduction in the
bidder’s bidding eligibility in the next
round of bidding (unless an activity rule
waiver is used). During Stage One,
reduced eligibility for the next round
will be calculated by multiplying the
bidder’s current activity (the sum of
bidding units of the bidder’s standing
high bids and bids during the current
round) by five-fourths (5/4).
Stage Two: During the second stage of
the auction, a bidder desiring to
maintain its current eligibility is
required to be active on 95 percent of its
current bidding eligibility. Failure to
maintain the required activity level will
result in a reduction in the bidder’s
bidding eligibility in the next round of
bidding (unless an activity rule waiver
is used). During Stage Two, reduced
eligibility for the next round will be
calculated by multiplying the bidder’s
current activity (the sum of bidding
units of the bidder’s standing high bids
and bids during the current round) by
twenty-nineteenths (20/19).
Caution: Since activity requirements
increase in each auction stage, bidders
must carefully check their current
activity during the bidding period of the
first round following a stage transition.
This is especially critical for bidders
that have standing high bids and do not
plan to submit new bids. In past
auctions, some bidders have
inadvertently lost bidding eligibility or
used an activity rule waiver because
they did not re-verify their activity
status at stage transitions. Bidders may
check their activity against the required
activity level by using the bidding
system’s bidding module.
94. Because the foregoing procedures
have proven successful in maintaining
proper pace in previous auctions, the
Commission adopts them for Auction
No. 59.
iv. Stage Transitions
95. The auction will generally
advance to the next stage (i.e., from
Stage One to Stage Two) when the
auction activity level, as measured by
the percentage of bidding units
receiving new high bids, is below 20
percent for three consecutive rounds of
bidding in each Stage. In addition, the
Bureau will retain the discretion to
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change stages unilaterally by
announcement during the auction.
96. Thus, the Bureau will retain the
discretion to regulate the pace of the
auction by announcement. This
determination will be based on a variety
of measures of bidder activity,
including, but not limited to, the
auction activity level, the percentages of
licenses (as measured in bidding units)
on which there are new bids, the
number of new bids, and the percentage
increase in revenue. The Commission
believes that these stage transition rules
are appropriate for use in Auction No.
59.
v. Activity Rule Waivers and Reducing
Eligibility
97. Each bidder in the auction will be
provided three activity rule waivers that
may be used in any round during the
course of the auction. Use of an activity
rule waiver preserves the bidder’s
current bidding eligibility despite the
bidder’s activity in the current round
being below the required level. An
activity rule waiver applies to an entire
round of bidding and not to a particular
license.
98. The FCC Automated Auction
System assumes that bidders with
insufficient activity would prefer to use
an activity rule waiver (if available)
rather than lose bidding eligibility.
Therefore, the system will automatically
apply a waiver (known as an ‘‘automatic
waiver’’) at the end of any round where
a bidder’s activity level is below the
minimum required unless: (i) There are
no activity rule waivers available; or (ii)
the bidder overrides the automatic
application of a waiver by reducing
eligibility, thereby meeting the
minimum requirements. If a bidder has
no waivers remaining and does not
satisfy the required activity level, the
current eligibility will be permanently
reduced, possibly eliminating the bidder
from further bidding in the auction.
99. A bidder with insufficient activity
that wants to reduce its bidding
eligibility rather than use an activity
rule waiver must affirmatively override
the automatic waiver mechanism during
the round by using the reduce eligibility
function in the bidding system. In this
case, the bidder’s eligibility is
permanently reduced to bring the bidder
into compliance with the activity rules
as described in ‘‘Auction Stages’’ (see
Section IV.A.iii). Once eligibility has
been reduced, a bidder will not be
permitted to regain its lost bidding
eligibility.
100. Finally, a bidder may proactively
use an activity rule waiver as a means
to keep the auction open without
placing a bid. If a bidder submits a
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proactive waiver (using the proactive
waiver function in the FCC Automated
Auction System) during a round in
which no bids are submitted, the
auction will remain open and the
bidder’s eligibility will be preserved.
However, an automatic waiver triggered
during a round in which there are no
new bids or withdrawals will not keep
the auction open. Note: Once a
proactive waiver is submitted during a
round, that waiver cannot be
unsubmitted.
vi. Auction Stopping Rules
101. For Auction No. 59, the Bureau
will employ a simultaneous stopping
rule and retain discretion to invoke a
modified version of the stopping rule.
The modified version of the stopping
rule would close the auction for all
licenses after the first round in which
no bidder submits a proactive waiver, a
withdrawal, or a new bid on any license
on which it is not the standing high
bidder.
102. The Bureau also retains the
discretion to keep the auction open even
if no new bids or proactive waivers are
submitted and no previous high bids are
withdrawn in a round.
103. In addition, the Bureau reserves
the right to declare that the auction will
end after a designated number of
additional rounds (‘‘special stopping
rule’’). If the Bureau invokes this special
stopping rule, it will accept bids in the
final round(s) only for licenses on
which the high bid increased in at least
one of the preceding specified number
of rounds. The Bureau will exercise this
option only in circumstances such as
where the auction is proceeding very
slowly, where there is minimal overall
bidding activity or where it appears
likely that the auction will not close
within a reasonable period of time.
vii. Auction Delay, Suspension, or
Cancellation
104. By public notice or by
announcement during the auction, the
Bureau may delay, suspend, or cancel
the auction in the event of natural
disaster, technical obstacle, evidence of
an auction security breach, unlawful
bidding activity, administrative or
weather necessity, or for any other
reason that affects the fair conduct of
competitive bidding. In such cases, the
Bureau, in its sole discretion, may elect
to resume the auction starting from the
beginning of the current round, resume
the auction starting from some previous
round, or cancel the auction in its
entirety. Network interruption may
cause the Bureau to delay or suspend
the auction. We emphasize that exercise
of this authority is solely within the
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discretion of the Bureau, and its use is
not intended to be a substitute for
situations in which bidders may wish to
apply their activity rule waivers.
B. Bidding Procedures
i. Round Structure
105. The initial schedule of bidding
rounds will be announced in the public
notice listing the qualified bidders,
which is released approximately 10
days before the start of the auction. Each
bidding round is followed by the release
of round results. Multiple bidding
rounds may be conducted in a given
day. Details regarding round results
formats and locations will also be
included in the qualified bidders public
notice.
106. The FCC has discretion to change
the bidding schedule in order to foster
an auction pace that reasonably
balances speed with the bidders’ need to
study round results and adjust their
bidding strategies. The Bureau may
increase or decrease the amount of time
for the bidding rounds and review
periods, or the number of rounds per
day, depending upon the bidding
activity level and other factors.
ii. Reserve Price or Minimum Opening
Bid
107. In the Auction No. 59 Comment
Public Notice, the Bureau proposed to
establish minimum opening bids for
Auction No. 59 using the following
license-by-license formula based on
bandwidth and population:
$0.00000375 * kHz * License Area
Population with a minimum of $1,000
per license.
108. The Bureau adopts the minimum
opening bids proposed in the Auction
No. 59 Comment Public Notice. The
Bureau believes that the use of
minimum opening bids is in the public
interest because parties unable or
unwilling to make proposed minimum
opening bids most likely will be unable
or unwilling to use the licenses to
provide service to the public. The
Bureau concludes that the absolute
minimum opening bid of $1,000 will
not impede any party willing and able
to use the license to provide Multiple
Address Systems service. Under the
Commission’s current rules, the filing
fee for a new microwave service license
is $730. Finally, small businesses
qualifying for a thirty-five percent (35%)
bidding credit and winning a multiple
address systems license for the
minimum opening bid of $1,000 will
have to pay $650 for the license. Thus,
even absent an auction, service
providers would have to meet costs
comparable to the proposed absolute
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minimum opening bids in order to
obtain a license.
109. The minimum opening bids for
Auction No. 59 are reducible at the
discretion of the Bureau. We emphasize,
however, that such discretion will be
exercised, if at all, sparingly and early
in the auction, i.e., before bidders lose
all waivers and begin to lose substantial
eligibility. During the course of the
auction, the Bureau will not entertain
requests to reduce the minimum
opening bid on specific licenses.
110.The specific minimum opening
bids for each license available in
Auction No. 59 are set forth in
Attachment A of the Auction No. 59
Procedures Public Notice.
iii. Minimum Acceptable Bids and Bid
Increments
111. In Auction No. 59 we will use a
10 percent bid increment. This means
that the minimum acceptable bid for a
license will be approximately 10
percent greater than the previous
standing high bid received on the
license. The minimum acceptable bid
amount will be calculated by
multiplying the standing high bid times
one plus the increment percentage ‘‘i.e.,
(standing high bid) * (1.10). We will
round the result using our standard
rounding procedures for minimum
acceptable bid calculations: Results
above $10,000 are rounded to the
nearest $1,000; results below $10,000
but above $1,000 are rounded to the
nearest $100; and results below $1,000
are rounded to the nearest $10. The
Bureau will retain the discretion to
change the minimum acceptable bids
and bid increments if circumstances so
dictate.
112. In each round, each eligible
bidder will be able to place a bid on a
particular license for which it applied in
any of nine different amounts. The FCC
Automated Auction System will list the
nine bid amounts for each license.
113. Once there is a standing high bid
on a license, the FCC Automated
Auction System will calculate a
minimum acceptable bid for that license
for the following round, as described
above. The difference between the
minimum acceptable bid and the
standing high bid for each license will
define the bid increment ‘‘i.e., bid
increment = (minimum acceptable
bid)—(standing high bid). The nine
acceptable bid amounts for each license
consist of the minimum acceptable bid
(the standing high bid plus one bid
increment) and additional amounts
calculated using multiple bid
increments (i.e., the second bid amount
equals the standing high bid plus two
times the bid increment, the third bid
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amount equals the standing high bid
plus three times the bid increment, etc.).
