Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I Auction Rescheduled for December 19, 2013; Notice and Filing Requirements and Other Procedures for Auction 902, 56875-56895 [2013-22483]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
with rubber bands or fasteners. Any
envelopes and boxes must be disposed
of before entering the building.
• Commercial overnight mail (other
than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail
and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300
East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights,
MD 20743.
• U.S. Postal Service first-class,
Express, and Priority mail must be
addressed to 445 12th Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20554.
• People with Disabilities: Contact
the FCC to request reasonable
accommodations (accessible format
documents, sign language interpreters,
CART, etc.) by email: FCC504@fcc.gov
or phone: 202–418–0530 or TTY: 202–
418–0432.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patricia Robbins, Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau, Auctions
and Spectrum Access Division at (202)
418–0660.
This is a
summary of the Auction 902 Petition for
Reconsideration Public Notice released
on September 9, 2013. The complete
text of the Auction 902 Petition for
Reconsideration Public Notice,
including related Commission
documents, is available for public
inspection and copying from 8:00 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) Monday
through Thursday or from 8:00 a.m. to
11:30 a.m. ET on Fridays in the FCC
Reference Information Center, 445 12th
Street SW., Room CY–A257,
Washington, DC 20554. The Auction
902 Petition for Reconsideration Public
Notice and related Commission
documents also may be purchased from
the Commission’s duplicating
contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc.
(BCPI), 445 12th Street SW., Room CY–
B402, Washington, DC 20554, telephone
202–488–5300, fax 202–488–5563, or
you may contact BCPI at its Web site:
https://www.BCPIWEB.com. When
ordering documents from BCPI, please
provide the appropriate FCC document
number, for example, DA 13–1876 for
the Auction 902 Petition for
Reconsideration Public Notice. The
Auction 902 Petition for
Reconsideration Public Notice and
related documents also are available on
the Internet at the Commission’s Web
site: https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/
902/, or by using the search function for
AU Docket No. 13–53 on the
Commission’s Electronic Comment
Filing System (ECFS) Web page at
https://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. This
matter shall be treated as a ‘‘permit-butdisclose’’ proceeding in accordance
with the Commission’s ex parte rules.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
Federal Communications Commission.
Gary Michaels,
Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access
Division, WTB.
[FR Doc. 2013–22482 Filed 9–13–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
[AU Docket No. 13–53; DA 13–1672]
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I Auction
Rescheduled for December 19, 2013;
Notice and Filing Requirements and
Other Procedures for Auction 902
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In this document, the
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
and the Wireline Competition Bureau
(the Bureaus) announce the procedures
and filing requirements for a reverse
auction to award up to $50 million in
one-time Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
support and reschedule the auction to
be held on December 19, 2013. The
Bureaus also announce the availability
of eligible area data in various formats.
DATES: Short-form applications, FCC
Form 180, are due prior to 6:00 p.m. on
October 9, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau,
Auctions and Spectrum Access Division:
For Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
questions: Patricia Robbins at (202) 418–
0660; for auction process questions: Lisa
Stover at (717) 338–2868. Wireline
Competition Bureau,
Telecommunications Access Policy
Division: For general universal service
questions: Alex Minard at (202) 418–
7400. Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau, Office of Native Affairs
and Policy: For questions regarding
Tribal lands and Tribal governments:
Geoffrey Blackwell at (202) 418–3629 or
Irene Flannery at (202) 418–1307.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a
summary of the Auction 902 Procedures
Public Notice released on August 7,
2013. The complete text of the Auction
902 Procedures Public Notice, including
attachments and related Commission
documents, is available for public
inspection and copying from 8:00 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) Monday
through Thursday or from 8:00 a.m. to
11:30 a.m. ET on Fridays in the FCC
Reference Information Center, 445 12th
Street SW., Room CY–A257,
Washington, DC 20554. The Auction
902 Procedures Public Notice and
related Commission documents also
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00020
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
56875
may be purchased from the
Commission’s duplicating contractor,
Best Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), 445
12th Street SW., Room CY–B402,
Washington, DC 20554, telephone 202–
488–5300, fax 202–488–5563, or you
may contact BCPI at its Web site: https://
www.BCPIWEB.com. When ordering
documents from BCPI, please provide
the appropriate FCC document number,
for example, DA 13–1672 for the
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice.
The Auction 902 Procedures Public
Notice and related documents also are
available on the Internet at the
Commission’s Web site: https://
wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/902/ or by
using the search function for AU Docket
No. 13–53 on the Commission’s
Electronic Comment Filing System
(ECFS) Web page at https://www.fcc.gov/
cgb/ecfs/
I. Introduction and Summary
1. The Bureaus establish the
procedures that will apply to the reverse
auction that will award up to $50
million in one-time Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support. This auction,
which is designated as Auction 902, is
rescheduled to be held on December 19,
2013. The Auction 902 Procedures
Public Notice establishes the
procedures, terms, and conditions
governing Auction 902, including the
pre- and post-auction application
processes, and provides other important
information for parties that wish to seek
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support.
2. Auction 902 will award one-time
support to carriers that commit to
provide 3G or better mobile voice and
broadband services to Tribal lands that
lack such services. Support will be
allocated to maximize the population
covered by new mobile services without
exceeding the budget of $50 million.
Winning bidders will be obligated to
choose whether to deploy 3G service
within two years or 4G service within
three years after the award of support.
3. Auction 902 will award high-cost
universal service support through
reverse competitive bidding. The USF/
ICC Transformation Order, 76 FR 73830,
November 29, 2011 and 76 FR 81562,
December 28, 2011, established the
Mobility Fund as a universal service
support mechanism dedicated expressly
to mobile services and adopted rules for
distribution of the $50 million budget
for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I. The
Commission concluded in the USF/ICC
Transformation Order that a populationbased metric is appropriate for the
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I auction. In
the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the
Commission delegated authority to the
Bureaus to implement Tribal Mobility
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
56876
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
Fund Phase I, including the authority to
prepare for and conduct an auction and
administer program details. On March
29, 2013, the Bureaus released the
Auction 902 Comment Public Notice, 78
FR 21355, April 10, 2013, which
provided a summary of census blocks
potentially eligible for Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support, announced the
availability on the web of the complete
list of potentially eligible census blocks,
and sought comment on whether census
blocks should be added to or removed
from the list of potentially eligible
blocks on Tribal lands, on the details of
auction procedures, and on certain
related program requirements for
Auction 902.
4. After considering the record
encompassing 44 separate filings in
response to the Auction 902 Comment
Public Notice, the Bureaus, among other
things: (1) Provide an updated summary
of census blocks eligible for Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support in
Auction 902, with the complete list
available on the web; (2) conclude that
the Bureaus will conduct Auction 902
as a single-round, sealed bid auction; (3)
provide for bidding on predefined
bidding areas consisting of eligible
census blocks aggregated by Tribal lands
and census tracts, and in some cases
consisting of individual census blocks
in Alaska; (4) establish bidding
procedures, including stopping
procedures to help assure that winning
bids make cost-effective use of limited
available funds and implement the
Commission’s commitment to fiscal
responsibility; (5) permit winning
bidders to demonstrate that they offer
supported services at rates comparable
to those in urban areas by offering one
stand-alone voice and one data plan in
supported areas that match plans in
urban areas and cost no more than the
matching plans; and (6) require that
each winning bidder provide coverage,
consistent with the performance
requirements of the rules adopted in the
USF/ICC Transformation Order, to 75
percent or more of the population
associated with the eligible blocks in
each bidding area for which it receives
support and describe acceptable
methods for demonstrating such
coverage.
5. In addition, the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice reviews
important Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
program requirements, including
eligibility requirements for participation
in Auction 902 and the public interest
obligations of winning bidders;
describes in detail pre-auction
procedures and auction application
requirements; explains requirements
and details related to the structure and
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
procedures for bidding; and provides an
overview of the post-auction
procedures, requirements, and
deadlines, including information on the
post-auction application and on default
payment requirements that will be used
to enforce carriers’ obligations.
6. The Bureaus in the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice announce a
new auction date. The auction was
originally scheduled to be held on
October 24, 2013—the date announced
in the Auction 902 Comment Public
Notice. In order to provide interested
parties ample time to analyze the
updated lists of eligible census blocks
released concurrently with the Auction
902 Procedures Public Notice and to
take any further steps required to
establish eligibility for participation in
Auction 902, the Bureaus delay the
auction date until December 19, 2013.
The Auction 902 Procedures Public
Notice provides additional information
regarding other dates related to Auction
902, including the short-form
application deadline.
7. Throughout the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice, the term ‘‘perpop’’ means per population (or per
person) within a given geographic area.
The term ‘‘3G’’ refers to third generation
wireless networks, and ‘‘4G’’ refers to
fourth generation wireless networks.
The terms ‘‘3G,’’ ‘‘3G or better,’’
‘‘current generation,’’ and ‘‘advanced’’
are used interchangeably to refer to
mobile wireless services that provide
voice telephony service on networks
that also provide services such as
Internet access and email. Areas without
3G or better services and the population
within them are referred to as
‘‘unserved,’’ even though there may be
existing service at a lower level. The
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice
refers to ‘‘awarding’’ or ‘‘selecting
awardees’’ by auction for simplicity of
expression. Each party that becomes a
winning bidder in the auction must file
an application for support. Only after
review of the application to confirm
compliance with all the applicable
requirements will a winning bidder
become authorized to receive support.
II. General Information
A. Overview of Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I
i. Background
8. In the USF/ICC Transformation
Order, the Commission
comprehensively reformed and
modernized the high-cost component of
the Universal Service Fund (USF) to
help ensure the universal availability of
fixed and mobile communication
networks capable of providing voice and
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
broadband services, and established a
universal service support mechanism
dedicated exclusively to mobile
services—the Mobility Fund.
9. Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I will
provide up to $50 million in one-time
support to address gaps in mobile
services availability by supporting the
buildout of current- and next-generation
mobile networks on Tribal lands where
these networks are unavailable. The
support offered under Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I is in addition to any
ongoing support provided under
existing high-cost universal service
program mechanisms.
10. The goal for Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I is to extend the availability of
mobile voice and broadband service on
networks that provide 3G or better
performance and to accelerate the
deployment of 4G wireless networks in
areas where it is cost effective to do so
with one-time support. To maximize the
population covered in eligible areas on
Tribal lands within the established
budget of $50 million, the USF/ICC
Transformation Order established
general rules for a reverse auction to
identify those areas where additional
investment can make as large a
difference as possible in a transparent,
simple, speedy, and effective way. In
this reverse auction, bidders will
indicate the amount of one-time support
they require to deploy service meeting
the defined performance standard in
given eligible areas. Because the auction
generally will award support based on
the lowest per-pop bid amount
irrespective of geographic area, bidders
will compete not only against other
carriers that may be seeking support in
the same areas, but also against carriers
bidding for support in other areas
nationwide. Support will be awarded
based on the lowest per-pop bid
amounts submitted, but will not be
awarded to more than one provider per
area. In the USF/ICC Transformation
Order, the Commission provided for a
25 percent bidding credit for Triballyowned or -controlled providers that
participate in Auction 902.
ii. Identification of Census Blocks
Eligible for Tribal Mobility Fund
Support
11. In the Auction 902 Comment
Public Notice, the Bureaus sought
comment on a list of census blocks
identified as potentially eligible for
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support.
The Bureaus received numerous
comments addressing census block
eligibility.
12. In the USF/ICC Transformation
Order, the Commission decided to target
Mobility Fund Phase I support,
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
including Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
support, to census blocks without 3G or
better service at the geometric center of
the block, referred to as the centroid
(i.e., the internal point latitude/
longitude of a census block polygon),
and concluded that Mosaik Solutions
(Mosaik) data is the best available data
source for determining the availability
of such service. More specifically, the
Commission concluded that it would
consider any census block in the 2010
Census as unserved, and thus eligible
for support, if an analysis of the Mosaik
data indicated that the centroid is not
covered by networks using EV–DO, EV–
DO Rev A, or UMTS/HSPA or better. In
the Auction 902 Comment Public
Notice, the Bureaus concluded that
January 2013 Mosaik data was the most
recently available for the purpose of
doing an analysis to identify eligible
census blocks within Tribal lands and
described the methodology for
identifying potentially eligible blocks.
‘‘Tribal lands’’ include any federally
recognized Indian Tribe’s reservation,
pueblo or colony, including former
reservations in Oklahoma, Alaska
Native regions established pursuant to
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act, and Indian Allotments, as well as
Hawaiian Home Lands—areas held in
trust for native Hawaiians by the state
of Hawaii, pursuant to the Hawaiian
Homes Commission Act, as amended.
13. The USF/ICC Transformation
Order also concluded that population
should be the basis for calculating the
number of units in each eligible census
block for purposes of comparing bids
and measuring the performance of
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support
recipients. In particular, the
Commission concluded, based on
concerns raised by Tribes, that using a
population-based metric would provide
greater assurance that mobile
deployment supported by Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I would focus
more directly on population centers.
14. The Bureaus first identified
census blocks within Tribal lands using
2010 Census data. The Bureaus
proposed to identify Tribal lands in
Alaska using Census data boundaries for
the Annette Island Reserve and Alaska
Native village statistical areas. Alaska
Native village statistical areas represent
the more densely settled portions of
Alaska Native villages, which are the
associations, bands, clans, communities,
groups, Tribes, or villages recognized
pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act.
15. The Bureaus used geographic
information system (GIS) software to
determine whether the Mosaik data
showed 3G or better wireless coverage at
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
the centroid of each block. The Bureaus
used ArcGIS software from Esri to
determine whether the Mosaik data
showed 3G or better coverage at each
block’s centroid. The following
technologies were considered 3G or
better: EV–DO, EV–DO Rev A, UMTS/
HSPA, HSPA+, WiMAX, and LTE. If the
Mosaik data did not show such
coverage, the Bureaus determined the
block to be potentially eligible. Because
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support
will be awarded based on the bid
amounts that will maximize the
population covered by new mobile
services, the Bureaus excluded any of
these census blocks without population.