114. Until a bid has been placed on
a license, the minimum acceptable bid
for that license will be equal to its
minimum opening bid. Corresponding
additional bid amounts will be
calculated using the difference between
the minimum opening bid times one
plus the minimum percentage
increment, rounded as described above,
and the minimum opening bid. That is,
I = (minimum opening bid)(1 +
N){rounded}¥(minimum opening bid).
Therefore, when N equals 0.1, the first
additional bid amount will be
approximately ten percent higher than
the minimum opening bid; the second,
twenty percent; the third, thirty percent;
etc.
115. In the case of a license for which
the standing high bid has been
withdrawn, the minimum acceptable
bid will equal the second highest bid
received for the license. The additional
bid amounts are calculated using the
difference between the second highest
bid times one plus the minimum
percentage increment, rounded, and the
second highest bid.
116. The Bureau retains the discretion
to change the minimum acceptable bids
and bid increments and the
methodology for determining the
minimum acceptable bids and bid
increments if it determines that
circumstances so dictate. The Bureau
will do so by announcement in the FCC
Automated Auction System. The Bureau
may also use its discretion to adjust the
minimum bid increment without prior
notice if circumstances warrant.
iv. High Bids
117. At the end of each bidding
round, the high bids will be determined
based on the highest gross bid amount
received for each license. A high bid
from a previous round is sometimes
referred to as a ‘‘standing high bid.’’ A
‘‘standing high bid’’ will remain the
high bid until there is a higher bid on
the same license at the close of a
subsequent round. Bidders are
reminded that standing high bids are
counted as activity for purposes of the
activity rule.
118. In the event of identical high
bids on a license in a given round (i.e.,
tied bids) a Sybase SQL pseudorandom number generator will be used
to assign a random number to each bid.
The tied bid having the highest random
number will become the standing high
bid. The remaining bidders, as well as
the high bidder, will be able to submit
a higher bid in a subsequent round. If
no bidder submits a higher bid in a
subsequent round, the high bid from the
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previous round will win the license. If
any bids are received on the license in
a subsequent round, the high bid will
once again be determined on the highest
gross bid amount received for the
license.
v. Bidding
119. During a round, a bidder may
submit bids for as many licenses as it
wishes (subject to its eligibility),
withdraw high bids from previous
bidding rounds, remove bids placed in
the same bidding round, or permanently
reduce eligibility. Bidders also have the
option of making multiple submissions
and withdrawals in each round. If a
bidder submits multiple bids for a single
license in the same round, the system
takes the last bid entered as that
bidder’s bid for the round. Bidders
should note that the bidding units
associated with licenses for which the
bidder has removed or withdrawn its
bid do not count towards the bidder’s
activity at the close of the round.
120. Please note that all bidding will
take place remotely either through the
FCC Automated Auction System or by
telephonic bidding. (Telephonic bid
assistants are required to use a script
when entering bids placed by telephone.
Telephonic bidders are therefore
reminded to allow sufficient time to bid
by placing their calls well in advance of
the close of a round. Normally, five to
ten minutes are necessary to complete a
bid submission). There will be no onsite bidding during Auction No. 59.
121. A bidder’s ability to bid on
specific licenses in the first round of the
auction is determined by two factors: (i)
The licenses applied for on FCC Form
175 and (ii) the upfront payment
amount deposited. The bid submission
screens will allow bidders to submit
bids on only those licenses for which
the bidder applied on its FCC Form 175.
122. In order to access the bidding
function of the FCC Automated Auction
System, bidders must be logged in
during the bidding round using the
bidder identification number provided
in the registration materials, and the
password generated by the SecurID
card. Bidders are strongly encouraged to
print bid confirmations for each round
after they have completed all of their
activity for that round.
123. In each round, eligible bidders
will be able to place bids on a given
license in any of nine different amounts.
For each license, the FCC Automated
Auction System interface will list the
nine acceptable bid amounts in a dropdown box. Bidders may use the dropdown box to select from among the nine
bid amounts. The FCC Automated
Auction System also includes an import
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function that allows bidders to upload
text files containing bid information and
a Type Bids function that allows bidders
to enter specific licenses for filtering.
124. Until a bid has been placed on
a license, the minimum acceptable bid
for that license will be equal to its
minimum opening bid. Once there is a
standing high bid on a license, the FCC
Automated Auction System will
calculate a minimum acceptable bid for
that license for the following round, as
described in Section IV.B.iii.
125. Finally, bidders are cautioned to
select their bid amounts carefully
because, as explained in section vi,
bidders that withdraw a standing high
bid from a previous round, even if the
bid was mistakenly or erroneously
made, are subject to bid withdrawal
payments.
vi. Bid Removal and Bid Withdrawal
126. For Auction No. 59, the
Commission adopts bid removal and bid
withdrawal procedures. With respect to
bid withdrawals, the Commission will
limit each bidder to withdrawals in no
more than two rounds during the course
of the auction. The two rounds in which
withdrawals are used would be at the
bidder’s discretion.
127. Procedures. Before the close of a
bidding round, a bidder has the option
of removing any bids placed in that
round. By using the ‘‘remove bid’’
function in the bidding system, a bidder
may effectively ‘‘unsubmit’’ any bid
placed within that round. A bidder
removing a bid placed in the same
round is not subject to withdrawal
payments. Removing a bid will affect a
bidder’s activity for the round in which
it is removed, i.e., a bid that is removed
does not count toward bidding activity.
These procedures will enhance bidder
flexibility during the auction.
128. Once a round closes, a bidder
may no longer remove a bid. However,
in later rounds, a bidder may withdraw
standing high bids from previous
rounds using the withdraw bid function
in the FCC Automated Auction System
(assuming that the bidder has not
reached its withdrawal limit). A high
bidder that withdraws its standing high
bid from a previous round during the
auction is subject to the bid withdrawal
payments specified in 47 CFR 1.2104(g).
Note: Once a withdrawal is submitted
during a round, that withdrawal cannot
be unsubmitted.
129. The Bureau will limit the
number of rounds in which bidders may
place withdrawals to two rounds. These
rounds will be at the bidder’s discretion
and there will be no limit on the
number of bids that may be withdrawn
in either of these rounds. Withdrawals
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during the auction will be subject to the
bid withdrawal payments specified in
47 CFR 1.2104(g). Bidders should note
that abuse of the Commission’s bid
withdrawal procedures could result in
the denial of the ability to bid on a
market.
130. Calculation. Generally, the
Commission imposes payments on
bidders that withdraw high bids during
the course of an auction. If a bidder
withdraws its bid and there is no higher
bid in the same or subsequent
auction(s), the bidder that withdrew its
bid is responsible for the difference
between its withdrawn bid and the high
bid in the same or subsequent
auction(s). In the case of multiple bid
withdrawals on a single license, within
the same or subsequent auctions(s), the
payment for each bid withdrawal will
be calculated based on the sequence of
bid withdrawals and the amounts
withdrawn. No withdrawal payment
will be assessed for a withdrawn bid if
either the subsequent winning bid or
any of the intervening subsequent
withdrawn bids, in either the same or
subsequent auctions(s), equals or
exceeds that withdrawn bid. Thus, a
bidder that withdraws a bid will not be
responsible for any withdrawal
payments if there is a subsequent higher
bid in the same or subsequent
auction(s).
131. In instances in which bids have
been withdrawn on a license that is not
won in the same auction, the
Commission will assess an interim
withdrawal payment equal to 3 percent
of the amount of the withdrawn bids.
The 3 percent interim payment will be
applied toward any final bid withdrawal
payment that will be assessed after
subsequent auction of the license. The
Part 1 Fifth Report and Order provides
specific examples showing application
of the bid withdrawal payment rule.
vii. Round Results
132. Bids placed during a round will
not be made public until the conclusion
of that bidding period. After a round
closes, the Bureau will compile reports
of all bids placed, bids withdrawn,
current high bids, new minimum
acceptable bids, and bidder eligibility
status (bidding eligibility and activity
rule waivers), and post the reports for
public access. Reports reflecting
bidders’ identities for Auction No. 59
will be available before and during the
auction. Thus, bidders will know in
advance of this auction the identities of
the bidders against which they are
bidding.
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viii. Auction Announcements
133. The FCC will use auction
announcements to announce items such
as schedule changes and stage
transitions. All FCC auction
announcements will be available by
clicking a link on the FCC Automated
Auction System.
V. Post-Auction Procedures
A. Down Payments and Withdrawn Bid
Payments
134. After bidding has ended, the
Commission will issue a public notice
declaring the auction closed and
identifying winning bidders, down
payments, final payments, and any
withdrawn bid payments due.
135. Within ten business days after
release of the auction closing notice,
each winning bidder must submit
sufficient funds (in addition to its
upfront payment) to bring its total
amount of money on deposit with the
Commission for Auction No. 59 to 20
percent of the net amount of its winning
bids (gross bids less any applicable
small business or very small business
bidding credits). In addition, by the
same deadline, all bidders must pay any
bid withdrawal payments due under 47
CFR 1.2104(g), as discussed in ‘‘Bid
Removal and Bid Withdrawal,’’ Section
IV.B.vi. (Upfront payments are applied
first to satisfy any withdrawn bid
liability, before being applied toward
down payments.)