The Bureaus then excluded any blocks
that, during the Auction 901 challenge
process, they determined to be served or
to be ineligible for Mobility Fund Phase
I support because a provider had made
a regulatory commitment to provide 3G
or better wireless service or had
received a funding commitment from a
federal executive department or agency
in response to the provider’s
commitment to provide 3G or better
wireless service in that area. In addition,
the Bureaus identified those census
blocks that were the subject of winning
bids in Auction 901. The Bureaus noted
that any census block that was the
subject of a winning bid in Auction 901
and for which support is authorized at
the conclusion of the Auction 901 longform application review will not be
eligible for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase
I support. If prior to Auction 902 the
Bureaus determine that any of the
identified winning bids from Auction
901 cannot be authorized, but would
otherwise be eligible for Auction 902,
then such eligible blocks will be
included in Auction 902.
16. In the Auction 902 Comment
Public Notice, the Bureaus sought
comment on whether there were any
additional census blocks not identified
during the Auction 901 challenge
process for which, notwithstanding the
absence of 3G service, any provider had
made a regulatory commitment to
provide 3G or better wireless service, or
had received a funding commitment
from a federal executive department or
agency in response to the provider’s
commitment to provide 3G or better
wireless service. The Bureaus did not
receive any comments addressing this
issue.
17. In the Auction 902 Comment
Public Notice, the Bureaus asked
commenters identifying census blocks
for removal and/or addition to the list
of potentially eligible census blocks to
provide detailed information in support
of their views. The Bureaus noted that
in making such determinations for
PO 00000
Frm 00022
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
56877
Auction 901, they found demonstrations
of coverage to be more credible and
convincing where they were supported
by maps, discussions of drive tests,
explanation of methodologies for
determining coverage, and certifications
by one or more individuals as to the
veracity of the material provided. For
Auction 901, the Bureaus did not make
changes to potentially eligible areas
based on submissions making assertions
of coverage without any supporting
evidence.
18. In response to the comments the
Bureaus received regarding their list of
potentially eligible census blocks, they
add certain eligible census blocks, for
purposes of Auction 902, based on the
Commission’s definition of ‘‘Tribal
lands.’’ Specifically, the Bureaus add
populated, unserved census blocks in
Alaska and in the Navajo Eastern
Agency. The Bureaus conclude,
however, that other areas that were
ceded to the United States by treaty are
not eligible for Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support because they do not fall
within the applicable definition of
‘‘Tribal lands.’’ The Bureaus remove all
state designated Tribal statistical areas
(SDTSAs) from the list of eligible census
blocks for purposes of Auction 902
because they do not qualify as ‘‘Tribal
lands’’ under the Commission’s
definition. Separately, the Bureaus also
remove certain Tribal designated
statistical areas (TDSAs), as defined by
the 2010 Census data, that do not
qualify as ‘‘Tribal lands’’ under the
Commission’s definition. In addition,
the bureaus add and remove census
blocks based on credible and convincing
demonstrations by commenters
regarding service coverage, or the lack
thereof.
19. The Bureaus add populated,
unserved census blocks in the Alaska
Native regions to the updated list of
bidding areas and the corresponding list
of eligible census blocks that are
available on the Auction 902 Web site
(https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/902/).
The Bureaus identify the eligible Tribal
lands in Alaska using the boundaries of
the twelve geographic Alaska Native
regional corporations and the Annette
Island Reserve, which together cover the
entire state of Alaska.
20. The Tribal bidding credit and
special ETC provisions are available to
entities that are owned or controlled by
federally-recognized Alaska Native
villages. Specifically, a Tribal entity that
is owned or controlled by an Alaska
Native village may receive these benefits
in eligible areas that are within the
boundaries of the Alaska Native village
statistical area associated with that
village, as well as in eligible areas that
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
56878
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
are not within any Alaska Native village
statistical area but are within the same
Alaska Native region as that village. In
addition, the Bureaus note that the
Office of Native Affairs and Policy, in
coordination with the Bureaus, has
provided guidance on the Tribal
engagement requirements that apply to
providers serving Tribal lands,
including Alaska. In order to facilitate
engagement with appropriate Tribal
government officials in Alaska, the
Bureaus’ list of eligible areas identifies
the Alaska Native village statistical
areas, which indicate where the Alaska
Native villages are more densely settled.
Appropriate Tribal government officials
are elected or duly authorized
government officials of federally
recognized American Indian Tribes and
Alaska Native Villages.
21. The Bureaus also add populated,
unserved census blocks in the Navajo
Eastern Agency. The Bureaus conclude
that all of the populated, unserved
census blocks in the Navajo Eastern
Agency should be included in the Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I auction.
22. The Bureaus decline to include
certain areas that Tribes previously
ceded to the United States by treaty.
These areas do not fall within the
Commission’s definition of ‘‘Tribal
lands,’’ and thus, such areas are not
eligible for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase
I support.
23. The Bureaus remove all SDTSAs
from the updated list of eligible census
blocks because they do not qualify as
‘‘Tribal lands’’ under the Commission’s
definition. Separately, the Bureaus also
remove certain TDSAs, as defined by
the 2010 Census data, that do not
qualify as ‘‘Tribal lands’’ under the
Commission’s definition.
24. The Bureaus also received several
challenges to their initial determination
based on Mosaik data that certain
census blocks are either served or
unserved. The Bureaus find four of
these demonstrations to be sufficiently
credible and convincing to meet the
requirements of the USF/ICC
Transformation Order and incorporate
the requested changes into the updated
list of eligible census blocks. The
Bureaus conclude that ten commenters
that seek additions to the list of eligible
blocks do not demonstrate actual lack of
service, and therefore do not provide a
basis for the Bureaus to depart from
their initial determination of potentially
eligible census blocks.
25. The list of census blocks on Tribal
lands released concurrently with the
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice
now includes all of the eligible census
blocks that were identified by analyzing
2010 Census data, January 2013 Mosaik
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
data, and information submitted by
third parties. The differences between
this list and the list provided with the
Auction 902 Comment Public Notice are
as follows: (1) The Bureaus have added
blocks based on comments received
regarding their application of the
definition of ‘‘Tribal lands’’ to Alaska
and the Navajo Eastern Agency, (2) the
Bureaus have removed all SDTSAs and
certain TDSAs, (3) the Bureaus have
added blocks based on the comments of
one carrier that provided a sufficiently
credible and convincing demonstration
regarding the absence of 3G or better
coverage, (4) the Bureaus have removed
blocks based on the comments of three
carriers that provided sufficiently
credible and convincing demonstrations
regarding the presence of 3G or better
coverage, and (5) the Bureaus have
removed blocks for which Auction 901
support has been authorized, and have
added blocks (i.e., removed the asterisks
next to blocks) for which Auction 901
defaults have been determined. In this
list, the Bureaus continue to identify
census blocks that were covered by
winning bids in Auction 901 for which
the relevant long-form applications
remain pending. If the Bureaus
determine prior to Auction 902 that any
winning bids from Auction 901 cannot
be authorized, and any of those bids
cover census blocks that would
otherwise be eligible for Auction 902,
then such eligible blocks will be
available in the auction. Similarly, if
support is authorized prior to Auction
902 for any of the census blocks covered
by Auction 901 winning bids, those
census blocks will be excluded from
Auction 902. The Bureaus will
announce by public notice the removal
of any census blocks for which support
is authorized for Auction 901 winning
bids.
26. The Bureaus are mindful of the
Commission’s goal of moving quickly to
expand the availability of advanced
mobile services by providing one-time
support with the limited funds budgeted
for this purpose. The Bureaus also heed
the Commission’s warning that more
extended dialog and pre-auction review
of these issues might risk undue delay
in the award of this support. As was
true for the list of eligible areas for
Auction 901, the Bureaus recognize that
no such list will be perfect or perfectly
up-to-date. Accordingly, the list of
census blocks on Tribal lands that the
Bureaus released concurrently with the
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice
on August 7, 2013, contains their
determinations with respect to the areas
eligible for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase
I support, with the exception of census
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
blocks covered by Auction 901 winning
bids, which may be removed from this
list by public notice at the conclusion of
the Auction 901 long-form application
review. The eligible census blocks will,
in most cases, be aggregated into
predefined bidding areas by Tribal lands
and census tracts. Eligible census blocks
in Alaska will be aggregated by Alaska
Native village statistical areas and
census tracts, and where there are not
Alaska Native village statistical areas,
bidding will be conducted on a census
block basis.
27. The Bureaus remind those
interested in seeking Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support that applicants for
Auction 902 are required to certify that
they will not seek support for any areas
in which they made a public
commitment to deploy 3G or better
service by December 31, 2012.
28. Attachment A–1 released with the
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice
provides a summary of the list of
eligible census blocks. Attachment A–2
released with the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice provides a list
of the bidding areas. Due to the large
number of eligible blocks, the complete
list of the individual blocks is provided
in electronic format only, available as a
separate ‘‘Attachment A’’ file at https://
wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/902/. In
addition to these attachments and files,
the Bureaus provide an interactive map
for this information on the Commission
Web site. The Bureaus note that the
names assigned to the bidding areas
listed in the Attachment A files have
been changed since the release of the
Auction 902 Comment Public Notice in
order to conform to the requirements of
the FCC Auction System. A crosswalk
between the names used in the
Attachment A files released with the
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice
and the names used in the Auction 902
Comment Public Notice is available on
the Commission Web site.
iii. Establishing Eligible Units
29. The Bureaus conclude that they
must use population to determine units
in Auction 902, and that they cannot
deviate from their proposal to use
Census data to determine which census
blocks are populated. The Bureaus lack
delegated authority to revise this rule to
use road miles, as some commenters
suggest, or any other metric other than
population.
30. The Bureaus conclude that the
population-based metric for comparing
bids and assessing coverage for Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I requires that the
Bureaus must exclude census blocks
without population from Auction 902
eligibility. The Bureaus recognize that
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
winning bidders may need to extend
their networks to or through
unpopulated blocks that are not eligible
for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support
in order to meet their Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I performance requirements.
The Commission’s rules with respect to
how winning bidders can use Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I funds to meet
their performance requirements do not
preclude this. Therefore, the Bureaus
decline to accept the suggestion that all
census blocks should be scored with a
minimum population of one.
31. The Bureaus further conclude that
they should not deviate from their
proposal to use Census data as the basis
for limiting eligible blocks to those
where there is a population greater than
zero. Given the Commission’s decision
to use population as the bidding
comparison unit, the Bureaus must use
reliable data on population in order to
conduct the Tribal Mobility Fund Phase
I auction.
iv. Public Interest Obligations
32. Voice and Broadband Service. All
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I recipients
must satisfy specified public interest
obligations in exchange for the support
they receive, as must all recipients of
any Connect America Fund support.
Specifically, all Connect America Fund
recipients, including Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I recipients, must offer
stand-alone voice service to the public.
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I recipients
must offer voice service with coverage
of at least 75 percent or more of the
population within the area for which
support is provided. If an awardee can
prove coverage of at least 75 percent of
the actual population associated with
the eligible census blocks within a
winning bid area, it may provide and
prove coverage in any combination
across eligible census blocks within that
single bidding area, including providing
coverage to more than 75 percent of the
population in one eligible census block
and less than 75 percent of the
population in another eligible census
block in the same bidding area. In the
alternative, the Bureaus will also permit
proof of coverage by relying on a
geographic area safe harbor, by which
an awardee may show that it is
providing coverage to at least 75 percent
of the geographic area in a census block
as a proxy for providing service to at
least 75 percent of the population
within that census block. If a winning
bidder relies on the geographic area safe
harbor for a particular winning bid area,
it must provide and prove coverage to
at least 75 percent of the geographic area
of each eligible census block within that
winning bid area. Furthermore, receipt
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support
is conditioned upon the recipient
providing service over a network that
achieves particular data rates under
particular conditions, which the
Commission, for this purpose, refers to
as 3G networks or better. The
Commission expects that ETCs that offer
standalone broadband service in any
portion of their service territory will
also offer such service in all areas that
receive Connect America Fund support.
33. Data Rates. For purposes of Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I, the Commission
refers to a network as a 3G network if
it achieves outdoor minimum data
transmission rates of 50 kilobits per
second (kbps) uplink and 200 kbps
downlink at vehicle speeds appropriate
for the areas covered. Also for purposes
of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I, the
Commission refers to a network as a 4G
network if it achieves outdoor minimum
data transmissions rates of 200 kbps
uplink and 768 kbps downlink at
vehicle speeds appropriate for the area
covered. With respect to both 3G and 4G
networks, transmission latency must be
low enough to enable the use of realtime applications, such as Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP).
34. Performance Deadlines. Winning
bidders in Auction 902 will commit to
provide service over either a 3G or a 4G
network, as those terms are used with
respect to Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I,
in their post-auction long-form
applications for support. Those parties
committing to provide service over a 3G
network must do so for at least 75
percent or more of the population
within the winning bidding area within
two years of being authorized to receive
support. Winning bidders committing to
provide service over a 4G network must
do so for at least 75 percent or more of
the population within the winning
bidding area within three years of being
authorized to receive support. To the
extent that a recipient covers population
in excess of the minimum, support will
be available for up to 100 percent of the
eligible population for which the
recipient demonstrates coverage within
the timeframe required for the
technology deployed.
35. Reasonably Comparable Rates.
Recipients of Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support must certify annually
that they offer service in supported
areas at rates that are within a
reasonable range of rates for similar
service plans offered by mobile wireless
providers in urban areas. This
requirement extends for a period ending
five years after the date of award of
support.
36. Collocation. In exchange for the
support provided, Tribal Mobility Fund
PO 00000
Frm 00024
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
56879
Phase I support recipients shall allow
for reasonable collocation by other
providers of services that would meet
the voice and data requirements of
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I on newlyconstructed towers that the recipient
owns or manages in the area for which
it receives support. Consistent with this
requirement, a recipient may not enter
into facilities access arrangements
regarding relevant facilities that restrict
any party to the arrangement from
allowing others to collocate on the
facilities.