B. Final Payment
136. Each winning bidder will be
required to submit the balance of the net
amount of its winning bids within 10
business days after the deadline for
submitting down payments.
C. Long-Form Application (FCC Form
601)
137. Within ten business days after
release of the auction closing notice,
winning bidders must electronically
submit a properly completed long-form
application (FCC Form 601) and
required exhibits for each license won
through Auction No. 59.
D. Ownership Disclosure Information
Report (FCC Form 602)
138. At the time it submits its longform application (FCC Form 601), each
winning bidder also must comply with
the ownership reporting requirements as
set forth in 47 CFR 1.913, 1.919, and
1.2112.
E. Tribal Lands Bidding Credit
139. A winning bidder that intends to
use its license(s) to deploy facilities and
provide services to federally recognized
PO 00000
Frm 00072
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
6683
tribal lands that are unserved by any
telecommunications carrier or that have
a wireline penetration rate equal to or
below 85 percent is eligible to receive a
tribal land bidding credit as set forth in
47 CFR 1.2107 and 1.2110(f). A tribal
land bidding credit is in addition to,
and separate from, any other bidding
credit for which a winning bidder may
qualify.
F. Default and Disqualification
140. Any high bidder that defaults or
is disqualified after the close of the
auction (i.e., fails to remit the required
down payment within the prescribed
period of time, fails to submit a timely
long-form application, fails to make full
payment, or is otherwise disqualified)
will be subject to the payments
described in 47 CFR 1.2104(g)(2). In
such event the Commission may reauction the license or offer it to the next
highest bidder (in descending order) at
its final bid. In addition, if a default or
disqualification involves gross
misconduct, misrepresentation, or bad
faith by an applicant, the Commission
may declare the applicant and its
principals ineligible to bid in future
auctions, and may take any other action
that it deems necessary, including
institution of proceedings to revoke any
existing licenses held by the applicant.
G. Refund of Remaining Upfront
Payment Balance
141. All applicants that submit
upfront payments but are not winning
bidders for a license in Auction No. 59
may be entitled to a refund of their
remaining upfront payment balance
after the conclusion of the auction. No
refund will be made unless there are
excess funds on deposit from the
applicant after any applicable bid
withdrawal payments have been paid.
All refunds will be returned to the payer
of record, as identified on the FCC Form
159, unless the payer submits written
authorization instructing otherwise.
142. Bidders that drop out of the
auction completely may be eligible for
a refund of their upfront payments
before the close of the auction. Qualified
bidders that have exhausted all of their
activity rule waivers, have no remaining
bidding eligibility, and have not
withdrawn a high bid during the
auction must submit a written refund
request. If you have completed the
refund instructions electronically, then
only a written request for the refund is
necessary. If not, the request must also
include wire transfer instructions,
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)
and FCC Registration Number (FRN).
Send refund request to: Federal
Communications Commission,
E:\FR\FM\08FEN1.SGM
08FEN1
6684
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 8, 2005 / Notices
Financial Operations Center, Auctions
Accounting Group, Gail Glasser, 445
12th Street, SW., Room 1–C864,
Washington, DC 20554.
143. Bidders are encouraged to file
their refund information electronically
using the refund information portion of
the FCC Form 175, but bidders can also
fax their information to the Auctions
Accounting Group at (202) 418–2843.
Once the information has been
approved, a refund will be sent to the
party identified in the refund
information.
Note: Refund processing generally takes up
to two weeks to complete. Bidders with
questions about refunds should contact Gail
Glasser at (202) 418–0578.
Federal Communications Commission.
Gary D. Michaels,
Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access
Division, WTB.
[FR Doc. 05–2423 Filed 2–7–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Announcement of Board
Approval under Delegated Authority
and Submission to OMB
Background
Notice is hereby given of the final
approval of proposed information
collection(s) by the Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System (Board)
under OMB delegated authority, as per
5 CFR 1320.16 (OMB Regulations on
Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the
Public). Board–approved collections of
information are incorporated into the
official OMB inventory of currently
approved collections of information.
Copies of the OMB 83–Is and supporting
statements and approved collection of
information instrument(s) are placed
into OMB’s public docket files. The
Federal Reserve may not conduct or
sponsor, and the respondent is not
required to respond to, an information
collection that has been extended,
revised, or implemented on or after
October 1, 1995, unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Federal Reserve Board Clearance
Officer–Michelle Long–Division of
Research and Statistics, Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, Washington, DC 20551 (202–
452–3829)
OMB Desk Officer–Mark Menchik–
Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, New Executive Office Building,
SUMMARY:
VerDate jul<14>2003
18:12 Feb 07, 2005
Jkt 205001
Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, or
email to mmenchik–omb.eop.gov
Final approval under OMB delegated
authority of the extension for three
years, without revision, of the following
report:
Report title: Home Mortgage
Disclosure Act (HMDA) Loan/
Application Register.
Agency form number: FR HMDA–
LAR.
OMB control number: 7100–0247.
Frequency: Annual.
Reporters: State member banks,
subsidiaries of state member banks,
subsidiaries of bank holding companies,
U.S. branches and agencies of foreign
banks (other than federal branches,
federal agencies, and insured state
branches of foreign banks), commercial
lending companies owned or controlled
by foreign banks, organizations under
section 25 or 25A of the Federal Reserve
Act.
Annual reporting hours: 150,942
hours.
Estimated average hours per response:
State member banks, 242 hours; and
mortgage subsidiaries, 192 hours.
Number of respondents: 519 State
member banks, and 132 mortgage
subsidiaries.
General description of report: This
information collection is mandatory (12
U.S.C. 2803). The information is not
given confidential treatment, however,
information that might identify
individual borrowers or applicants is
given confidential treatment under
exemption 6 of the Freedom of
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6)) and
section 304 (j)(2)(B) of HMDA (12 U.S.C.
2803).
Abstract: The information reported
and disclosed pursuant to this
collection is used to further the
purposes of HMDA. These include: (1)
to help determine whether financial
institutions are serving the housing
needs of their communities; (2) to assist
public officials in distributing public–
sector investments so as to attract
private investment to areas where it is
needed; and (3) to assist in identifying
possible discriminatory lending patterns
and enforcing anti–discrimination
statutes.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, February 2, 2005.
Jennifer J. Johnson
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 05–2330 Filed 2–7–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE: 6210–01–S
PO 00000
Frm 00073
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Change in Bank Control Notices;
Acquisition of Shares of Bank or Bank
Holding Companies; Correction
This notice corrects a notice (FR Doc.
05-18530) published on page 5182 of the
issue for Tuesday, February 1, 2005.
Under the Federal Reserve Bank of
Minneapolis heading, the entry for
William E. Blomster, is revised to read
as follows:
A. Federal Reserve Bank of
Minneapolis (Jacqueline G. Nicholas,
Community Affairs Officer) 90
Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis,
Minnesota 55480–0291:
1. William E. Blomster; Viola Blomster
as trustee of the E. Viola Blomster
Revocable Trust; Keri Hilgendorf; and
Lance Blomster, all of Fairmont,
Minnesota, acting in concert; to acquire
voting shares of B & M Bancshares, Inc.,
Fairmont, Minnesota, and thereby
indirectly acquire voting shares of State
Bank of Fairmont, Fairmont, Minnesota.
Comments on this application must
be received by February 16, 2005.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, February 2, 2005.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 05–2331 Filed 2–7–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210–01–S
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Change in Bank Control Notices;
Acquisition of Shares of Bank or Bank
Holding Companies
The notificants listed below have
applied under the Change in Bank
Control Act (12 U.S.C. 1817(j)) and
§ 225.41 of the Board’s Regulation Y (12
CFR 225.41) to acquire a bank or bank
holding company. The factors that are
considered in acting on the notices are
set forth in paragraph 7 of the Act (12
U.S.C. 1817(j)(7)).
The notices are available for
immediate inspection at the Federal
Reserve Bank indicated. The notices
also will be available for inspection at
the office of the Board of Governors.
Interested persons may express their
views in writing to the Reserve Bank
indicated for that notice or to the offices
of the Board of Governors. Comments
must be received not later than February
22, 2005.
A. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
(Patrick Wilder, Assistant Vice
President) 230 South LaSalle Street,
Chicago, Illinois 60690–1414:
1. Douglas M. Kratz, Bettendorf, Iowa,
and Perry B. Hansen, Rapids City,
E:\FR\FM\08FEN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 8, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6671-6684]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-2423]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[Report No. AUC-04-59-B; (Auction No. 59); DA 04-3985]
Multiple Address Systems Spectrum Auction; Notice and Filing
Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments and Other Auction
Procedures
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document announces the procedures and minimum opening
bids for the upcoming auction of 4,226 Multiple Address Systems (MAS)
licenses in the Fixed Microwave Services from the 928/959 and 932/941
MHz bands. This document is intended to familiarize prospective bidders
with the procedures and minimum opening bids for this auction.
DATES: Auction No. 59 is scheduled to begin on April 26, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Auctions and Spectrum Access Division
(WTB): For legal questions: Howard Davenport at (202) 418-0660. For
general auction questions: Roy Knowles or Barbara Sibert at (717) 338-
2888. For service rules questions: Public Safety and Critical
Infrastructure Division, WTB: Zenji Nakazawa or Stanley Wiggins at
(202) 418-0680. For technical questions: Joan Donmoyer at (717) 338-
2646. Media Contact: Lauren Patrich at (202) 418-7944.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Auction No. 59
Procedures Public Notice released on December 21, 2004. The complete
text of the Auction No. 59 Procedures Public Notice, including
attachments, as well as related Commission documents, are available for
public inspection and copying during regular business hours at the FCC
Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room
CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. The Auction No. 59 Procedures Public
Notice and related Commission documents may also be purchased from the
Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc.