37. Voice and Data Roaming.
Recipients of Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support must provide voice and
data roaming on networks built with the
support, consistent with the
requirements of 47 CFR 20.12, as those
rules were in effect on the date the
Commission adopted the USF/ICC
Transformation Order. This condition of
support is independent of subsequent
changes to the Commission’s rules on
voice and data roaming. In other words,
even if 47 CFR 20.12 is amended,
support recipients must continue to
meet the requirements of 47 CFR 20.12
as that rule existed as of October 27,
2011. To the extent the Commission
adopts any new rules regarding voice
and data roaming that are generally
applicable, recipients of Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support may be subject to
those new rules as well. As these
requirements, and all of the other public
interest obligations, are a condition of
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support,
violations may result in the withholding
or clawing back, i.e., return, of universal
service support in addition to any other
applicable sanctions.
v. Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
Eligibility Requirements
38. In order to participate in Auction
902 and receive Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support, an applicant must be
designated as an eligible
telecommunications carrier (ETC) for
the areas on which it wishes to bid or,
if it is a Tribally-owned or -controlled
entity, have a pending application for
ETC designation for the relevant areas
within the boundaries of the Tribal land
associated with the Tribe that owns or
controls the entity. A Tribally-owned or
-controlled entity must have its
application for ETC designation pending
at the relevant short-form application
deadline. The ETC designation must
cover a sufficient portion of the bidding
area to allow the applicant to satisfy the
applicable performance requirements. A
Tribal entity that wins support in
Auction 902 while its ETC petition is
pending must receive an ETC
designation prior to support being
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
56880
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
authorized and disbursed. Allowing a
Tribally-owned or -controlled entity to
participate at auction while its ETC
petition is pending in no way prejudges
the ultimate decision on its pending
ETC petition. Because of the lead time
necessary to receive designation as an
ETC, prospective applicants that need to
do so are strongly encouraged to initiate
the process as soon as possible in order
to increase the likelihood that they will
be eligible to participate in Auction 902.
Carriers subject to the jurisdiction of a
state in which they seek designation
should petition that state’s commission
for designation as an ETC to provide
voice service. Carriers not subject to the
jurisdiction of the relevant state
commission should petition the
Commission for designation as an ETC.
The Commission has established a
framework for determining whether a
state commission or the Commission
itself has jurisdiction to designate ETCs
on Tribal lands. First, a carrier serving
Tribal lands must petition the
Commission for a determination on
whether the state has jurisdiction over
the carrier. The Commission then
determines whether the carrier is
subject to the jurisdiction of a state
commission or whether it is subject to
a Tribal authority given the Tribal
interests involved. In the latter case, the
Commission has jurisdiction to
designate the carrier as an ETC and will
proceed to consider the merits of the
carrier’s petition for designation. The
Bureaus have provided guidance on
existing requirements for filing an ETC
application with the Commission in a
separate public notice: Eligible
Telecommunications Carrier
Designation for Participation in Mobility
Fund Phase I, 77 FR 14012, March 8,
2012. Petitions for designation as an
ETC should be filed in WC Docket No.
09–197 and WT Docket No. 10–208, and
should not be filed in the docket for
Auction 902, AU Docket No. 13–53. The
Bureaus adopted a protective order
limiting access to proprietary and
confidential information that may be
filed in WC Docket No. 09–197 and WT
Docket No. 10–208 in connection with
petitions filed for designation as an ETC
for purposes of participation in any
Mobility Fund auction.
39. An applicant for Auction 902
must also demonstrate that it has access
to the spectrum necessary to satisfy the
applicable performance requirements.
The requirement that parties have
access to spectrum applies equally to all
parties, including Tribal entities. In
addition, an applicant must certify that
it is financially and technically capable
of providing 3G or better service.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
vi. Annual Reporting and Record
Retention Requirements
40. Winning bidders that are
authorized to receive Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support are required to
submit to the Commission an annual
report each year for the five years after
being so authorized. In addition,
authorized winning bidders are required
to submit certain reports before
receiving disbursements of support.
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support
will be available for disbursement to
authorized winning bidders in three
stages, with the first disbursement made
when the winning bidder is authorized
to receive support. A winning bidder
authorized to receive Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support and all of its
agents are required to retain any
documentation prepared for, or in
connection with, the award of Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support for a
period of not less than ten years after
the date on which the winning bidder
receives its final disbursement of Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support.
B. Auction Specifics
i. Auction Start Date
41. Bidding in Auction 902 will be
held on Thursday, December 19, 2013.
Unless otherwise announced, bidding
for all eligible census blocks will be
offered at the same time.
42. The start and finish time of
bidding will be announced by public
notice approximately one week before
the start of the auction.
ii. Bidding Methodology
43. The bidding methodology for
Auction 902 will be a single-round
reverse auction format. The Commission
will conduct this auction over the
Internet using the FCC Auction System.
Qualified bidders must bid
electronically via the Internet.
Telephonic bidding will not be available
for Auction 902 because it will not be
feasible given the number of eligible
geographic areas and the manner in
which bids will be uploaded.
iii. Pre-Auction Dates and Deadlines
44. The following dates and deadlines
apply to Auction 902: (1) An auction
tutorial will be available (via Internet)
by September 25, 2013; (2) the shortform application (FCC Form 180) filing
window will open on September 25,
2013, at 12:00 noon ET; (3) the shortform application (FCC Form 180) filing
window will close on October 9, 2013,
at 6:00 p.m. ET; (4) a mock auction will
be held on December 16, 2013; and (5)
Auction 902 will be held on December
19, 2013.
PO 00000
Frm 00025
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
iv. Requirements for Participation
45. Those wishing to participate in
this auction must: (1) Submit a shortform application (FCC Form 180)
electronically prior to 6:00 p.m. ET,
October 9, 2013, following the
electronic filing procedures described in
Attachment D of the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice; and (2)
comply with all provisions outlined in
the Auction 902 Procedures Public
Notice and applicable Commission
rules.
C. Rules and Disclaimers
i. Relevant Authority
46. Prospective applicants in Auction
902 must familiarize themselves with
the Commission’s general universal
service rules, contained in 47 CFR Part
54, and the Mobility Fund specifically,
47 CFR 54.1001–54.1010. They should
also familiarize themselves with the
Commission’s decision in the USF/ICC
Transformation Order to implement the
Mobility Fund Phase I, including Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I.
47. Prospective bidders in Auction
902 must be familiar with the specific
competitive bidding rules for universal
service support contained in 47 CFR
1.21000–1.21004, as well as the
procedures, terms, and conditions
contained in the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice and all other
public notices related to Auction 902
(AU Docket No. 13–53). Additionally,
prospective Auction 902 bidders will
find it helpful to familiarize themselves
with the processes established for the
Commission’s first auction of Mobility
Fund Phase I support (Auction 901) and
with the Commission’s general
competitive bidding rules, including
recent amendments and clarifications;
and Commission decisions in
proceedings regarding competitive
bidding procedures, application
requirements, and obligations of
Commission licensees. Information on
Auction 901, including copies of all
Auction 901 public notices and auction
results, may be found on the
Commission’s Auction 901 Web page at
https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/901.
48. 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 its 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 rules and with all public
notices pertaining to this auction.
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
ii. Prohibited Communications and
Compliance With Antitrust Laws
49. To ensure the competitiveness of
the auction process, 47 CFR 1.21002
prohibits an applicant in a Mobility
Fund auction from cooperating or
collaborating with any other applicant
with respect to its own, or one
another’s, or any other competing
applicant’s bids or bidding strategies,
and from communicating with any other
applicant in any manner the substance
of its own, or one another’s, or any other
competing applicant’s bids or bidding
strategies, until after the post-auction
deadline for winning bidders to submit
applications for support, unless such
applicants are members of a joint
bidding arrangement identified on the
short-form application(s) pursuant to 47
CFR 1.21001(b)(3) and (b)(4).
50. 47 CFR 1.21002 is based on a
similar rule used in competitive bidding
for spectrum licenses, 47 CFR 1.2105(c).
Potential bidders should familiarize
themselves with 47 CFR 1.2105(c) and
1.21002, and with the judicial,
Commission, and Wireless Bureau
decisions addressing application of the
rule prohibiting certain communications
listed in Attachment E of the Auction
902 Procedures Public Notice. Because
47 CFR 1.21002 was adopted for
Mobility Fund competitive bidding
relatively recently, the Commission’s
prior experience in this area is in the
context of 47 CFR 1.2105(c). Applicants
should review information regarding the
interpretation of 47 CFR 1.2105(c) to
gain insight into the Commission’s
views on prohibited communications
during competitive bidding for Mobility
Fund support.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
a. Entities Subject to Section 1.21002,
the Rule Prohibiting Certain
Communications
51. 47 CFR 1.21002’s prohibition of
certain communications will apply to
any applicant that submits a short-form
application to participate in Auction
902. Thus, unless they have identified
each other on their short-form
applications as parties with whom they
have entered into agreements under 47
CFR 1.21001(b)(3), applicants in
Auction 902 must affirmatively avoid all
communications with or disclosures to
each other that affect or have the
potential to affect bids or bidding
strategy. In some instances, this
prohibition extends to communications
regarding the post-auction market
structure. This prohibition applies to all
applicants regardless of whether such
applicants become qualified bidders or
actually bid.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
52. All bidders will compete for
support with all other bidders in
Auction 902, regardless of the
geographic areas they seek to serve with
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support.
Therefore, applicants will be prohibited
from making certain communications
with all other applicants in Auction 902
regardless of the eligible areas for which
they seek support, unless the parties
disclose agreements reached between
them on their short-form applications.
53. For purposes of the prohibition of
certain communications, 47 CFR
1.21002 defines ‘‘applicant’’ broadly to
include the applicant, each party
capable of controlling the applicant,
including all officers and directors, and
each party that may be controlled by the
applicant or by a party capable of
controlling the applicant.
54. Individuals and entities subject to
47 CFR 1.21002 should take special care
in circumstances where their officers,
directors, and employees may receive
information directly or indirectly
relating to any competing applicant’s
bids or bidding strategies. For example,
the Wireless Bureau has found that
when an individual serves as an officer
for two or more applicants, the bids and
bidding strategies of one applicant are
conveyed to the other applicant, and,
absent a disclosed bidding agreement,
an apparent violation of the rule
prohibiting certain communications
occurs. The Wireless Bureau has not
addressed a situation where nonprincipals (i.e., those who are not
officers or directors, and thus not
considered to be the applicant) receive
information regarding a competing
applicant’s bids or bidding strategies
and whether that information should be
presumed to be communicated to the
applicant.
55. Moreover, the Bureaus encourage
Auction 902 applicants not to use the
same individual authorized bidder as is
used by another applicant. A violation
of 47 CFR 1.21002 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 such applicants. Also, if the
authorized bidders are different
individuals employed by the same
organization (e.g., a law firm,
engineering firm, or consulting firm), a
violation similarly could occur. 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 the
applicant and its bidders will comply
with 47 CFR 1.21002.
PO 00000
Frm 00026
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
56881
b. Prohibition Applies Until Long-Form
Application Deadline
56. The 47 CFR 1.21002 prohibition of
certain communications begins at the
short-form application filing deadline
and ends at the long-form application
deadline after the auction closes, which
will be announced in a future public
notice.
c. Prohibited Communications
57. Applicants must not communicate
directly or indirectly about bids or
bidding strategy to other applicants in
this auction. 47 CFR 1.21002 prohibits
not only communication about an
applicant’s own bids or bidding
strategy, but also communications about
another applicant’s bids or bidding
strategy. While 47 CFR 1.21002 does not
prohibit non-auction-related business
negotiations among auction applicants,
each applicant must remain vigilant so
as not to directly or indirectly
communicate information that affects,
or could affect, bids or bidding
strategies.
58. Applicants are cautioned that the
Commission remains vigilant about
prohibited communications taking place
outside of the auction itself. For
example, the Commission has warned
that prohibited ‘‘communications
concerning bids and bidding strategies
may include communications regarding
capital calls or requests for additional
funds in support of bids or bidding
strategies to the extent such
communications convey information
concerning the bids and bidding
strategies directly or indirectly.’’
Moreover, the Commission has found a
violation of the rule against prohibited
communications where an applicant
used the Commission’s bidding system
to disclose ‘‘its bidding strategy in a
manner that explicitly invited other
auction participants to cooperate and
collaborate in specific markets,’’ and has
placed auction participants on notice
that the use of its bidding system ‘‘to
disclose market information to
competitors will not be tolerated and
will subject bidders to sanctions.’’
Applicants also should use caution in
their dealings with other parties, such as
members of the press, financial analysts,
or others who might become conduits
for the communication of prohibited
bidding information. For example, an
applicant’s statement to the press that it
intends to stop bidding in the auction
could give rise to a finding of a 47 CFR
1.21002 violation. Similarly, an
applicant’s public statement of intent
not to participate in Auction 902
bidding could also violate the rule.
Applicants are hereby placed on notice
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
56882
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
that public disclosure of information
relating to bids, bidding strategies, or
post-auction market structures may
violate 47 CFR 1.21002.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
d. Disclosure of Bidding Agreements
and Arrangements
59. The Commission’s rules do not
prohibit applicants from entering into
otherwise lawful bidding agreements
before filing their short-form
applications, as long as they disclose the
existence of the agreements in their
short-form applications. Applicants
must identify in their short-form
applications all parties with whom they
have entered into any agreements,
arrangements, or understandings of any
kind relating to the Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support they seek,
including any agreements relating to
post-auction market structure.
60. If parties agree in principle on all
material terms prior to the short-form
application filing deadline, each party
to the agreement must identify the other
party or parties to the agreement on its
short-form application under 47 CFR
1.21001(b)(3), even if the agreement has
not been reduced to writing. If the
parties have not agreed in principle by
the short-form filing deadline, they
should not include the names of parties
to discussions on their applications, and
they may not continue negotiation,
discussion or communication with any
other applicants after the short-form
application filing deadline.