(BCPI), Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC
20554, telephone 202-488-5300, facsimile 202-488-5563, or you may
contact BCPI at its Web site: https://www.BCPIWEB.com. The Auction No.
59 Procedures Public Notice and related documents are also available on
the Internet at the Commission's Web site: https://wireless.fcc.gov/
auctions/59/.
I. General Information
A. Introduction
1. The Auction No. 59 Public Notice announces the procedures and
minimum opening bids for the upcoming auction of Multiple Address
Systems (MAS) licenses in the Fixed Microwave Services from the 928/959
and 932/941 MHz bands, scheduled for April 26, 2005 (Auction No. 59).
On November 15, 2004, in accordance with section 309(j)(4) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, the Bureau released a public
notice seeking comment on reserve prices or minimum opening bids and
the procedures to be used in Auction No. 59. The Bureau received one
comment in response to the Auction No. 59 Comment Public Notice, 69 FR
68364, November 24, 2004.
i. Background of Proceeding
2. On January 19, 2000, the Commission released the MAS Report and
Order, 65 FR 17445, April 3, 2000, which adopted rules to maximize the
use of spectrum in the MAS service. Specifically, the Commission: (a)
Designated the 928/952/956 MHz bands exclusively for private internal
services, licensed on a first-come, first-served, site-by-site basis;
(b) designated the 928/959 MHz bands and twenty of the forty paired
channels in the 932/941 MHz bands to be licensed on a geographic area
basis; (c) reserved twenty of the forty channel pairs in the 932/941
MHz bands for public safety/Federal Government and private internal
services, licensed on a first-come, first-served, site-by-site basis;
(d) designated five of the twenty channels in the 932/941 MHz bands'
set-aside exclusively for public safety/Federal Government services;
(e) grandfathered existing operations on the MAS bands, while limiting
expansion in the 928/959 MHz bands; (f) established service areas based
on the Commission's and the Department of Commerce's definitions of
Economic Areas (EAs); (g) established construction/coverage
requirements for EA licensees; (h) introduced flexibility to the MAS
technical rules; (i) adopted a flexible approach for defining the
regulatory status of MAS licensees by allowing the licensee to indicate
its regulatory status; (j) lifted the suspension on the acceptance of
applications for the 928/952/956 MHz bands and the twenty channels in
the 932/941 MHz bands designated for public safety/Federal Government
and/or private internal services upon the release of the MAS Report and
Order; and (k) adopted the part 1 competitive bidding rules for the MAS
spectrum. On March 3, 2000, the Commission amended the text of the MAS
Report and Order in an Erratum to the MAS Report and Order.
3. Subsequently, on May 29, 2001, the Commission released the MAS
Memorandum Opinion and Order, 66 FR 35107, July 3, 2001, which
addressed four petitions for reconsideration and/or clarification of
the MAS Report and Order. The Commission granted two of the petitions,
granted the third petition in part, and dismissed the fourth petition
as moot. Additionally, the Commission, on its own motion, adopted minor
changes to certain technical requirements in part 101 of the
Commission's rules and modified the application freeze in certain MAS
bands. A second Erratum to the MAS Memorandum Opinion and Order was
released by the Commission on June 21, 2001.
4. On November 15, 2004, the Bureau released the Auction No. 59
Comment Public Notice announcing that Auction No. 59 will commence on
April 26, 2005, setting forth a complete list of licenses for Auction
No. 59, and seeking comment on reserve prices or minimum opening bids
and other auction procedures.
[[Page 6672]]
ii. Licenses To Be Auctioned
5. Auction No. 59 will offer 4,226 MAS licenses in the Fixed
Microwave Services in the 928/959 and 932/941 MHz bands. Licenses will
be offered in each of the 176 geographic areas known as Economic Areas
(EAs), where available. These geographic areas encompass the United
States, Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands, Puerto Rico and the
United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Gulf of Mexico. A
complete list of the licenses available in Auction No. 59 for each
market is provided in electronic format only, available as ``Attachment
A'' to the Auction No. 59 Procedures Public Notice at https://
wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/59/.
6. The following table describes the MAS block/frequency bands
cross-reference list for Auction No. 59:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total ** Geographic
Block Frequency bands * (MHz) bandwidth Pairing area Type
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AA............................ 928.85625/959.85625 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AB............................ 928.86875/959.86875 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AC............................ 928.88125/959.88125 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AD............................ 928.89375/959.89375 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AE............................ 928.90625/959.90625 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AF............................ 928.91875/959.91875 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AG............................ 928.93125/959.93125 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AH............................ 928.94375/959.94375 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AI............................ 928.95625/959.95625 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AJ............................ 928.96875/959.96875 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AK............................ 928.98125/959.98125 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AL............................ 928.99375/959.99375 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AM............................ 932.00625/941.00625 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AN............................ 932.01875/941.01875 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AO............................ 932.03125/941.03125 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AP............................ 932.04375/941.04375 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AQ............................ 932.05625/941.05625 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AR............................ 932.06875/941.06875 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AS............................ 932.08125/941.08125 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AT............................ 932.09375/941.09375 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AU............................ 932.15625/941.15625 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AV............................ 932.16875/941.16875 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AW............................ 932.18125/941.18125 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AX............................ 932.19375/941.19375 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AY............................ 932.20625/941.20625 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
AZ............................ 932.21875/941.21875 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
BA............................ 932.23125/941.23125 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
BB............................ 932.24375/941.24375 25 kHz 2 x 12.5 kHz EA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The individual frequencies listed in this chart are the center frequencies of each frequency pair in the block
to be auctioned. See 47 CFR 101.147(b)(3), (4). Each block consists of two channels of equal bandwidth. For
example, in Block AA, 928.85625 and 959.85625 are the center frequencies and each frequency pair is comprised
of two 12.5 kHz wide channels. Therefore, the two channels in Block AA are 928.85000-928.86250 MHz and
959.85000-959.86250 MHz.
** This represents the total bandwidth for each block, which is the combination of the two channels in each
pair.
Note: For Auction No. 59, licenses are not available in every
block listed in the above table in every market.
B. Rules and Disclaimers
i. Relevant Authority
7. Prospective applicants must familiarize themselves thoroughly
with the Commission's rules relating to the Multiple Address Systems
(MAS), contained in 47 CFR parts 22 and 101, and those relating to
application and auction procedures, contained in 47 CFR part 1.
Prospective applicants must also be thoroughly familiar with the
procedures, terms and conditions (collectively, ``terms'') contained in
the Auction No. 59 Procedures Public Notice; the Auction No. 59 Comment
Public Notice; the Part 1 Fifth Report and Order, 65 FR 52401, August
29, 2000; the MAS Notice of Proposed Rule Making, 62 FR 11407, March
12, 1997; the MAS Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Order; 64
FR 38617, July 19, 1999; the MAS Report and Order, the Erratum to the
MAS Report and Order; the MAS Memorandum Opinion and Order; and the
Erratum to the MAS Memorandum Opinion and Order (as well as prior and
subsequent Commission proceedings regarding competitive bidding
procedures, application requirements, and obligations of Commission
licensees).
8. The terms contained in the Commission's rules, relevant orders,
and public notices are not negotiable. The Commission may amend or
supplement the information contained in our public notices at any time,
and will issue public notices to convey any new or supplemental
information to applicants. It is the responsibility of all applicants
to remain current with all Commission's rules and with all public
notices pertaining to this auction.
ii. Prohibition of Collusion
9. To ensure the competitiveness of the auction process, Sec.
1.2105(c) of the Commission's rules prohibits applicants for any of the
same geographic license areas from communicating with each other during
the auction about bids, bidding strategies, or settlements unless such
applicants have identified each other on their FCC Form 175
applications as parties with whom they have entered into agreements
under Sec. 1.2105(a)(2)(viii) of the Commission's rules. Thus,
applicants for any of the same geographic license areas must
conscientiously avoid all discussions with each other that affect, or
in their reasonable assessment have the potential to affect, bidding or
bidding strategy. This prohibition begins at the short-form application
filing deadline and ends at the down payment deadline after the
auction. This prohibition applies to all applicants regardless of
whether such applicants become
[[Page 6673]]
qualified bidders or actually bid. For purposes of this prohibition,
Sec. 1.2105(c)(7)(i) of the Commission's rules defines applicant as
including all controlling interests in the entity submitting a short-
form application to participate in the auction, as well as all holders
of partnership and other ownership interests and any stock interest
amounting to 10 percent or more of the entity, or outstanding stock, or
outstanding voting stock of the entity submitting a short-form
application, and all officers and directors of that entity.
10. Applicants for licenses in any of the same geographic license
areas are encouraged not to use the same individual as an authorized
bidder. A violation of the anti-collusion rule could occur if an
individual acts as the authorized bidder for two or more competing
applicants, and conveys information concerning the substance of bids or
bidding strategies between the applicants he or she is authorized to
represent in the auction. A violation could similarly occur if the
authorized bidders are different individuals employed by the same
organization (e.g., law firm or consulting firm). In such a case, at a
minimum, applicants should certify on their applications that
precautionary steps have been taken to prevent communication between
authorized bidders and that applicants and their bidding agents will
comply with the anti-collusion rule. However, the Bureau cautions that
merely filing a certifying statement as part of an application will not
outweigh specific evidence that collusive behavior has occurred, nor
will it preclude the initiation of an investigation when warranted.