61. 47 CFR 1.21002 does not prohibit
non-auction-related business
negotiations among auction applicants.
However, certain discussions or
exchanges could touch upon
impermissible subject matters because
they may convey pricing information
and bidding strategies. Such subject
areas include, but are not limited to,
issues such as management, sales, local
marketing agreements, and other
transactional agreements.
e. Section 1.21001(b)(4)–(5) Applicant
Certifications
62. By electronically submitting a
short-form application, each applicant
in Auction 902 certifies its compliance
with 47 CFR 1.21001(b)(3) and 1.21002.
In particular, an applicant must certify
under penalty of perjury that the
application discloses all real parties in
interest to any agreements involving the
applicant’s participation in the
competitive bidding for Tribal Mobility
Fund support. Also, the applicant must
certify that it and all applicable parties
have complied with and will continue
to comply with 47 CFR 1.21002.
63. The Bureaus caution, however,
that merely filing a certifying statement
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
as part of an application will not
outweigh specific evidence that a
prohibited communication has
occurred, nor will it preclude the
initiation of an investigation when
warranted. The Commission has stated
that it ‘‘intend[s] to scrutinize carefully
any instances in which bidding patterns
suggest that collusion may be
occurring.’’ Any applicant found to have
violated 47 CFR 1.21001(b)(4) or (b)(5)
may be subject to sanctions.
f. Duty To Report Prohibited
Communications
64. 47 CFR 1.21002(c) provides that
any applicant that makes or receives a
communication that appears to violate
47 CFR 1.21002 must report such
communication in writing to the
Commission immediately, and in no
case later than five business days after
the communication occurs. An
applicant’s obligation to make such a
report continues until the report has
been made. This reporting requirement
applies even if the communication of
bids or bidding strategies does not result
in a bidding arrangement, agreement, or
understanding.
65. In addition, 47 CFR 1.65 requires
an applicant to maintain the accuracy
and completeness of information
furnished in its pending application and
to notify the Commission of any
substantial change that may be of
decisional significance to that
application. Thus, 47 CFR 1.65 requires
an Auction 902 applicant to notify the
Commission of any substantial change
to the information or certifications
included in its pending short-form
application. An applicant is therefore
required by 47 CFR 1.65 to report to the
Commission any communication the
applicant has made to or received from
another applicant after the short-form
application filing deadline that affects
or has the potential to affect bids or
bidding strategy, unless such
communication is made to or received
from a party to an agreement identified
under 47 CFR 1.21001(b)(3) and (b)(4).
66. 47 CFR 1.65(a) and 1.21002
require each applicant in competitive
bidding proceedings to furnish
additional or corrected information
within five days of a significant
occurrence, or to amend its short-form
application no more than five days after
the applicant becomes aware of the need
for amendment. These rules are
intended to facilitate the auction
process by making the information
available promptly to all participants
and to enable the Bureaus to act
expeditiously on those changes when
such action is necessary.
PO 00000
Frm 00027
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
g. Procedure for Reporting Prohibited
Communications
67. A party reporting any prohibited
communication pursuant to 47 CFR
1.65, 1.21001(b), or 1.21002(c) must take
care to ensure that any report of the
prohibited communication does not
itself give rise to a violation of 47 CFR
1.21002. For example, a party’s report of
a prohibited communication could
violate the rule by communicating
prohibited information to other
applicants through the use of
Commission filing procedures that
would allow such materials to be made
available for public inspection.
68. Parties must file only a single
report concerning a prohibited
communication and must file that report
with Commission personnel expressly
charged with administering the
Commission’s auctions. This process
differs from filing procedures used in
connection with other Commission
rules and processes which may call for
submission of filings to the
Commission’s Office of the Secretary or
via the Commission’s Electronic
Comment Filing System (ECFS). Filing
through the Office of the Secretary or
ECFS could allow the report to become
publicly available and might result in
the communication of prohibited
information to other auction applicants.
This rule is designed to minimize the
risk of inadvertent dissemination of
information in such reports. Any reports
required by 47 CFR 1.21002(c) must be
filed consistent with the instructions set
forth in the Auction 902 Procedures
Public Notice. For Auction 902, such
reports must be filed with the Chief of
the Auctions and Spectrum Access
Division, Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau, by the most expeditious means
available. Any such report should be
submitted by email to the following
email address: auction902@fcc.gov. If
you choose instead to submit a report in
hard copy, any such report must be
delivered only to Margaret W. Wiener,
Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access
Division, Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau, Federal Communications
Commission, 445 12th Street SW., Room
6423, Washington, DC 20554.
69. A party seeking to report such a
prohibited communication should
consider submitting its report with a
request that the report or portions of the
submission be withheld from public
inspection by following the procedures
specified in 47 CFR 0.459. Filers
requesting confidential treatment of
documents must be sure that the cover
page of the filing prominently displays
that the documents seek confidential
treatment. For example, a filing might
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
include a cover page stamped with
‘‘Request for Confidential Treatment
Attached’’ or ‘‘Not for Public
Inspection.’’ Any such request must
cover all of the material to which the
request applies. The Bureaus encourage
such parties to coordinate with the
Auctions and Spectrum Access Division
staff about the procedures for submitting
such reports.
h. Winning Bidders May Need To
Disclose Terms of Agreements
70. Each applicant that is a winning
bidder may be required to disclose in its
long-form application the specific terms,
conditions, and parties involved in any
agreement it has entered into. This may
apply to any bidding consortium, joint
venture, partnership, or agreement,
understanding, or other arrangement
entered into relating to the competitive
bidding process, including any
agreement relating to the post-auction
market structure. Failure to comply with
the Commission’s rules can result in
enforcement action.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
i. Additional Information Concerning
Rule Prohibiting Certain
Communications
71. A summary listing of documents
issued by the Commission and the
Wireless Bureau addressing the
application of the rule prohibiting
certain communications may be found
in Attachment E of the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice. These
documents are available on the
Commission’s auction Web page at
https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/
prohibited_communications.
j. Antitrust Laws
72. The Bureaus also remind
applicants that, regardless of
compliance with the Commission’s
rules, they remain subject to the
antitrust laws, which are designed to
prevent anticompetitive behavior in the
marketplace. Compliance with the
disclosure requirements of 47 CFR
1.21002 will not insulate a party from
enforcement of the antitrust laws. For
instance, a violation of the antitrust
laws could arise out of actions taking
place well before any party submitted a
short-form application. The Commission
has cited a number of examples of
potentially anticompetitive actions that
would be prohibited under antitrust
laws: For example, actual or potential
competitors may not agree to divide
territories in order to minimize
competition, regardless of whether they
split a market in which they both do
business, or whether they merely
reserve one market for one and another
market for the other. Similarly, the
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
Wireless Bureau previously reminded
potential applicants and others that
‘‘[e]ven where the applicant discloses
parties with whom it has reached an
agreement on the short-form
application, thereby permitting
discussions with those parties, the
applicant is nevertheless subject to
existing antitrust laws.’’
73. To the extent the Commission
becomes aware of specific allegations
that suggest that violations of the federal
antitrust laws may have occurred, the
Commission may refer such allegations
to the United States Department of
Justice for investigation. If an applicant
is found to have violated the antitrust
laws or the Commission’s rules in
connection with its participation in the
competitive bidding process, it may be
subject to a forfeiture and may be
prohibited from participating in future
auctions, among other sanctions.
iii. Due Diligence
74. The Bureaus remind each
potential bidder that it has sole
responsibility for investigating and
evaluating all technical and marketplace
factors that may have a bearing on the
level of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
support it submits as a bid in Auction
902. Each bidder is responsible for
assuring that, if it wins the support, it
will be able to build and operate
facilities in accordance with the
Mobility Fund obligations and the
Commission’s rules generally.
75. Applicants should be aware that
Auction 902 represents an opportunity
to apply for Mobility Fund support,
subject to certain conditions and
regulations. Auction 902 does not
constitute an endorsement by the FCC of
any particular service, technology, or
product, nor does Mobility Fund
support constitute a guarantee of
business success.
76. An applicant should perform its
due diligence research and analysis
before proceeding, as it would with any
new business venture. In particular, the
Bureaus strongly encourage each
potential bidder to review all
underlying Commission orders,
including the USF/ICC Transformation
Order. Each potential bidder should
perform technical analyses or refresh its
previous analyses to assure itself that,
should it become a winning bidder for
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support, it
will be able to build and operate
facilities that will fully comply with all
applicable technical and legal
requirements. The Bureaus strongly
encourage each applicant to inspect any
prospective transmitter sites located in,
or near, the service area for which it
plans to construct transmitters with
PO 00000
Frm 00028
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
56883
Mobility Fund support, to confirm the
availability of such sites, and to
familiarize itself with the Commission’s
rules regarding environmental
compliance.
77. The Bureaus strongly encourage
each applicant to conduct its own
research prior to Auction 902 in order
to determine the existence of pending
administrative or judicial proceedings
that might affect its decision to
participate in the auction. The due
diligence considerations mentioned in
the Auction 902 Procedures Public
Notice do not comprise an exhaustive
list of steps that should be undertaken
prior to participating in this auction. As
always, the burden is on the potential
bidder to determine how much research
to undertake, depending upon specific
facts and circumstances related to its
interests.
78. The Bureaus also remind each
applicant that pending and future
judicial proceedings, as well as certain
pending and future proceedings before
the Commission—including
applications for modification, petitions
for rulemaking, requests for special
temporary authority, waiver requests,
petitions to deny, petitions for
reconsideration, informal objections,
and applications for review—may relate
to particular licensees or applicants for
support in Auction 902. Each
prospective applicant is responsible for
assessing the likelihood of the various
possible outcomes and for considering
the potential impact on Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support available through
this auction.
79. Each applicant is solely
responsible for identifying associated
risks and for investigating and
evaluating the degree to which such
matters may affect its ability to bid on
or otherwise receive Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support. Each potential
bidder is responsible for undertaking
research to ensure that any support won
in this auction will be suitable for its
business plans and needs. Each
potential bidder must undertake its own
assessment of the relevance and
importance of information gathered as
part of its due diligence efforts.
80. 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,
it must obtain or verify such
information from independent sources
or assume the risk of any
incompleteness or inaccuracy in said
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
56884
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
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 its databases.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
iv. Use of FCC Auction System
81. Bidders will be able to participate
in Auction 902 over the Internet using
the FCC Auction System. The
Commission makes no warranty
whatsoever with respect to the FCC
Auction System. In no event shall the
Commission, or any of its officers,
employees, or agents, be liable for any
damages whatsoever (including, but not
limited to, loss of business profits,
business interruption, loss of business
information, or any other loss) arising
out of or relating to the existence,
furnishing, functioning, or use of the
FCC Auction System that is accessible
to qualified bidders in connection with
this auction. Moreover, no obligation or
liability will arise out of the
Commission’s technical, programming,
or other advice or service provided in
connection with the FCC Auction
System.
v. Environmental Review Requirements
82. Recipients of Mobility Fund
support, like all licensees, must comply
with the Commission’s rules regarding
implementation of the National
Environmental Policy Act and other
federal environmental statutes. The
construction of a wireless antenna
facility is a federal action, and any
entity constructing a wireless antenna
facility must comply with the
Commission’s environmental rules for
each such facility. The Commission’s
environmental rules require, among
other things, that the entity constructing
the facility consult with expert agencies
having environmental responsibilities,
including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, the State Historic Preservation
Office, the Army Corps of Engineers,
and the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (through the local authority
with jurisdiction over floodplains). If
the facility will not be located on Tribal
lands as defined in the Nationwide
Programmatic Agreement Regarding the
Section 106 National Historic
Preservation Act Review Process (NPA),
the entity constructing the facility must
follow the provisions of the NPA in
assessing the effect of facilities
construction on historic properties.
However, if the facility will be located
on Tribal lands as defined in the NPA,
the entity must follow the procedures
set forth in the rules of the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation. The
NPA defines Tribal lands as ‘‘all lands
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
within the exterior boundaries of any
Indian reservation and all dependent
Indian communities,’’ and does not
include Native Hawaiian Home Lands.
The entity must prepare environmental
assessments for facilities that may have
a significant impact in or on wilderness
areas, wildlife preserves, threatened or
endangered species or designated
critical habitats, historical or
archaeological sites, Indian religious
sites, floodplains, and surface features.
The entity also must prepare
environmental assessments for facilities
that include high intensity white lights
in residential neighborhoods or
excessive radio frequency emission, or
that are over 450 feet in height.
Facilities that require antenna
registration will also be required to
complete an environmental notification
process.
III. Short-Form Application
Requirements
A. General Information Regarding
Short-Form Applications
83. An application to participate in
Auction 902, referred to as a short-form
application or FCC Form 180, provides
information used to determine whether
the applicant is legally, technically, and
financially qualified to participate in
Commission auctions for universal
service funding support. The short-form
application is the first part of the
Commission’s two-phased auction
application process. In the first phase,
each party desiring to participate in the
auction must file a streamlined, shortform application in which it certifies
under penalty of perjury as to its
qualifications. Each applicant must take
seriously its duties and responsibilities
and carefully determine before filing an
application that it has the legal,
technical, and financial resources to
participate in the auction and to meet
the public interest obligations
associated with Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support. Eligibility to participate
in bidding is based on the applicant’s
short-form application and
certifications. In the second phase of the
process, each winning bidder must file
a more comprehensive long-form
application (FCC Form 680).
84. Every entity seeking support
available in Auction 902 must file a
short-form application electronically via
the FCC Auction System prior to 6:00
p.m. ET on October 9, 2013, following
the procedures prescribed in
Attachment D to the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice. The shortform application requires each applicant
to establish its eligibility for bidding for
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support.
PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Among other things, to establish
eligibility at the short-form stage, an
applicant must certify that it is a
designated ETC in any geographic area
for which it will seek support, or that it
is a Tribally-owned or -controlled entity
with a pending application for ETC
designation, and provide the Study Area
Codes (SACs) associated with its ETC
designation and/or provide the names of
its corresponding Tribal lands in lieu of
SACs. Each applicant will also be
required to provide a general narrative
description of its access to the spectrum
it plans to use to meet Mobility Fund
obligations in the particular areas for
which it plans to bid and certify that it
will retain its access to the spectrum for
at least five years from the date of award
of support. If an applicant claims
eligibility for a bidding credit as a
Tribally-owned or -controlled entity, the
information provided in its FCC Form
180 will be used in determining
whether the applicant is eligible for the
claimed bidding credit. Each applicant
bears full responsibility for submitting
an accurate, complete, and timely shortform application. Each applicant must
certify on its short-form application
under penalty of perjury that it is
legally, technically, financially, and
otherwise qualified to receive universal
service support funding. Each applicant
should read carefully the instructions
set forth in Attachment D to the Auction
902 Procedures Public Notice and
should consult the Commission’s rules
to ensure that all of the information
required is included in its short-form
application.
85. A party may not submit more than
one short-form application for Auction
902. If a party submits multiple shortform applications, only one application
may be accepted for filing.
86. Each applicant also should note
that submission of a short-form
application (and any amendments
thereto) constitutes a representation by
the certifying official that he or she is an
authorized representative of the
applicant, that he or she has read the
form’s instructions and certifications,
and that the contents of the application,
its certifications, and any attachments
are true and correct. An applicant is not
permitted to make major modifications
to its application; such impermissible
changes include a change of the
certifying official to the application.
Submission of a false certification to the
Commission may result in penalties,
including monetary forfeitures, the
forfeiture of universal service support,
license forfeitures, ineligibility to
participate in future auctions, and/or
criminal prosecution.
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
B. SAC Identification
87. An applicant will not be required
to select the specific census blocks on
which it wishes to bid when submitting
its short-form application. Based on the
SACs or Tribal lands information
entered by an applicant, the FCC
Auction System will identify during the
application process bidding areas for
which the applicant may be eligible.
The FCC Auction System will identify
the bidding areas on which the
applicant is potentially eligible to bid
based on information provided in the
applicant’s FCC Form 180. Applicants
are reminded that this is not a
determination of eligibility under the
Commission’s rules. The identification
of an area as one in which the applicant
is potentially eligible to bid does not
mean that the applicant is actually
eligible to bid for support in that area.
Some of the areas may be outside the
areas for which a bidder is actually
eligible to bid pursuant to the
Commission’s rules—i.e., the areas in
which it is designated as an ETC or, in
the case of a Tribally-owned or
-controlled entity, areas in its Tribal
lands for which it has a pending
petition for designation as an ETC.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
C. Disclosure of Bidding Arrangements
88. An applicant will be required to
identify in its short-form application all
real parties in interest to any agreements
relating to the participation of the
applicant in the competitive bidding for
Tribal Mobility Fund support.
89. Each applicant will also be
required to certify under penalty of
perjury in its short-form application that
it has disclosed all real parties in
interest to any agreements involving the
applicant’s participation in the
competitive bidding for Tribal Mobility
Fund support. If an applicant has had
discussions, but has not reached an
agreement by the short-form application
filing deadline, it should not include the
names of parties to the discussions on
its application and may not continue
such discussions with any other
applicant after the deadline.
90. Moreover, each applicant will also
be required to certify under penalty of
perjury in its short-form application that
it and all applicable parties have
complied with and will continue to
comply with 47 CFR 1.21002, the rule
prohibiting certain communications.
While 47 CFR 1.21002 does not prohibit
non-auction-related business
negotiations among auction applicants,
the Bureaus remind applicants that
certain discussions or exchanges could
touch upon impermissible subject
matters because they may convey
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
pricing information and bidding
strategies. Further, compliance with the
disclosure requirements of 47 CFR
1.21002 will not insulate a party from
enforcement of the antitrust laws.
D. Ownership Disclosure Requirements
91. Each applicant must comply with
the uniform Part 1 ownership disclosure
standards and provide information
required by 47 CFR 54.1005(a)(1) and
1.2112(a) (47 CFR 54.1005(a)(1) requires
the disclosure on the short-form
application of the applicant’s ownership
information as set forth in 47 CFR
1.2112(a)). Specifically, in completing
the short-form application, an applicant
will be required to fully disclose
information on the real party- or partiesin-interest and the ownership structure
of the applicant, including both direct
and indirect ownership interests of 10
percent or more, as prescribed in 47
CFR 1.2112(a). Each applicant is
responsible for ensuring that
information submitted in its short-form
application is complete and accurate.
92. In certain circumstances, an
applicant’s most current ownership
information on file with the
Commission, if in an electronic format
compatible with the short-form
application (such as information
submitted in an FCC Form 602 or in an
FCC Form 175 filed for a previous
Commission spectrum license auction,
or FCC Form 180 for a previous Mobility
Fund auction using the FCC Auction
System), will automatically be entered
into the applicant’s short-form
application (FCC Form 180). Each
applicant must carefully review any
information automatically entered to
confirm that it is complete and accurate
as of the deadline for filing the shortform application for Auction 902. Any
information that needs to be corrected
or updated must be changed directly in
the short-form application.
E. Specific Tribal Mobility Fund Phase
I Eligibility Requirements and
Certifications
i. ETC Designation Certification
93. In the USF/ICC Transformation
Order, the Commission concluded that,
in order to apply to participate in an
auction offering Mobility Fund support,
any entity first had to be designated as
an ETC pursuant to section 214 of the
Communications Act in any geographic
area for which it seeks support, with
one narrow exception for Triballyowned or -controlled entities. An
applicant must be the entity designated
by a state or the Commission as an ETC
in that geographic area. For example, if
a designated ETC is a subsidiary of a
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
56885
parent holding company, only the
subsidiary that is designated an ETC,
and not the holding company, would be
eligible to participate in the auction. For
purposes of participation in the
Mobility Fund, a party’s ETC
designation may not be limited in any
way. Accordingly, a party designated as
an ETC solely for purposes of the Low
Income Program cannot satisfy the ETC
eligibility requirement for the Mobility
Fund on that basis. Of course, nothing
prohibits such a party from seeking a
general designation as an ETC and then,
if it receives such a designation,
participating in the Mobility Fund.
94. ETC status carries with it certain
obligations. So that a party might obtain
the required ETC designation but not be
subject to those obligations unless and
until it wins any Mobility Fund support,
the Commission further determined that
a party might participate with an ETC
designation conditioned upon the party
winning support in the auction. The
Bureaus note that prior to Auction 901,
where the Commission granted a
conditional designation, it did so
contingent only on the applicant
winning Mobility Fund Phase I support,
thus requiring no additional substantive
determinations post-auction. The
Bureaus anticipate that the Commission
will grant any request for conditional
designation in the same manner for
Auction 902, and they suggest that an
applicant be mindful of this approach
when requesting a similar determination
from its state’s designating authority. At
the short-form application stage, an
applicant will be required to state that
it is designated as an ETC in any area
for which it will seek support or is a
Tribal entity with a pending application
to become an ETC in any such area, and
certify that the disclosure is accurate. A
winning bidder will be required to
provide proof of its ETC designation in
all of the areas in which it will receive
support before it may receive support.
95. The Commission further decided
to permit participation by a Triballyowned or -controlled entity that at the
short-form application deadline has an
application for ETC designation pending
for the provision of service within the
boundaries of the associated Tribal land.
The Commission did so to afford Tribes
an increased opportunity to participate
at auction, in recognition of their
interest in self-government and selfprovisioning on their own lands.
However, allowing such participation at
auction in no way prejudges the
ultimate decision on a Tribally-owned
or -controlled entity’s petition for ETC
designation. Moreover, support will be
disbursed only after an applicant
receives such designation. A Tribally-
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
56886
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
owned or -controlled entity that does
not obtain and provide the required ETC
designation will not be entitled to any
support payments and may ultimately
be in default in accordance with the
rules. A Tribally-owned or -controlled
entity whose application for ETC
designation remains pending at the
short-form application deadline should
provide the date the application was
filed, with whom (i.e., the Commission
or relevant state regulatory agency), any
file or case number associated with the
application, and its current status. The
following entities may be designated as
qualifying Tribal entities: (1) Tribes,
which are federally-recognized
American Indian Tribes and Alaska
Native Villages; (2) Tribal consortia; and
(3) entities that are more than 50 percent
owned and controlled by a Tribe or
Tribes.
96. GRIC/GRTI supports the
Commission’s rule requiring an
applicant to state on its short-form
application that it is designated as an
ETC in any area for which it will seek
support or is a Tribal entity with a
pending application to become an ETC
in any such area, and to certify that the
disclosure is accurate. Bad River Tribe,
however, argues that the Commission
should only impose this requirement as
a post-auction condition of funding.
NTUA notes with concern that the
lengthy timeframe that can be associated
with resolving ETC applications may
create a chilling effect on Tribal
participation in the auction.
97. The Commission adopted the
requirement that, at the time of the
short-form filing deadline, an Auction
902 applicant must be designated as an
ETC for the areas on which it wishes to
bid or, if it is a Tribally-owned or
-controlled entity, have a pending
application for ETC designation for the
relevant areas within the boundaries of
the Tribal land associated with the Tribe
that owns or controls the entity. These
ETC designation rules cannot be
amended in the context of establishing
procedures for Auction 902.
98. Pursuant to the rules, an
applicant’s ETC designation must cover
a sufficient portion of the bidding area
to allow it to satisfy the applicable
performance requirements.
Additionally, as explained in the USF/
ICC Transformation Order, a Tribal
entity that wins support in Auction 902
while its ETC petition is pending must
receive an ETC designation prior to
support being authorized. Although the
Bureaus realize that in some limited
situations the ETC designation process
can be arduous, the Commission takes
significant efforts to resolve pending
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
filings before it in an expeditious
manner.
ii. Access to Spectrum Description and
Certification
99. Pursuant to the rules that the
Commission adopted in the USF/ICC
Transformation Order, and as explained
in the Auction 902 Comment Public
Notice, any applicant for Auction 902
must have access to the necessary
spectrum to fulfill any obligations
related to support. In an application to
participate in Auction 902, each
applicant must describe its required
spectrum access and certify that the
description is accurate and that the
applicant will retain such access for at
least five years from the date on which
it is authorized to receive support.
Specifically, an applicant will be
required to disclose whether it currently
holds, leases, or has otherwise
contracted for access to spectrum
consistent with Commission rules and
whether such spectrum access is
contingent on obtaining support in
Auction 902. For the described
spectrum access to be sufficient as of the
date of the short-form application, the
applicant must obtain any necessary
approvals from the Commission for the
spectrum access prior to filing the
application. A pending request for such
an approval is not sufficient to satisfy
this requirement. Furthermore, only
assured access is sufficient, which
means that the access must be to
licensed spectrum subject to limited
access.
100. Tribal entities responding to the
Auction 902 Comment Public Notice
reiterated policy concerns that have
been raised in another rulemaking
proceeding concerning the use of
spectrum over Tribal lands and the
difficulties Tribes face in acquiring
spectrum in the secondary market.
Several Tribal entities contend that
requiring auction participants to have
spectrum access as of the date they file
their short-form applications for
Auction 902 may preclude many Tribes
from participating. Other Tribal entities
urge the Commission to delay an
applicant’s certification regarding access
to spectrum in the pre-auction phase of
Auction 902, and to instead impose the
rule on winning bidders as a condition
of funding.
101. In the USF/ICC Transformation
Order, the Commission rejected the
suggestion of some commenters to apply
a more relaxed standard that might
allow entities to seek to acquire access
to spectrum only after becoming a
winning bidder. The Commission
instead concluded that ‘‘failing to
ensure spectrum access, on at least a
PO 00000
Frm 00031
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
conditional basis, prior to entering a
Mobility Fund Auction would be
inconsistent with the serious
undertaking implicit in bidding for
support.’’
102. The requirement for an applicant
to obtain access to spectrum as of the
date of the short-form application was
adopted by the Commission as a rule
and cannot be amended in the context
of establishing procedures for Auction
902. The Bureaus recognize the
challenges all applicants may face in
negotiating access to spectrum over
Tribal lands. The Mobility Fund rules
afford entities the flexibility to consider
whatever spectrum arrangements might
meet their individual needs, as long as
those arrangements comply with all
Mobility Fund Phase I and other
regulatory requirements. Accordingly,
an applicant for Auction 902 should
identify the license applicable to the
spectrum to be accessed, the licensee,
and, if the licensee is a different party
than the applicant, the relationship
between the applicant and the licensee
that provides the applicant with the
required access sufficient to fulfill its
obligations related to the support. With
the exception of the certification, the
terms of which are set forth in FCC
Form 180, an applicant must provide all
required information relating to
spectrum access in an attachment to
FCC Form 180, designated as a
‘‘Spectrum Access’’ attachment.
iii. Financial and Technical Capability
Certification
103. The Commission requires that an
applicant certify in the pre-auction
short-form application that it is
financially and technically capable of
providing 3G or better service within
the specified timeframe in the
geographic areas for which it seeks
support. This certification indicates that
an applicant for Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I funds can provide the requisite
service without any assurance of
ongoing support for the areas in
question after Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support has been exhausted. An
applicant should be aware that in
making a certification to the
Commission it exposes itself to liability
for a false certification. An applicant
should take care to review its resources
and its plans before making the required
certification and be prepared to
document its review, if necessary.
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
iv. Certification That Applicant Will Not
Seek Support for Areas in Which It Has
Made a Public Commitment To Deploy
3G or Better Service by December 31,
2012
104. The Commission requires each
applicant for Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support to certify that the
applicant will not seek support for any
areas for which it made a public
commitment to deploy 3G or better
wireless service by December 31, 2012.