11. The Commission's anti-collusion rules allow applicants to form
certain agreements during the auction, provided the applicants have not
applied for licenses covering the same geographic areas. In addition,
applicants that apply to bid for all markets will be precluded from
communicating with all other applicants until after the down payment
deadline. However, all applicants may enter into bidding agreements
before filing their FCC Form 175, as long as they disclose the
existence of the agreement(s) in their Form 175. If parties agree in
principle on all material terms prior to the short-form filing
deadline, those parties must be identified on the short-form
application pursuant to Sec. 1.2105(c) of the Commission's rules, even
if the agreement has not been reduced to writing. If the parties have
not agreed in principle by the filing deadline, an applicant would not
include the names of those parties on its application, and may not
continue negotiations. By signing their FCC Form 175 short-form
applications, applicants are certifying their compliance with Sec.
1.2105(c) of the Commission's rules.
12. Section 1.65 of the Commission's rules requires an applicant to
maintain the accuracy and completeness of information furnished in its
pending application and to notify the Commission within 30 days of any
substantial change that may be of decisional significance to that
application. Thus, Sec. 1.65 of the Commission's rules requires
auction applicants that engage in communications of bids or bidding
strategies that result in a bidding agreement, arrangement or
understanding not already identified on their short-form applications
to promptly disclose any such agreement, arrangement or understanding
to the Commission by amending their pending applications. In addition,
Sec. 1.2105(c)(6) of the Commission's rules requires all auction
applicants to report prohibited discussions or disclosures regarding
bids or bidding strategy to the Commission in writing immediately but
in no case later than five business days after the communication
occurs, even if the communication does not result in an agreement or
understanding regarding bids or bidding strategy that must be reported
under Sec. 1.65 of the Commission's rules.
13. Applicants that are winning bidders will be required to
disclose in their long-form applications the specific terms,
conditions, and parties involved in all bidding consortia, joint
ventures, partnerships, and other arrangements entered into relating to
the competitive bidding process. Any applicant found to have violated
the anti-collusion rule may be subject to sanctions, including
forfeiture of its upfront payment, down payment or full bid amount, and
may be prohibited from participating in future auctions. In addition,
applicants are reminded that they are subject to the antitrust laws,
which are designed to prevent anticompetitive behavior in the
marketplace. If an applicant is found to have violated the antitrust
laws in connection with its participation in the competitive bidding
process, it may be subject to forfeiture of its upfront payment, down
payment, or full bid amount and may be prohibited from participating in
future auctions.
14. A summary listing of documents issued by the Commission and the
Bureau addressing the application of the anti-collusion rules may be
found in Attachment F of the Auction No. 59 Procedures Public Notice.
iii. Interference Protection
15. Potential bidders are reminded that there are incumbent
licensees operating on frequencies that will be subject to the upcoming
auction. The holder of an EA authorization thus will be required to
protect incumbents from harmful interference. Specifically, an EA
authorization holder will be required to coordinate with the incumbent
licensees by using the interference protection criteria in Sec.
101.1333 of the Commission's rules. However, operational agreements are
encouraged between the parties. Should an incumbent's license cancel
automatically or otherwise be recovered by the Commission, the
incumbent's frequencies will automatically revert to the applicable EA
licensee without being subject to further competitive bidding.
iv. Due Diligence
16. The FCC makes no representations or warranties about the use of
this spectrum for particular services. Applicants should be aware that
an FCC auction represents an opportunity to become an FCC licensee in
this service, subject to certain conditions and regulations. An FCC
auction does not constitute an endorsement by the FCC of any particular
services, technologies or products, nor does an FCC license constitute
a guarantee of business success. Applicants should perform their
individual due diligence before proceeding as they would with any new
business venture.
17. Applicants are reminded that there are a number of incumbent
licensees already licensed and operating on frequencies that will be
subject to the upcoming auction. Such incumbents must be protected from
harmful interference by MAS Station geographic area licensees in
accordance with the Commission's rules. These limitations may restrict
the ability of such MAS geographic area licensees to use certain
portions of the electromagnetic spectrum or provide service to certain
areas in their geographic license areas. The Commission therefore
cautions potential applicants in formulating their bidding strategies
to investigate and consider the extent to which MAS frequencies are
occupied by incumbents.
18. Applicants are solely responsible for identifying associated
risks and for investigating and evaluating the degree to which such
matters may affect their ability to bid on, otherwise acquire, or make
use of licenses available in Auction No. 59.
[[Page 6674]]
19. Applicants should also be aware that certain pending and future
applications (including those for modification), petitions for
rulemaking, requests for special temporary authority, waiver requests,
petitions to deny, petitions for reconsideration, informal oppositions,
and applications for review before the Commission may relate to
particular applicants or incumbent licensees or the licenses available
in Auction No. 59. In addition, pending and future judicial proceedings
may relate to particular applicants or incumbent licensees, or the
licenses available in Auction No. 59. Applicants are responsible for
assessing the likelihood of the various possible outcomes, and
considering their potential impact on spectrum licenses available in
this auction.
20. Applicants should perform due diligence to identify and
consider all proceedings that may affect the spectrum licenses being
auctioned. We note that resolution of such matters could have an impact
on the availability of spectrum for Auction No. 59. In addition,
although the Commission may continue to act on various pending
applications, informal objections petitions, and other requests for
Commission relief, some of these matters may not be resolved by the
time of the auction.
21. Applicants may obtain information about incumbent licenses that
may have an effect on availability of licenses in Auction No. 59
through the Bureau's licensing databases on the World Wide Web at
https://wireless.fcc.gov/uls. Applicants may query the database online
and download a copy of their search results if desired. Detailed
instructions on using License Search (including frequency searches and
the GeoSearch capability) and downloading query results are available
online by selecting the ``?'' button at the upper right-hand corner of
the License Search screen. Applicants should direct questions regarding
the search capabilities to the FCC ULS/Technical Support hotline at 1-
877-480-3201 option 2.
22. The Commission makes no representations or guarantees regarding
the accuracy or completeness of information in its databases or any
third party databases, including, for example, court docketing systems.
To the extent the Commission's databases may not include all
information deemed necessary or desirable by an applicant, applicants
may obtain or verify such information from independent sources or
assume the risk of any incompleteness or inaccuracy in said databases.
Furthermore, the Commission makes no representations or guarantees
regarding the accuracy or completeness of information that has been
provided by incumbent licensees and incorporated into the database.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to physically inspect any
prospective transmitter sites located in, or near, the service area for
which they plan to bid.
23. In addition, licenses in EAs that border Canada may be subject
to the Arrangement between the Federal Communications Commission and
the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the
United States and Industry Canada concerning the use of the bands 932
to 935 MHz and 941 to 944 MHz along the United States-Canada border.
Licenses in EAs that border Mexico may be subject to the Protocol
Concerning the Allotment and Use of Channels in the 932-932.5 and 941-
941.5 MHz bands for Fixed Point-to-Multipoint Services along the Common
Border.
24. Licenses may, in some EAs, be required to protect quiet zones.
Licenses in EAs that would affect quiet zones are subject to Sec.
101.1329 of the Commission's rules.
v. Bidder Alerts
25. As is the case with many business investment opportunities,
some unscrupulous entrepreneurs may attempt to use Auction No. 59 to
deceive and defraud unsuspecting investors. Common warning signals of
fraud include the following:
The first contact is a ``cold call'' from a telemarketer,
or is made in response to an inquiry prompted by a radio or television
infomercial.
The offering materials used to invest in the venture
appear to be targeted at IRA funds, for example, by including all
documents and papers needed for the transfer of funds maintained in IRA
accounts.
The amount of investment is less than $25,000.
The sales representative makes verbal representations
that: (a) The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Federal Trade Commission
(FTC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), FCC, or other
government agency has approved the investment; (b) the investment is
not subject to State or federal securities laws; or (c) the investment
will yield unrealistically high short-term profits. In addition, the
offering materials often include copies of actual FCC releases, or
quotes from FCC personnel, giving the appearance of FCC knowledge or
approval of the solicitation.
26. Information about deceptive telemarketing investment schemes is
available from the FTC at (202) 326-2222 and from the SEC at (202) 942-
7040. Complaints about specific deceptive telemarketing investment
schemes should be directed to the FTC, the SEC, or the National Fraud
Information Center at (800) 876-7060. Consumers who have concerns about
specific proposals regarding Auction No. 59 may also call the FCC
Consumer Center at (888) CALL-FCC ((888) 225-5322).
vi. National Environmental Policy Act Requirements
27. Licensees must comply with the Commission's rules regarding the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The construction of a
wireless antenna facility is a federal action and the licensee must
comply with the Commission's NEPA rules for each such facility.
C. Auction Specifics
i. Auction Date
28. The auction will begin on Tuesday, April 26, 2005, as announced
in the Auction No. 59 Comment Public Notice. The initial schedule for
bidding will be announced by public notice at least one week before the
start of the auction. Unless otherwise announced, bidding on all
licenses will be conducted on each business day until bidding has
stopped on all licenses.
ii. Auction Title
29. Auction No. 59--Multiple Address Systems.
iii. Bidding Methodology
30. The bidding methodology for Auction No. 59 will be simultaneous
multiple round bidding. The Commission will conduct this auction over
the Internet, and telephonic bidding will be available as well.
Qualified bidders are permitted to bid telephonically or
electronically.
iv. Pre-Auction Dates and Deadlines
31. Listed are important dates associated with Auction No. 59:
Auction Seminar.............. February 23, 2005
Short-Form Application (FCC February 23, 2005; 12 p.m. ET
Form 175) Filing Window
Opens.
Short-Form Application (FCC March 4, 2005; 6 p.m. ET
Form 175) Filing Window
Deadline.
Upfront Payments (via wire April 1, 2005; 6 p.m. ET
transfer).
[[Page 6675]]
Mock Auction................. April 21, 2005
Auction Begins............... April 26, 2005
v. Requirements for Participation
32. Those wishing to participate in the auction must:
Submit a short-form application (FCC Form 175)
electronically by 6 p.m. ET, March 4, 2005.
Submit a sufficient upfront payment and an FCC Remittance
Advice Form (FCC Form 159) by 6 p.m. ET, April 1, 2005.
Comply with all provisions outlined in the Auction No. 59
Public Notice.
vi. Any Filings to Auction No. 59
33. An electronic copy of any filings that are submitted to the
Commission related to Auction No. 59, including filings made with the
Commission's Office of the Secretary, should also be submitted by
electronic mail to the following address: auction59@fcc.gov.
34. Following is a list of general contact information relating to
Auction No. 59:
vii. General Contact Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GENERAL AUCTION INFORMATION FCC Auctions Hotline
General Auction Questions (888) 225-5322, Press Option 2 or direct (717) 338-2888
Hours of Service: 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
ET,
Monday through Friday
AUCTION LEGAL INFORMATION Auctions and Spectrum Access
Auctions Rules, Policies, Division
Regulations Legal Branch (202) 418-0660
LICENSING INFORMATION Public Safety and Critical
Rules, Policies, Regulations Infrastructure Division
Licensing Issues (202) 418-0680
Due Diligence
Incumbency Issues
TECHNICAL SUPPORT FCC Auctions Technical Support
Electronic Filing Hotline
FCC Automated Auction System (202) 414-1250 or 1-877-480-3201,
Press Option 9
(202) 414-1255 (TTY)
Hours of service: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET,
Monday through Friday
PAYMENT INFORMATION FCC Auctions Accounting Branch
Wire Transfers (202) 418-0578
Refunds (202) 418-2843 (Fax)
TELEPHONIC BIDDING Will be furnished only to qualified
bidders
FCC COPY CONTRACTOR Best Copy and Printing, Inc.
445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402
Washington, DC 20554
(800) 378-3160
https://www.bcpiweb.com
Additional Copies of Commission
Documents
PRESS INFORMATION Lauren Patrich (202) 418-7944
FCC FORMS (800) 418-3676 (outside Washington,
DC)
(202) 418-3676 (in the Washington
Area)
https://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html
FCC INTERNET SITES https://www.fcc.gov
https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions
https://wireless.fcc.gov/uls
____________________________________
II. Short-Form (FCC Form 175) Application Requirements
35. Guidelines for completion of the short-form (FCC Form 175) are
set forth in Attachment D of the Auction No. 59 Procedures Public
Notice. All applicants must certify on their FCC Form 175 applications
under penalty of perjury that they are legally, technically,
financially and otherwise qualified to hold a license.
A. License Selection
36. The Bureau has modified Form 175 for Auction No. 59. In Auction
No. 59, Form 175 will include a mechanism that allows an applicant to
filter the licenses by Market Number and Channel Block to create
customized lists of licenses. The applicant will make selections for
one or more of the filter criteria and the system will produce a list
of licenses satisfying the specified criteria. The applicant may apply
for all the licenses in the customized list by using the ``Save all
filtered licenses'' option; select and save individual licenses
separately from the list; or create a second customized list without
selecting any of the licenses from the first list. Applicants also will
be able to select licenses from one customized list and then create a
second customized list to select additional licenses.
B. Ownership Disclosure Requirements (FCC Form 175 Exhibit A)
37. All applicants must comply with the uniform part 1 of the
Commission's rules ownership disclosure standards and provide
information required by Sec. Sec. 1.2105 and 1.2112 of the
Commission's rules. Specifically, in completing FCC Form 175,
applicants will be required to file an ``Exhibit A'' providing a full
and complete statement of the ownership of the bidding entity. The
ownership disclosure standards for the short-form are set forth in
Sec. 1.2112 of the Commission's rules.
C. Consortia and Joint Bidding Arrangements (FCC Form 175 Exhibit B)
38. Applicants will be required to identify on their short-form
applications any parties with whom they have entered into any
consortium arrangements, joint ventures, partnerships or other
agreements or understandings that relate in any way to the licenses
being auctioned, including any agreements relating to post-auction
market structure. Applicants will also be required to certify on their
short-form applications that they have not entered into any explicit or
implicit agreements,
[[Page 6676]]
arrangements or understandings of any kind with any parties, other than
those identified, regarding the amount of their bids, bidding
strategies, or the particular licenses on which they will or will not
bid.
39. A party holding a non-controlling, attributable interest in one
applicant will be permitted to acquire an ownership interest in, form a
consortium with, or enter into a joint bidding arrangement with other
applicants for licenses in the same geographic license area provided
that (i) the attributable interest holder certifies that it has not and
will not communicate with any party concerning the bids or bidding
strategies of more than one of the applicants in which it holds an
attributable interest, or with which it has formed a consortium or
entered into a joint bidding arrangement; and (ii) the arrangements do
not result in a change in control of any of the applicants. While the
anti-collusion rules do not prohibit non-auction related business
negotiations among auction applicants, applicants are reminded that
certain discussions or exchanges could touch upon impermissible subject
matters because they may convey pricing information and bidding
strategies.
D. Eligibility
i. Bidding Credit Eligibility (FCC Form 175 Exhibit C)
40. A bidding credit represents the amount by which a bidder's
winning bids are discounted. The size of the bidding credit depends on
the average of the aggregated annual gross revenues for each of the
preceding three years of the bidder, its affiliates, its controlling
interests, and the affiliates of its controlling interests.
41. In the MAS Report and Order, the Commission adopted bidding
credits on a ``tiered'' basis for all small businesses participating in
the auction of MAS spectrum Bidding credits are available to small and
very small businesses, or consortia thereof, (as defined in 47 CFR
1.2110(c) and 101.1319). For Auction No. 59, bidding credits will be
available to small business or consortia thereof, as follows:
A bidder with attributed average annual gross revenues of
not more than $15 million for the preceding three years (``small
business'') will receive a 25 percent discount on its winning bids;
A bidder with attributed average annual gross revenues of
not more than $3 million for the preceding three years (``very small
business'') will receive a 35 percent discount on its winning bids.
42. Small business bidding credits are not cumulative; a qualifying
applicant receives the 25 percent or 35 percent bidding credit on its
winning bid, but only one credit per license.
ii. Tribal Lands Bidding Credit
43. To encourage the growth of wireless services in federally
recognized tribal lands the Commission has implemented a tribal land
bidding credit.
iii. Applicability of Part 1 Attribution Rules
44. Controlling interest standard. The Commission uses a
``controlling interest'' standard for attributing to auction applicants
the gross revenues of their investors and affiliates in determining
small business eligibility for future auctions. The Commission has
recently modified its rules governing the attribution of gross revenues
for purposes of determining small business eligibility. These changes
included exempting the gross revenues of the affiliates of a rural
telephone cooperative's officers and directors from attribution to the
applicant if certain specified conditions are met. The Commission also
clarified that in calculating an applicant's gross revenues under the
controlling interest standard, the personal net worth, including
personal income, of its officers and directors will not be attributed
to the applicant.
45. Control. The term ``control'' includes both de facto and de
jure control of the applicant. Typically, ownership of at least 50.1
percent of an entity's voting stock evidences de jure control. De facto
control is determined on a case-by-case basis. The following are some
common indicia of de facto control:
The entity constitutes or appoints more than 50 percent of
the board of directors or management committee;
The entity has authority to appoint, promote, demote, and
fire senior executives that control the day-to-day activities of the
licensee; or
The entity plays an integral role in management decisions.
46. Attribution for small business and very small business
eligibility. In determining which entities qualify as small businesses
or very small businesses, the Commission will consider the gross
revenues of the applicant, its affiliates, its controlling interests,
and the affiliates of its controlling interests. The Commission does
not impose specific equity requirements on controlling interest
holders. Once the principals or entities with a controlling interest
are determined, only the revenues of those principals or entities, the
affiliates of those principals or entities, and the applicant and its
affiliates, will be counted in determining small business eligibility.
47. A consortium of small businesses or very small businesses is a
``conglomerate organization formed as a joint venture between or among
mutually independent business firms,'' each of which individually must
satisfy one of the definitions of small business or very small business
in Sec. Sec. 1.2110(f) and 101.1319 of the Commission's rules.
iv. Supporting Documentation
48. Applicants should note that they will be required to file
supporting documentation to their FCC Form 175 short-form applications
to establish that they satisfy the eligibility requirements to qualify
as small business or very small business (or consortia of small
businesses or very small businesses) for this auction.
49. Applicants should further note that submission of an FCC Form
175 application constitutes a representation by the certifying official
that he or she is an authorized representative of the applicant, has
read the form's instructions and certifications, and that the contents
of the application and its attachments are true and correct. Submission
of a false certification to the Commission may result in penalties,
including monetary forfeitures, license forfeitures, ineligibility to
participate in future auctions, and/or criminal prosecution.