In determining whether an applicant
made such a public commitment, the
Bureaus would consider any public
statement made with some specificity as
to geographic area, time period, and
level of service. This requirement helps
to assure that Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support will not go to finance
coverage that carriers would have
provided in the near term without any
subsidy. Furthermore, the requirement
may conserve funds and avoid
displacing private investment by
making a carrier that made such a
commitment ineligible for Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support with
respect to the relevant geographic area.
Because circumstances are more likely
to change over a longer term, the
Bureaus do not hold providers to any
statements for any time period beyond
December 31, 2012. Applicants should
note that this restriction does not
prevent a party from seeking and
receiving support for an eligible
geographic area where another provider
has announced such a commitment to
deploy 3G or better wireless service.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
F. Tribally-Owned or -Controlled
Providers—25% Reverse Bidding Credit
105. The Commission adopted a 25
percent ‘‘reverse’’ bidding credit for
Tribally-owned or -controlled providers
seeking either general or Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support. In order to be
eligible for the bidding credit, a
qualifying Tribally-owned or -controlled
provider must certify in its short-form
application that it is qualified and
identify the applicable Tribe and Tribal
lands.
106. The bidding credit will
effectively reduce the Tribal entity’s bid
amount by 25 percent for the purpose of
comparing it to other bids, thus
increasing the likelihood that Triballyowned and -controlled entities will
receive funding. If the Tribally-owned
or -controlled entity were to win,
support would be calculated at the full,
undiscounted bid amount. The
preference is available with respect to
the eligible census blocks located within
the geographic area defined by the
boundaries of the Tribal land associated
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
with the Tribally-owned or -controlled
provider seeking support.
107. The bidding credit adopted by
the Commission applies only to
Tribally-owned or -controlled entities
with respect to bids for support within
the boundaries of associated Tribal
lands. In the USF/ICC Transformation
Order, the Commission declined to
adopt other types of bidding credits or
prioritization mechanisms. The rule
cannot be amended in the context of
establishing procedures for Auction 902,
and thus cannot be extended to apply to
any entities that are not in fact owned
or controlled by the Tribe or to areas
outside of the Tribe’s own Tribal lands.
108. The Bureaus note that although
the bidding credit applies to Triballyowned or -controlled entities, it was
adopted in recognition of Tribes’
interest in self-government and selfprovisioning on their own lands, and
with the Commission’s unique
government-to-government relationship
with Tribes in mind. As such, the
Bureaus retain discretion to look behind
assertions of Tribal ownership and
assertions of Tribal control to ensure
that the Tribe is the true beneficiary of
the bidding credit. This standard would
be satisfied by the following entities: (1)
Tribes (federally-recognized American
Indian Tribes and Alaska Native
Villages); (2) Tribal consortia; and (3)
entities that are more than 50 percent
owned and controlled by a Tribe or
Tribes.
G. Commission Red Light Rules
109. Applications to participate in
Auction 902 are subject to the
Commission’s rules regarding an
applicant with delinquent debts, often
referred to as the Commission’s Red
Light Rules. Parties familiar with
spectrum license auctions should note
that the stricter spectrum license
application rules supersede the
Commission’s Red Light Rules in the
context of a spectrum license auction.
No corresponding provision applies
with respect to Auction 902, however.
Accordingly, the Commission’s standard
Red Light Rules will apply. Pursuant to
the Red Light Rules, unless otherwise
expressly provided for, the Commission
will withhold action on an application
by any entity found to be delinquent in
its debt to the Commission for purposes
of the Red Light Rule. Accordingly,
parties interested in filing applications
to participate in Auction 902 should
review the status of any debts that they
owe the Commission before submitting
their application and resolve any
delinquent debts. The Commission
maintains a Red Light Display System
(RLD) to enable entities doing business
PO 00000
Frm 00032
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
56887
with the FCC to determine if they have
any outstanding delinquent debt. The
RLD enables a party to check the status
of its account by individual FCC
Registration Numbers (FRNs), and links
other FRNs sharing the same Tax
Identification Number (TIN) when
determining whether there are
outstanding delinquent debts. The RLD
is available at https://www.fcc.gov/
redlight/. Additional information is
available at https://transition.fcc.gov/
debt_collection/.
H. USF Debarment
110. The Commission’s rules provide
for the debarment of those convicted of
or found civilly liable for defrauding the
high-cost support program. Applicants
are reminded that those rules apply
with equal force to the Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I.
I. Minor Modifications to Short-Form
Applications
111. After the deadline for filing
short-form applications, an Auction 902
applicant is permitted to make only
minor changes to its application.
Permissible minor changes include,
among other things, deletion and
addition of authorized bidders (to a
maximum of three) and revision of the
addresses and telephone numbers of the
applicant and its contact person. An
applicant is not permitted to make a
major modification to its application
(e.g., change in control of the applicant
or change of the certifying official) after
the initial application filing deadline.
Thus, any change in control of an
applicant, resulting from a merger, for
example, will be considered a major
modification, and the application will
consequently be dismissed. The Bureaus
reiterate that even if an applicant’s
short-form application is dismissed, the
applicant would remain subject to the
communication prohibitions of 47 CFR
1.21002 until the long-form application
deadline after the auction closes.
112. If an applicant wishes to make
permissible minor changes to its shortform application, such changes should
be made electronically to its short-form
application using the FCC Auction
System whenever possible. For the
change to be submitted and considered
by the Commission, be sure to click on
the SUBMIT button. After the revised
application has been submitted, a
confirmation page will be displayed that
states the submission time, submission
date, and a unique file number. The
Bureaus advise applicants to print and
retain a copy of this confirmation page.
113. An applicant cannot use the FCC
Auction System outside of the initial
and resubmission filing windows to
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
56888
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
make changes to its short-form
application other than administrative
changes (e.g., changing certain contact
information or the name of an
authorized bidder). If permissible minor
changes need to be made outside of
these windows, the applicant must
submit a letter briefly summarizing the
changes and subsequently update its
short-form application in the FCC
Auction System once it is available.
Moreover, after the filing window has
closed, the system will not permit
applicants to make certain changes,
such as the applicant’s legal
classification.
114. Any letter describing changes to
an applicant’s short-form application
must be submitted by email to
auction902@fcc.gov. The email
summarizing the changes must include
a subject or caption referring to Auction
902 and the name of the applicant, for
example, ‘‘RE: Changes to Auction 902
Short-Form Application of ABC Corp.’’
The Bureaus request that parties format
any attachments to email as Adobe®
Acrobat® (pdf) or Microsoft® Word
documents. Questions about short-form
application amendments should be
directed to the Auctions and Spectrum
Access Division at (202) 418–0660.
115. Any application amendment and
related statements of fact must be
certified by an appropriate party.
Appropriate parties include one of the
partners if the applicant is a
partnership; an officer, director, or duly
authorized employee, if the applicant is
a corporation; or a member who is an
officer, if the applicant is an
unincorporated association.
116. Applicants must not submit
application-specific material through
the Commission’s Electronic Comment
Filing System (ECFS), which was used
for submitting comments regarding
Auction 902. Further, parties submitting
information related to their applications
should use caution to ensure that their
submissions do not contain confidential
information or communicate
information that would violate 47 CFR
1.21002 or the limited information
procedures adopted for Auction 902. A
party seeking to submit information that
might reflect non-public information
should consider submitting any such
information along with a request that
the filing or portions of the filing be
withheld from public inspection until
the end of the prohibition of certain
communications pursuant to 47 CFR
1.21002.
J. Maintaining Current Information in
Short-Form Applications
117. 47 CFR 1.65 requires an
applicant to maintain the accuracy and
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
completeness of information furnished
in its pending application. If an
amendment reporting changes is a
‘‘major amendment,’’ as defined by 47
CFR 1.21001(d)(4), the major
amendment will not be accepted and
may result in the dismissal of the
application. After the application filing
deadline, applicants may make only
minor changes to their applications.
IV. Pre-Auction Procedures
A. Online Auction Tutorial—Available
September 25, 2013
118. No later than Wednesday,
September 25, 2013, the Commission
will post an educational auction tutorial
on the Auction 902 Web page for
prospective bidders to familiarize
themselves with the auction process.
This online tutorial will provide
information about pre-auction
procedures, completing short-form
applications, auction conduct, the FCC
Auction System, auction rules, and
Mobility Fund rules. The tutorial will
also provide an avenue to ask FCC staff
questions about the auction, auction
procedures, filing requirements, and
other matters related to this auction.
119. This interactive, online tutorial
should provide an efficient and effective
way for interested parties to further
their understanding of the auction
process. The Auction 902 online tutorial
will allow viewers to navigate the
presentation outline, review written
notes, listen to audio of the notes, and
search for topics using a text search
function. Additional features of this
web-based tool include links to auctionspecific Commission releases, email
links for contacting Commission staff,
and a timeline with deadlines for
auction preparation. The online tutorial
will be accessible through a web
browser with Adobe Flash Player. As
always, Commission staff will be
available to promptly answer questions
posed by telephone and email
throughout the auction process.
120. The auction tutorial will be
accessible from the FCC’s Auction 902
Web page at https://wireless.fcc.gov/
auctions/902/ through an ‘‘Auction
Tutorial’’ link. Once posted, this tutorial
will remain available for reference in
connection with the procedures
outlined in this Public Notice and
accessible anytime.
B. Short-Form Applications—Due Prior
to 6:00 p.m. ET on October 9, 2013
121. In order to be eligible to bid in
this auction, applicants must first follow
the procedures set forth in Attachment
D to the Auction 902 Procedures Public
Notice to submit a short-form
PO 00000
Frm 00033
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
application (FCC Form 180)
electronically via the FCC Auction
System. This short-form application
must be submitted prior to 6:00 p.m. ET
on October 9, 2013. Late applications
will not be accepted. No application fee
is required.
122. Applications may generally be
filed at any time beginning at noon ET
on September 25, 2013, until the filing
window closes at 6:00 p.m. ET on
October 9, 2013. The Bureaus strongly
encourage applicants to file early and
allow for adequate time for the filing
process. Applications can be updated or
amended multiple times until the filing
deadline on October 9, 2013.
123. An applicant must always click
on the SUBMIT button on the ‘‘Certify
& Submit’’ screen to successfully submit
its FCC Form 180 and any
modifications; otherwise the application
or changes to the application will not be
received or reviewed by Commission
staff. Additional information about
accessing, completing, and viewing the
FCC Form 180 is included in
Attachment D of the Auctions 902
Procedures Public Notice. FCC Auctions
Technical Support is available at (877)
480–3201, option nine; (202) 414–1250;
or (202) 414–1255 (text telephone
(TTY)); hours of service are Monday
through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00
p.m. ET. In order to provide better
service to the public, all calls to
Technical Support are recorded.
C. Application Processing and Minor
Corrections
124. After the deadline for filing FCC
Form 180 applications, Commission
staff will process all timely submitted
applications to determine which are
complete, and subsequently will issue a
public notice identifying (1) those that
are complete; (2) those that are rejected;
and (3) those that are incomplete or
deficient because of minor defects that
may be corrected. The public notice will
include the deadline for resubmitting
corrected applications.
125. After the application filing
deadline on October 9, 2013, applicants
can make only minor corrections to
their applications. They will not be
permitted to make major modifications
(e.g., change control of the applicant or
change of the certifying official).
126. Commission staff will
communicate only with an applicant’s
contact person or certifying official, as
designated on the short-form
application, unless the applicant’s
certifying official or contact person
notifies the Commission in writing that
applicant’s counsel or other
representative is authorized to speak on
its behalf. Authorizations may be sent
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
by email to auction902@fcc.gov. In no
event, however, will the Commission
send auction registration materials to
anyone other than the contact person
listed on the applicant’s FCC Form 180
or respond to a request for replacement
registration materials from anyone other
than the authorized bidder, contact
person, or certifying official listed on
the applicant’s FCC Form 180.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
D. Auction Registration
127. Approximately ten days before
the auction, the Bureaus will issue a
public notice announcing all qualified
bidders for the auction. Qualified
bidders are those applicants with
submitted FCC Form 180 applications
that are deemed timely-filed, accurate,
and complete.
128. All qualified bidders are
automatically registered for the auction.
Registration materials will be
distributed prior to the auction by
overnight mail. The mailing will be sent
only to the contact person at the contact
address listed in the FCC Form 180 and
will include the SecurID® tokens that
will be required to place bids, the ‘‘FCC
Auction System Bidder’s Guide,’’ and
the Auction Bidder Line telephone
number for bidding questions.
129. Qualified bidders that do not
receive this registration mailing will not
be able to submit bids. Therefore, any
qualified bidder that has not received
this mailing by noon on Wednesday,
December 11, 2013, should call the
Auctions Hotline at (717) 338–2868.
Receipt of this registration mailing is
critical to participating in the auction,
and each applicant is responsible for
ensuring it has received all of the
registration material.
130. In the event that SecurID® tokens
are lost or damaged, only a person who
has been designated as an authorized
bidder, the contact person, or the
certifying official on the applicant’s
short-form application may request
replacements. To request replacement of
these items, call Technical Support at
(877) 480–3201, option nine; (202) 414–
1250; or (202) 414–1255 (TTY).
E. Remote Electronic Bidding
131. The Commission will conduct
this auction over the Internet. Only
qualified bidders are permitted to bid.
Each authorized bidder must have its
own SecurID® token, which the
Commission will provide at no charge.
Each applicant with one authorized
bidder will be issued two SecurID®
tokens, while applicants with two or
three authorized bidders will be issued
three tokens. Bidders cannot bid
without their SecurID tokens. For
security purposes, the SecurID® tokens,
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
a telephone number for bidding
questions, and the ‘‘FCC Auction
System Bidder’s Guide’’ are only mailed
to the contact person at the contact
address listed on the FCC Form 180.
Each SecurID® token is tailored to a
specific auction. SecurID® tokens issued
for other auctions or obtained from a
source other than the FCC will not work
for Auction 902.