50. Small business or very small business eligibility (Exhibit C).
Entities applying to bid as small businesses or very small businesses
(or consortia of small businesses or very small businesses) will be
required to disclose on Exhibit C to their FCC Form 175 short-form
applications, separately and in the aggregate, the gross revenues for
the preceding three years of each of the following: (i) The applicant,
(ii) its affiliates, (iii) its controlling interests, and (iv) the
affiliates of its controlling interests. Certification that the average
annual gross revenues for the preceding three years do not exceed the
applicable limit is not sufficient. A statement of the total gross
revenues for the preceding three years is also insufficient. The
applicant must provide separately for itself, its affiliates, its
controlling interests, and the affiliates of its controlling interests,
a schedule of gross revenues for each of the preceding three years, as
well as a statement of total average gross revenues for the three-year
period. If the applicant is applying as a consortium of small
businesses or very
[[Page 6677]]
small businesses, this information must be provided for each consortium
member.
E. Provisions Regarding Defaulters and Former Defaulters (FCC Form 175
Exhibit D)
51. Each applicant must certify on its FCC Form 175 application
under penalty of perjury that the applicant, its controlling interests,
its affiliates, and the affiliates of its controlling interests, as
defined by Sec. 1.2110 of the Commission's rules are not in default on
any payment for Commission licenses (including down payments) and not
delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to any Federal agency. In addition,
each applicant must attach to its FCC Form 175 application a statement
made under penalty of perjury indicating whether or not the applicant,
its affiliates, its controlling interests, or the affiliates of its
controlling interests, as defined by Sec. 1.2110 of the Commission's
rules, have ever been in default on any Commission licenses or have
ever been delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to any Federal agency.
Applicants must include this statement as Exhibit D of the FCC Form
175.
52. ``Former defaulters''--i.e., applicants, including their
attributable interest holders, that in the past have defaulted on any
Commission licenses or been delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to any
Federal agency, but that have since remedied all such defaults and
cured all of their outstanding non-tax delinquencies--are eligible to
bid in Auction No. 59, provided that they are otherwise qualified.
However, as discussed infra in section III.D.3, former defaulters are
required to pay upfront payments that are fifty percent more than the
normal upfront payment amounts.
F. Installment Payments
53. Installment payment plans will not be available in Auction No.
59.
G. Other Information (FCC Form 175 Exhibits E and F)
54. Applicants owned by minorities or women, as defined in 47 CFR
1.2110(c)(2), may attach an exhibit (Exhibit E) regarding this status.
This applicant status information is collected for statistical purposes
only and assists the Commission in monitoring the participation of
``designated entities'' in its auctions. Applicants wishing to submit
additional information may do so on Exhibit F (Miscellaneous
Information) to the FCC Form 175.
H. Minor Modifications to Short-Form Applications (FCC Form 175)
55. After the short-form filing deadline (6 p.m. ET March 4, 2005),
applicants may make only minor changes to their FCC Form 175
applications. Applicants will not be permitted to make major
modifications to their applications (e.g., change their license
selections, change the certifying official, change control of the
applicant, or change bidding credits). See 47 CFR 1.2105. Permissible
minor changes include, for example, deletion and addition of authorized
bidders (to a maximum of three) and revision of exhibits. Applicants
should make these modifications to their FCC Form 175 electronically
and submit a letter, briefly summarizing the changes, by electronic
mail to the attention of Margaret Wiener, Chief, Auctions and Spectrum
Access Division, at the following address: auction59@fcc.gov. The
electronic mail summarizing the changes must include a subject or
caption referring to Auction No. 59. The Bureau requests that parties
format any attachments to electronic mail as Adobe[supreg]
Acrobat[supreg] (pdf) or Microsoft[supreg] Word documents.
56. A separate copy of the letter should be faxed to the attention
of Kathryn Garland at (717) 338-2850. Questions about other changes
should be directed to Howard Davenport of the Auctions and Spectrum
Access Division at (202) 418-0660.
I. Maintaining Current Information in Short-Form Applications (FCC Form
175)
57. Section 1.65 of the Commission's rules requires an applicant to
maintain the accuracy and completeness of information furnished in its
pending application and to notify the Commission within 30 days of any
substantial change that may be of decisional significance to that
application. Amendments reporting substantial changes of possible
decisional significance in information contained in FCC Form 175
applications, as defined by 47 CFR 1.2105(b)(2), will not be accepted
and may in some instances result in the dismissal of the FCC Form 175
application.
III. Pre-Auction Procedures
A. Auction Seminar
58. On Wednesday, February 23, 2005, the FCC will sponsor a seminar
for Auction No. 59 at the Federal Communications Commission, located at
445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. The seminar will provide
attendees with information about pre-auction procedures, auction
conduct, the FCC Automated Auction System, auction rules, and the MAS
service rules.
59. For individuals who are unable to attend, Audio/Video of this
seminar will be available via webcast from the FCC's Audio/Video Events
page at https://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/.
B. Short-Form Application (FCC Form 175)--Due March 4, 2005
60. In order to be eligible to bid in this auction, applicants must
first submit an FCC Form 175 application. This application must be
submitted electronically and received at the Commission no later than 6
p.m. ET on March 4, 2005. Late applications will not be accepted.
61. There is no application fee required when filing an FCC Form
175. However, to be eligible to bid, an applicant must submit an
upfront payment. See section III.D.
i. Electronic Filing
62. Applicants must file their FCC Form 175 applications
electronically. Applications may generally be filed at any time
beginning at noon ET on February 23, 2005, until 6 p.m. ET on March 4,
2005. Applicants are strongly encouraged to file early and are
responsible for allowing adequate time for filing their applications.
Applicants may update or amend their electronic applications multiple
times until the filing deadline on March 4, 2005.
63. Applicants must press the ``SUBMIT Application'' button on the
``Submission'' page of the electronic form to successfully submit their
FCC Form 175s. Any form that is not submitted will not be reviewed by
the FCC. When an applicant has successfully submitted the initial
version of its FCC Form 175, the applicant receives an electronic
confirmation that contains its FCC Registration Number (FRN) and
associated password.
64. Information about accessing the FCC Form 175 is included in
Attachment C of the Auction No. 59 Procedures Public Notice. Technical
support is available at (202) 414-1250, 1-877-480-3201 option 9, or
(202) 414-1255 (text telephone (TTY)); hours of service are Monday
through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. In order to provide better
service to the public, all calls to the hotline are recorded.
ii. Completion of the FCC Form 175
65. Applicants should carefully review 47 CFR 1.2105, and must
complete all items on the FCC Form
[[Page 6678]]
175. Instructions for completing the FCC Form 175 are in Attachment D
of the Auction No. 59 Procedures Public Notice.
iii. Electronic Review of FCC Form 175
66. The FCC Form 175 electronic review system may be used to locate
and print applicants' FCC Form 175 information. There is no fee for
accessing this system. See Attachment C of the Auction No. 59
Procedures Public Notice for details on accessing the review system.
67. Applicants may also view other applicants' completed FCC Form
175s after the filing deadline has passed and the FCC has issued a
public notice explaining the status of the applications. NOTE:
Applicants should not include sensitive information (i.e., TIN/EIN) on
any exhibits to their FCC Form 175 applications.
C. Application Processing and Minor Corrections
68. After the deadline for filing the FCC Form 175 applications has
passed, the FCC will process all timely submitted applications to
determine which are acceptable for filing, and subsequently will issue
a public notice identifying: (1) Those applications accepted for
filing; (2) those applications rejected; and (3) those applications
which have minor defects that may be corrected, and the deadline for
filing such corrected applications.
D. Upfront Payments--Due April 1, 2005
69. In order to be eligible to bid in the auction, applicants must
submit an upfront payment accompanied by an FCC Remittance Advice Form
(FCC Form 159). After completing the FCC Form 175, filers will have
access to an electronic version of the FCC Form 159 that can be printed
and faxed to Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, PA. All upfront payments must
be received at Mellon Bank by 6 p.m. ET on April 1, 2005. Please note
that:
All payments must be made in U.S. dollars.
All payments must be made by wire transfer.
Upfront payments for Auction No. 59 go to a lockbox number
different from the lockboxes used in previous FCC auctions, and
different from the lockbox number to be used for post-auction payments.
Failure to deliver the upfront payment by the April 1,
2005, deadline will result in dismissal of the application and
disqualification from participation in the auction.
i. Making Auction Payments by Wire Transfer
70. Wire transfer payments must be received by 6 p.m. ET on April
1, 2005. To avoid untimely payments, applicants should discuss
arrangements (including bank closing schedules) with their banker
several days before they plan to make the wire transfer, and allow
sufficient time for the transfer to be initiated and completed before
the deadline.
71. Applicants must fax a completed FCC Form 159 (Revised 2/03) to
Mellon Bank at (412) 209-6045 at least one hour before placing the
order for the wire transfer (but on the same business day). On the
cover sheet of the fax, write ``Wire Transfer--Auction Payment for
Auction Event No. 59.'' In order to meet the Commission's upfront
payment deadline, an applicant's payment must be credited to the
Commission's account by the deadline. Applicants are responsible for
obtaining confirmation from their financial institution that Mellon
Bank has timely received their upfront payment and deposited it in the
proper account.
ii. Amount of Upfront Payment
72. In the Part 1 Order, 62 FR 13540, March 21, 1997, the
Commission delegated to the Bureau the authority and discretion to
determine appropriate upfront payment(s) for each auction. In addition,
in the Part 1 Fifth Report and Order, the Commission ordered that
``former defaulters,'' i.e., applicants that have ever been in default
on any Commission license or have ever been delinquent on any non-tax
debt owed to any Federal agency, be required to pay upfront payments 50
percent greater than non-``former defaulters.'' For purposes of this
calculation, the ``applicant'' includes the applicant itself, its
affiliates, its controlling interests, and affiliates of its
controlling interests, as defined by Sec. 1.2110 of the Commission's
rules (as amended in the Part 1 Fifth Report and Order).
73. In the Auction No. 59 Comment Public Notice, the Bureau
proposed that the amount of the upfront payment will determine the
number of bidding units on which a bidder may place bids. In order to
bid on a license, otherwise qualified bidders that applied for that
license on Form 175 must have an eligibility level that meets or
exceeds the number of bidding units assigned to that license. At a
minimum, therefore, an applicant's total upfront payment must be enough
to establish eligibility to bid on at least one of the licenses applied
for on Form 175, or else the applicant will not be eligible to
participate in the auction. An applicant does not have to make an
upfront payment to cover all licenses for which the applicant has
applied on Form 175, but rather to cover the maximum number of bidding
units that are associated with licenses on which the bidder wishes to
place bids and hold high bids at any given time.
74. In the Auction No. 59 Comment Public Notice, the Bureau
proposed upfront payments on a license-by-license basis using a formula
based on bandwidth and license area population: $0.00000375 * kHz *
License Area Population with a minimum of $1,000 per license.
75. Advanced Metering Data Systems, Inc. (AMDS) suggests that the
upfront payment for all licenses is too high and should be $500 per
license or be calculated by a different formula.
76. After reviewing AMDS's comment, the Bureau concludes that it
should adopt the upfront payments proposed in the Auction No. 59
Comment Public Notice. The Bureau also believes that the upfront
payment amounts are not too high as discussed in the Reserve Price or
Minimum Opening Bid section. The specific upfront payments and bidding
units for each license are set forth in Attachment A of the Auction No.
59 Procedures Public Notice.
77. In calculating its upfront payment amount, an applicant should
determine the maximum number of bidding units on which it may wish to
be active (bidding units associated with licenses on which the bidder
has the standing high bid from the previous round and licenses on which
the bidder places a bid in the current round) in any single round, and
submit an upfront payment covering that number of bidding units. In
order to make this calculation, an applicant should add together the
upfront payments for all licenses on which it seeks to bid in any given
round. Applicants should check their calculations carefully, as there
is no provision for increasing a bidder's maximum eligibility after the
upfront payment deadline.
[[Page 6679]]
Example: Upfront Payments and Bidding Flexibility
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bidding Upfront
Market No. Block Market name units payment
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEA010................................. AA New York-No. New.......... $2,400 $2,400
Jer.-Long Island, NY-.....
NJ-CT-PA-MA-VT............
BEA044................................. AF Knoxville, TN............. 1,000 1,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If a bidder wishes to bid on both licenses in a round, it must have selected both on its FCC Form 175 and
purchased at least 3,400 bidding units (2,400 + 1,000). If a bidder only wishes to bid on one, but not both,
purchasing 2,400 bidding units would meet the requirement for either license. The bidder would be able to bid
on either license, but not both at the same time. If the bidder purchased only 1,000 bidding units, it would
have enough eligibility for the Knoxville, TN license but not for the New York-No. New Jer.-Long Island, NY-NJ-
CT-PA-MA-VT license.
Former defaulters should calculate their upfront payment for all
licenses by multiplying the number of bidding units they wish to
purchase by 1.5. In order to calculate the number of bidding units to
assign to former defaulters, the Commission will divide the upfront
payment received by 1.5 and round the result up to the nearest bidding
unit.
iii. Applicant's Wire Transfer Information for Purposes of Refunds of
Upfront Payments
78. The Commission will use wire transfers for all Auction No. 59
refunds. To ensure that refunds of upfront payments are processed in an
expeditious manner, the Commission is requesting that all pertinent
information as listed be supplied to the FCC. Applicants can provide
the information electronically during the initial short-form filing
window after the form has been submitted. Wire Transfer Instructions
can also be manually faxed to the FCC, Financial Operations Center,
Auctions Accounting Group, ATTN: Gail Glasser, at (202) 418-2843 by
April 1, 2005. All refunds will be returned to the payer of record as
identified on the FCC Form 159 unless the payer submits written
authorization instructing otherwise.
E. Auction Registration
79. Approximately ten days before the auction, the FCC will issue a
public notice announcing all qualified bidders for the auction.
Qualified bidders are those applicants whose FCC Form 175 applications
have been accepted for filing and have timely submitted upfront
payments sufficient to make them eligible to bid on at least one of the
licenses for which they applied.
80. All qualified bidders are automatically registered for the
auction. Registration materials will be distributed prior to the
auction by two separate overnight mailings, one containing the
confidential bidder identification number (BIN) and the other
containing the SecurID cards, both of which are required to place bids.
These mailings will be sent only to the contact person at the contact
address listed in the FCC Form 175.
81. Qualified bidders that do not receive both registration
mailings will not be able to submit bids. Therefore, any qualified
bidder that has not received both mailings by noon on Wednesday, April
20, 2005, should contact the Auctions Hotline at (717) 338-2888.
Receipt of both registration mailings is critical to participating in
the auction, and each applicant is responsible for ensuring it has
received all of the registration material.
82. Qualified bidders should note that lost bidder identification
numbers or SecurID cards can be replaced only by appearing in person at
the FCC headquarters, located at 445 12th St., SW., Washington, DC
20554. Only an authorized representative or certifying official, as
designated on an applicant's FCC Form 175, may appear in person with
two forms of identification (one of which must be a photo
identification) in order to receive replacements. Qualified bidders
requiring replacements must call technical support prior to arriving at
the FCC.
F. Remote Electronic Bidding
83. The Commission will conduct this auction over the Internet, and
telephonic bidding will be available as well. The FCC Wide Area Network
will no longer be available as a contingency plan. Qualified bidders
are permitted to bid telephonically or electronically. Each applicant
should indicate its bidding preference--electronic or telephonic--on
the FCC Form 175. In either case, each authorized bidder must have its
own SecurID card, which the FCC will provide at no charge. Each
applicant with one authorized bidder will be issued two SecurID cards,
while applicants with two or three authorized bidders will be issued
three cards. For security purposes, the SecurID cards and the FCC
Automated Auction System user manual are only mailed to the contact
person at the contact address listed on the FCC Form 175. Please note
that each SecurID card is tailored to a specific auction; therefore,
SecurID cards issued for other auctions or obtained from a source other
than the FCC will not work for Auction No. 59. The telephonic bidding
phone number will be supplied in the first overnight mailing, which
also includes the confidential bidder identification number.
84. Please note that the SecurID cards can be recycled, and we
encourage bidders to return the cards to the FCC. We will provide pre-
addressed envelopes that bidders may use to return the cards once the
auction is over.
G. Mock Auction
85. All qualified bidders will be eligible to participate in a mock
auction on Thursday, April 21, 2005. The mock auction will enable
applicants to become familiar with the FCC Automated Auction System
prior to the auction. Participation by all bidders is strongly
recommended. Details will be announced by public notice.
IV. Auction Event
86. The first round of bidding for Auction No. 59 will begin on
Tuesday, April 26, 2005. The initial bidding schedule will be announced
in a public notice listing the qualified bidders, which is released
approximately 10 days before the start of the auction.
A. Auction Structure
i. Simultaneous Multiple Round Auction
87. The Bureau will award all licenses in Auction No. 59 in a
simultaneous multiple round auction. We received no comment on this
issue. The Bureau concludes that it is operationally feasible and
appropriate to auction the MAS licenses through a simultaneous multiple
round auction. Unless otherwise announced, bids will be accepted on all
licenses in each round of the auction. This approach, we believe,
allows bidders to take advantage of synergies that exist among licenses
and is administratively efficient.
[[Page 6680]]
ii. Maximum Eligibility and Activity Rules
88. The amount of the upfront payment submitted by a bidder will
determine the initial (maximum) eligibility (as measured in bidding
units) for each bidder. We received no comment on this issue.
89. Note again that each license is assigned a specific number of
bidding units equal to the upfront payment listed in Attachment A of
the Auction No. 59 Procedures Public Notice on a bidding unit per
dollar basis. The total upfront payment defines the maximum number of
bidding units on which the applicant will be permitted to bid and hold
high bids in a round. As there is no provision for increasing a
bidder's eligibility after the upfront payment deadline, applicants are
cautioned to calculate their upfront payments carefully. The total
upfront payment does not affect the total dollar amount a bidder may
bid on any given license.
90. In order to ensure that the auction closes within a reasonable
period of time, an activity rule requires bidders to bid actively
throughout the auction, rather than wait until late in the auction
before participating.
91. A bidder's activity level in a round is the sum of the bidding
units associated with licenses on which the bidder is active. A bidder
is considered active on a license in the current round if it is either
the high bidder at the end of the previous bidding round and does not
withdraw the high bid in the current round, or if it submits a bid in
the current round (see ``Minimum Acceptable Bids and Bid Increments''
in Section IV.B.iii). The minimum required activity is expressed as a
percentage of the bidder's current bidding eligibility, and increases
by stage as the auction progresses. Because these procedures have
proven successful in maintaining the pace of previous auctions (as set
forth under ``Auction Stages'' in Section IV.A.3iii and ``Stage
Transitions'' in Section IV.A.iv), the Commission adopts them for
Auction No. 59.
iii. Auction Stages
92. The Commission will conduct the auction in two stages and
employ an activity rule. In each round of Stage One, a bidder desiring
to maintain its current eligibility would be required to be active on
licenses encompassing at least 80 percent of its current bidding
eligibility. Finally, in each round of Stage Two, a bidder desiring to
maintain its current eligibility would be required to be active on at
least 95 percent of its current bidding eligibility.
93. The Bureau reserves the discretion to further alter the
activity percentages before and/or during the auction.
St