132. The SecurID® tokens can be
recycled and the Bureaus encourage
bidders to return the tokens to the FCC.
Pre-addressed envelopes will be
provided to return the tokens once the
auction has ended.
F. Mock Auction—December 16, 2013
133. All qualified bidders will be
eligible to participate in a mock auction
on Monday, December 16, 2013. The
mock auction will enable qualified
bidders to become familiar with the FCC
Auction System and to practice
submitting bids prior to the auction. The
Bureaus strongly recommend that all
qualified bidders participate to gain
experience with the bidding procedures.
Details will be announced by public
notice.
V. Auction Event
A. Auction Structure—Reverse Auction
Mechanism
134. Auction 902 will be held on
Thursday, December 19, 2013. The start
and finish time of the bidding round
will be announced in a public notice
listing the qualified bidders, which will
be released approximately 10 days
before the start of the auction. The
Bureaus’ choice of auction design for
Auction 902—a single-round format
with other design characteristics—is
specific to the particular context of the
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I auction.
The choices the Bureaus make here do
not prejudge their future auction design
choices for other phases of the Mobility
Fund or other competitive bidding
mechanisms related to the USF.
i. Single-Round Sealed-Bid Reverse
Auction Format
135. The Bureaus will conduct
Auction 902 using a single round of
bidding. The Bureaus conclude that a
multiple-round auction would not be
appropriate in the context of the Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I auction.
ii. Aggregation Method—Predefined
Aggregation
136. The Commission determined that
the census block should be the
minimum geographic building block for
which support is provided, but left to
the Bureaus the task of deciding how to
facilitate bidding on aggregations of
PO 00000
Frm 00034
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
56889
eligible census blocks. The Commission
recognized that some aggregation of
census blocks may be necessary because
census blocks are numerous and can be
quite small, but encouraged the Bureaus
to consider permitting bidding on
individual census blocks in Alaska
because they are so much larger on
average than census blocks elsewhere.
137. Aggregation of census blocks by
Tribal lands and census tracts. In the
Auction 902 Comment Public Notice,
the Bureaus proposed aggregating
eligible census blocks by Tribal land,
and subdividing the aggregation by
census tract where applicable. That is,
for any Tribal land covering more than
one census tract, the eligible census
blocks would be aggregated into one
bidding area for each tract. Aggregating
by Tribal lands may also create—for any
census tract with more than one Tribal
land—more than one bidding area for
the tract. A bidder would bid on these
bidding areas, not on individual census
blocks. The Bureaus proposed that
while census blocks in Alaska are larger
than those in other parts of the country,
aggregations by Tribal land and census
tract—due to many instances of census
tracts in Alaska covering multiple Tribal
lands—would result in Alaska
aggregations being closer in size to the
aggregations in other parts of the
country.
138. In all eligible areas other than in
Alaska, the Bureaus adopt their original
proposal to establish bidding areas
consisting of predefined aggregations of
eligible census blocks. Under this
approach, eligible census blocks will be
grouped by the Tribal land in which
they are located, and bidders will be
able to bid for support for these bidding
areas. Bidders will not bid on individual
blocks, except for some blocks in
Alaska. If a single Tribal land includes
more than one census tract, then the
Tribal land will be subdivided by tract
for bidding area purposes; there will be
one bidding area for each tract in the
Tribal land. For each bidding area on
which a bidder bids, the bidder will
indicate a per-pop price to cover the
population in the bidding area. The
auction will assign support to an
awardee equal to the per-pop rate of its
bid multiplied by the population
associated with the eligible census
blocks within the bidding area as shown
in the files provided by the Bureaus. A
bidder may bid on multiple bidding
areas and win support for any or all of
them. This approach requires separate
bids on individual bidding areas. An
awardee will be required to cover a
given percentage of the total population
of the eligible census blocks in the
bidding area.
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
56890
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
139. For Alaska the eligible Tribal
lands will be identified using not only
the Alaska Native village statistical
areas (ANVSAs) that were originally
proposed for inclusion in Auction 902,
but also the boundaries of the twelve
geographic Alaska Native regional
corporations and the Annette Island
Reserve, which together cover the entire
state of Alaska. This requires that the
Bureaus establish bidding areas that are
different from those originally proposed
for Alaska. The eligible census blocks in
ANVSAs will be aggregated as
proposed. That is, eligible census blocks
will be aggregated by Alaska Native
village statistical areas, and if an
ANVSA covers more than one tract,
there will be a bidding area for each
tract in that ANVSA.
140. For eligible census blocks in
Alaska outside of ANVSAs, each block
will be a single bidding area. As with
other bidding areas, bidders will
indicate a per-pop price to cover the
population in the block. The auction
will assign support to an awardee equal
to the per-pop rate of its bid multiplied
by the population associated with the
eligible census block, as shown in the
files provided by the Bureaus. A bidder
may bid on multiple bidding areas—be
they individual blocks and/or
predefined aggregations of blocks—and
may win support for any or all of them.
141. Coverage requirement. Each
awardee will be required to provide
voice and broadband service meeting
the established minimum standards
over at least 75 percent of the
population associated with each bidding
area for which it receives support—that
is, at least 75 percent of the total
population of the eligible blocks that
comprise the bidding area. If a winning
bidder covers more than 75 percent of
the population within the required
timeframe, it may collect support for up
to 100 percent of the population in the
bidding area. The required minimum
standards for service will depend on
whether a winning bidder elects to
deploy 3G or 4G service. Pursuant to the
USF/ICC Transformation Order,
awardees meeting the minimum
coverage requirement could receive
their winning bid amount for that
population and for any additional
population covered in excess of the 75
percent minimum, up to 100 percent of
the population associated with the
eligible blocks, subject to the rules on
disbursement of support.
iii. Winner Selection Process
142. Under the auction format that the
Bureaus adopt, during the single
bidding round, bidders will be able to
submit bids that indicate a per-pop
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
support price at which they are willing
to meet the Bureaus’ requirements to
cover the population in the eligible
census blocks of the bidding areas
covered by the bids. The population of
each bidding area can be found in
Attachment A, which is available on the
Auction 902 Web page.
143. After the single bidding round
closes, the FCC Auction System will
rank bids from lowest to highest per-pop
bid amount and assign support first to
the lowest per-pop bid. An amount
equal to the per-pop bid times the
population in the bidding area will be
deducted from the total available funds.
The auction system will continue to
assign support to the next lowest perpop bid in turn, as long as support has
not already been assigned for that
geographic area, deducting assigned
support funds from the remaining
available funds. The auction system will
stop assigning support when the next
ranked per-pop bid implies a support
amount exceeding the remaining funds
available. A bidder will be eligible to
receive support for each of its winning
bids equal to the per-pop rate of the bid
multiplied by the population in the
eligible census blocks covered by the
bid, subject to meeting the obligations
associated with receiving support. For
bidders claiming eligibility for a Tribal
entity bidding credit, the auction system
will reduce those bid amounts by 25
percent for the purpose of comparing
them to other bids, thus increasing the
likelihood that Tribally-owned and
-controlled entities will receive funding.
144. To ensure that the finite resource
of universal service support is used to
extend mobile voice and broadband
services to as many people on Tribal
lands as possible, the Bureaus may, in
their sole discretion, stop assigning
support in the rank order of per-pop
bids immediately prior to a bid even
though funds remain available. In
determining when to exercise this
authority, the Bureaus will carefully
consider the costs and benefits given the
unique challenges associated with
deploying mobile broadband on Tribal
lands, as well as whether dedication of
the funds to other programs for eligible
Tribal lands could help bring broadband
to a greater number of people in those
lands. The Bureaus conclude that these
steps will reduce incentives to submit
extremely high per-pop bids in an
attempt to take advantage of the
potential for reduced competition
relative to Auction 901 and help assure
that winning bids will make costeffective use of the limited funds.
145. Bids will be assigned a random
selection number that will be used to
determine the ranking of tied bids. If
PO 00000
Frm 00035
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
there are any identical bids—in the
same per-pop amounts to cover the
same block, submitted by different
bidders—only the bid with the highest
random selection number will be
considered in the ranking. Tied bids for
different areas, submitted by the same or
different bidders, will be considered for
support in the order of the random
number. Bidders that submit multiple
bids for the same per-pop amount for
different areas, but that have a
preference for the order in which the
Bureaus consider such bids, may wish
to vary the per-pop bid by some small
amount in order to indicate a
preferential ranking of the tied bids that
otherwise will be ranked randomly.
iv. Limited Information Disclosure
Procedures: Information Available to
Bidders Before and During the Auction
146. The Bureaus will conduct
Auction 902 using procedures for
limited information disclosure. That is,
for Auction 902, the Bureaus will
withhold, until after the close of bidding
and announcement of auction results,
the public release of (1) information
from applicants’ short-form applications
regarding their interests in bidding areas
in particular Tribal lands and (2)
information that may reveal the
identities of bidders placing bids and
taking other bidding-related actions.
Because the Bureaus will conduct
Auction 902 using a single round of
bidding, they do not anticipate a need
to release bidding-related actions during
the auction as they would in a multipleround auction. If such circumstances
arise prior to the release of non-public
information and auction results,
however, the Bureaus will not indicate
the identity of any bidders taking such
actions. After the close of bidding,
information regarding applicants’
interests in eligible areas in particular
Tribal lands, their bids, and any other
bidding-related actions and information
will be made publicly available.
v. Auction Delay, Suspension, or
Cancellation
147. In the Auction 902 Comment
Public Notice, the Bureaus proposed
that, by public notice or by
announcement during the auction, they
may delay, suspend, or cancel the
auction in the event of natural disaster,
technical obstacle, administrative or
weather necessity, evidence of an
auction security breach or unlawful
bidding activity, or for any other reason
that affects the fair and efficient conduct
of competitive bidding. The Bureaus
received no comments on this issue.
148. Because this approach has
proven effective in resolving exigent
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
circumstances in previous auctions, the
Bureaus adopt these proposals regarding
auction delay, suspension, or
cancellation. By public notice or by
announcement during the auction, the
Bureaus may delay, suspend, or cancel
the auction in the event of natural
disaster, technical obstacle,
administrative or weather necessity,
evidence of an auction security breach
or unlawful bidding activity, or for any
other reason that affects the fair and
efficient conduct of competitive
bidding. In such cases, the Bureaus, in
their sole discretion, may elect to
resume the auction starting from the
point at which the auction was
suspended, or cancel the auction in its
entirety. Network interruption may
cause the Bureaus to delay or suspend
the auction. The Bureaus emphasize
that they will exercise this authority
solely at their discretion.
B. Bidding Procedures
i. Bidding
149. All bidding will take place
through the web-based FCC Auction
System. To place bids a bidder will
upload a text file that includes, for each
bid, the bidding area name and the bid
amount, expressed in a dollars per-pop
price to cover the population in the
eligible census blocks of that bidding
area. When a bidder uploads a bid file,
the FCC Auction System will provide a
verification that includes the bidding
area names, the dollars per-pop bid for
each bidding area, the population in
each bidding area, the total bid amount
for each bidding area, and the county,
state, and Tribal land for each bidding
area. The bidder then submits the bids,
or the bidder can cancel the bids if it
wishes to make changes.
150. Bidders must submit their bids
before the finish time of the bidding
round, which will be announced in a
public notice listing the qualified
bidders, and which will be released
approximately 10 days before the start
of the auction.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
ii. Reserve Prices
151. The Bureaus conclude that a
reserve price is not needed to ensure the
commitment to fiscal responsibility
made in the USF/ICC Transformation
Order. The Bureaus will stop assigning
support at the point at which remaining
funds are insufficient to satisfy the next
ranked per-pop bid. Thus, in Auction
902, the Bureaus will not award support
at higher per-pop bid amounts but for
lower total support amounts in order to
use as much of the budget as possible.
In addition, the Bureaus retain the
authority to stop the assignment of
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
support to unreasonably high per-pop
bids.
iii. Bid Removal
152. For Auction 902, before the end
of the single round of bidding, a bidder
will have the option of removing any
bid it has placed. By removing a
selected bid, a bidder may effectively
‘‘undo’’ a bid placed within the single
round of bidding. Once the single round
of bidding ends, a bidder may no longer
remove any of its bids.
153. To remove bids a bidder will
upload a text file that includes the
bidding area name for each bid it wants
to remove. When a bidder uploads such
a file, the FCC Auction System will
provide a verification that includes the
bidding area names, and the county,
state, and Tribal land for each bidding
area.
iv. Auction Announcements
154. The Bureaus will use auction
announcements to report necessary
information. All auction
announcements will be available by
clicking a link in the FCC Auction
System.
v. Auction Results
155. The Bureaus will determine the
winning bids based on the lowest perpop bids, as described in the Auction
902 Procedures Public Notice. After the
Bureaus announce the auction results,
the Bureaus will provide downloadable
files of the bidding and results data.
VI. Post-Auction Procedures
A. General Information Regarding LongForm Applications
156. After the conclusion of Auction
902, each winning bidder will be
required to file a long-form application
to demonstrate that it qualifies for Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support. Shortly
after bidding has ended, the
Commission will issue a public notice
declaring the auction closed, identifying
the winning bidders, and establishing
the deadline for the long-form
application. Winning bidders will use
FCC Form 680 and the FCC Auction
System to submit the long-form
application. The public notice
announcing the close of the auction will
provide details regarding the
submission and processing of the longform application. Unless otherwise
provided by public notice, as was the
case for Auction 901, a winning bidder
must file its long-form application no
later than 10 business days after being
identified by public notice as such a
winning bidder. The Bureaus note that
in Auction 901, winning bidders
initially had 21 business days to file
PO 00000
Frm 00036
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
56891
long-form applications, and this
deadline was later extended to 23
business days. The Bureaus anticipate
that they will provide at least a similar
time period before the long-form
application deadline for Auction 902.
157. In addition to the long-form
application process described in the
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice,
any bidder winning support in Auction
902 must notify the relevant Tribal
government(s) no later than five
business days after being identified by
public notice as such a winning bidder.
The Office of Native Affairs and Policy
(ONAP), in coordination with the
Bureaus, has provided guidance
regarding the appropriate points of
contact for Tribal governments.
B. Long-Form Application: Disclosures
and Certifications
158. By the due date specified in the
auction closing public notice, a winning
bidder must electronically submit a
properly-completed long-form
application (FCC Form 680) for the
bidding areas of its winning bids. A
Tribally-owned or -controlled provider
claiming eligibility for a Tribal entity
bidding credit must certify as to its
eligibility for the bidding credit. Further
filing instructions will be provided to
winning bidders in the auction closing
public notice.
i. Ownership Disclosure
159. In the USF/ICC Transformation
Order, the Commission adopted for
Mobility Fund Phase I auctions the
existing Part 1 ownership disclosure
requirements that already apply to
short-form applicants to participate in
spectrum license auctions and longform applicants for licenses in wireless
services. Under these requirements, an
applicant for Mobility Fund support
must fully disclose its ownership
structure as well as information
regarding the real party- or parties-ininterest of the applicant or application.
160. As the Commission has
previously noted, wireless providers
that have participated in spectrum
license auctions will already have
ownership disclosure reports (in the
short-form application) on file with the
Commission, which may simply need to
be updated. To minimize the reporting
burden on winning bidders, the Bureaus
will allow them to use ownership
information stored in existing
Commission databases and update that
information as necessary.
ii. Documentation of ETC Designation
161. A winning bidder must submit
with its long-form application
appropriate documentation of its ETC
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
56892
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
designation in all of the areas for which
it will receive support and certify that
its proof is accurate. Although a
Tribally-owned or -controlled entity
may participate in Auction 902 so long
as it has an application to be designated
as an ETC pending at the relevant shortform application deadline, a Triballyowned or -controlled entity may receive
Tribal Mobility Fund support only after
it has become an ETC and has provided
the appropriate documentation.
Appropriate documentation should
include the original designation orders,
any relevant modifications, e.g.,
expansion of service area or inclusion of
wireless services, and any relevant
name-change orders. Any ETC
designation documentation provided as
an attachment to the long-form
application must be designated as an
‘‘Eligible Telecommunications Carrier’’
attachment.
162. Each winning bidder should
connect the designated areas (e.g., wire
centers, exchanges, and study areas) to
its winning bid areas so that it is clear
that the applicant has ETC status in
each winning bid area. This obligation
may be satisfied by providing maps of
the recipient’s ETC designation area,
map overlays of the winning bid areas,
charts listing designated areas and
associated winning bid areas, and
narrative descriptions explaining the
connections between the ETC
designations and the winning bid areas.
An applicant must demonstrate that it
has been designated as an ETC
throughout a sufficient portion of each
winning bid area to satisfy the
applicable performance requirements.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
iii. Financial and Technical Capability
Certification
163. As in the pre-auction short-form
application stage, a long-form applicant
must certify that it is financially and
technically capable of providing 3G or
better service within the specified
timeframe in the geographic areas in
which it seeks support. This
certification indicates that an applicant
for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I funds
can provide the requisite service
without any assurance of ongoing
support for the areas in question after
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support
has been exhausted. An applicant
should be aware that in making a
certification to the Commission it
exposes itself to liability for a false
certification. An applicant should take
care to review its resources and its plans
before making the required certification
and be prepared to document its review,
if necessary.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
iv. Project Construction Schedule/
Specifications
164. Applicants are required to
provide in their long-form application a
‘‘Project Description’’ attachment for
each winning bid with a detailed project
description that describes the network,
identifies the proposed technology,
demonstrates that the project is
technically feasible, discloses the
complete project budget, and describes
each specific phase of the project, e.g.,
network design, construction,
deployment, and maintenance, as those
details pertain to each winning bid.
Applicants are urged to include an
initial summary paragraph in layman’s
terms that describes the project for each
winning bid. A complete project
schedule, including timelines,
milestones, and costs, also must be
provided in detail for each winning bid.
Milestones should include the start and
end date for network design, start and
end date for drafting and posting
requests for proposal (RFPs), start and
end date for selecting vendors and
negotiating contracts, start date for
commencing construction and end date
for completing construction, and the
dates by which the applicant will meet
applicable requirements to receive the
installments of Mobility Fund support.
To the extent an applicant has one
project description for multiple winning
bids, it still must provide all of the
specific details described herein as
those details correspond to each
winning bid. Additionally, applicants
need to ensure that each winning bid’s
project description corresponds with the
applicant’s access to spectrum
certification for each winning bid, and
that all prior Commission approvals
have been obtained. In order to
demonstrate eligibility for Auction 902,
applicants relying on Cellular
Geographic Service Area (CGSA)
expansion to demonstrate spectrum
access must have prior approvals in
place or alternative access to spectrum
until such approvals are obtained.
165. Applicants will indicate for each
winning bid whether the supported
network will provide 3G mobile service
within the period prescribed by 47 CFR
54.1006(a) or 4G mobile service within
the period prescribed by 47 CFR
54.1006(b). The description of the
proposed technology should include
information on whether the network
will qualify as either a 3G or 4G
network.
v. Spectrum Access
166. Applicants are required to
provide a description of the spectrum
access that the applicant will use to
PO 00000
Frm 00037
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
meet its obligations in areas for which
it is the winning bidder, including
whether the applicant currently holds a
license for, leases, or otherwise has
contracted for access to the spectrum
consistent with Commission rules. The
description should identify the license
applicable to the spectrum to be
accessed. The description of the license
must include the type of service (e.g.,
AWS, 700 MHz, BRS, PCS), the
particular frequency bands, and the call
sign. If the licensee is a different party
than the applicant, the licensee name
and the relationship and type of
agreement between the applicant and
the licensee that provides the applicant
with the required access should be
described. If the applicant is leasing
spectrum, the lease number should be
provided along with the license
information. An applicant must provide
this required information relating to
spectrum access in an attachment to the
long-form application that is designated
as a ‘‘Spectrum Access’’ attachment.
167. Applicants must also certify that
the description of the spectrum access is
accurate and that the applicant will
retain such access for at least five years
after the date on which it is authorized
to receive support. Applications will be
reviewed to assess the reasonableness of
the certification.
vi. Letter of Credit Commitment Letter
168. A winning bidder must submit
with its long-form application either a
Letter of Credit (LOC) for each winning
bid or a written commitment letter from
an acceptable bank to issue such an
LOC. If the applicant submits a
commitment letter, the letter must at a
minimum provide the dollar amount of
the LOC and the issuing bank’s
agreement to follow the terms and
conditions of the Commission’s model
LOC, set forth in Appendix N of the
USF/ICC Transformation Order. The
commitment letter must be from an
acceptable bank, as defined in 47 CFR
54.1007(a)(1). The Bureaus waived 47
CFR 54.1007(a)(1) on their own motion
to allow Auction 901 winning bidders
seeking authorization for Mobility Fund
Phase I support to use CoBank, ACB as
an issuing bank for the required LOC, in
addition to the acceptable banks
described in 47 CFR 54.1007(a)(1).
vii. Letter of Credit and Bankruptcy
Code Opinion Letter
169. After receipt and review of the
long-form applications, the Commission
will issue a public notice identifying
each winning bidder and bid that may
be authorized to receive Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support. Upon notice from
the Commission, a winning bidder for
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support
must submit an irrevocable stand-by
LOC, issued in substantially the same
form as set forth in the model LOC
provided in Appendix N of the USF/ICC
Transformation Order, by a bank that is
acceptable to the Commission. An LOC
must be submitted for each winning bid
in an amount equal to one-third of the
winning bid amount plus an additional
10 percent of the winning bid amount
which shall serve as a performance
default payment. The Commission’s
rules provide specific requirements, as
defined in 47 CFR 54.1007(a)(1), for a
bank to be acceptable to the
Commission to issue the LOC. Those
requirements vary for U.S. banks and
non-U.S. banks.
170. In addition, a winning bidder
will be required to provide with the
LOC an opinion letter from legal
counsel clearly stating, subject only to
customary assumptions, limitations, and
qualifications, that in a proceeding
under the Bankruptcy Code, the
bankruptcy court would not treat the
LOC or proceeds of the LOC as property
of the winning bidder’s bankruptcy
estate, or the bankruptcy estate of any
other bidder-related entity requesting
issuance of the LOC, under section 541
of the Bankruptcy Code.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
viii. Certification as to Program
Requirements
171. The long-form application
contains certifications that the applicant
has available funds for all project costs
that exceed the amount of support to be
received and will comply with all
program requirements. The program
requirements include the public interest
obligations contained in the
Commission’s rules and set forth in the
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice.
Also, an applicant must certify that it
will meet the applicable deadline for
construction of a network meeting the
coverage and performance requirements
set forth in the rules, that it will comply
with the Mobility Fund collocation
obligations specified in the rules, and
that it will comply with the voice and
data roaming obligations that the
Commission has established with
respect to Phase I of the Mobility Fund.
ix. Reasonably Comparable Rate
Certification
172. The Commission’s rules require
a recipient of Mobility Fund Phase I
support—including Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support—to certify on its
long-form application that it will offer
service in supported areas at consumer
rates that are within a reasonable range
of rates for similar service plans offered
by mobile wireless providers in urban
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
areas. Recipients will be subject to this
requirement for five years after the date
of the award of support. Recipients must
offer service plans in supported areas
that meet the public interest obligations
specified in the Commission’s Mobility
Fund rules and that include a standalone voice service plan.
173. In the Auction 902 Comment
Public Notice, the Bureaus proposed to
permit a recipient of Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support to demonstrate
compliance with the reasonably
comparable rates requirement in the
same manner as recipients of general
Mobility Fund Phase I support. This
would require a supported provider to
demonstrate that its required standalone voice plan, and one service plan
that offers data services, if it offers such
plans, are (1) substantially similar to a
service plan offered by at least one
mobile wireless service provider in an
urban area, and (2) offered for the same
or a lower rate than the matching urban
service plan. The Bureaus note that any
provider that itself offers the same
service plan for the same rate in a
supported area and in an urban area
would be able to meet this requirement.
For purposes of Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I, the Bureaus proposed to treat
any rate equal to or less than the highest
rate for a matching service charged in an
urban area as reasonably comparable to,
i.e., within a reasonable range of, rates
for similar service in urban areas. For
purposes of this requirement, the
Bureaus proposed to define ‘‘urban
area’’ as one of the 100 most populated
CMAs in the United States. (A list of the
top 100 CMAs is available in
Attachment B to the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice). The Bureaus
also proposed to retain discretion to
consider whether and how variable rate
structures should be taken into account,
and further proposed to address such
issues on a case-by-case basis. To
provide recipients with flexibility to
tailor their offerings to consumer
demand while complying with the rule,
the Bureaus proposed to deem a Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support recipient
compliant with the terms of the required
certification if it can demonstrate that
its rates for services satisfy the
requirements, and if it provides
supporting documentation. Under this
approach, the supported party must
offer services at rates within the range
but that do not exceed one particular
rate that is presumed to be a part of that
range.
174. The Bureaus proposed to make a
limited exception for supported parties
serving Alaska in light of the distinct
character of Alaska and the related costs
of providing service, and in line with
PO 00000
Frm 00038
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
56893
the approach adopted for Auction 901.
Specifically, the Bureaus proposed that
supported parties in Alaska may
demonstrate comparability by
comparison with rates offered in the
CMA for Anchorage, Alaska.
175. The Bureaus adopt the proposals
in the Auction 902 Comment Public
Notice for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I,
including the proposed limited
exception for supported providers
serving Alaska.
x. Tribal Engagement Requirements:
Certification and Summary of
Engagement
176. Beginning at the long-form
application stage, and continuing
throughout the term of support, Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I winning bidders
are required to comply with the Tribal
engagement obligations applicable to all
ETCs. As the Commission discussed in
the USF/ICC Transformation Order,
these obligations are designed to ensure
that Tribal governments have been
formally and effectively engaged in the
planning process and that the services
to be provided will advance the goals
established by the Tribal government.
Thus, the Bureaus encourage applicants
seeking to serve Tribal lands to begin
engaging with the appropriate Tribal
governments as soon as possible. The
Bureaus note that any such engagement
must be done consistent with the rules
prohibiting certain communications
during the competitive bidding process.
177. Any bidder winning support in
Auction 902 must notify the appropriate
Tribal government(s) of its winning bid
no later than five business days after
being identified by public notice as such
a winning bidder. A winning bidder’s
engagement with the appropriate Tribal
government(s) must consist, at a
minimum, of discussion regarding: (i) A
needs assessment and deployment
planning with a focus on Tribal
community anchor institutions; (ii)
feasibility and sustainability planning;
(iii) marketing services in a culturally
sensitive manner; (iv) rights of way
processes, land use permitting, facilities
siting, environmental and cultural
preservation review processes; and (v)
compliance with Tribal business and
licensing requirements. Thereafter, at
the long-form application stage and in
annual reports, a bidder winning
support in Auction 902 will be required
to certify that it has substantively
engaged appropriate Tribal government
officials regarding the minimum
discussion topics, as well as any other
issues specified by the Commission, and
provide a summary of the results of
such engagement. A copy of the
certification and summary must be sent
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
56894
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
to the appropriate Tribal officials when
it is sent to the Commission.
Appropriate Tribal government officials
are elected or duly authorized
government officials of federally
recognized American Indian Tribes and
Alaska Native Villages. In the instance
of the Hawaiian Home Lands, this
engagement must occur with the State of
Hawaii Department of Hawaiian Home
Lands and Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
The Bureaus remind carriers that failure
to satisfy the Tribal government
engagement obligations could subject
them to financial consequences
including potential reduction in support
should they fail to fulfill their
obligations.
178. The Tribal engagement
obligations established by the
Commission will apply to Auction 902.
The Bureaus note that there are three
pending petitions for reconsideration of
certain aspects of 47 CFR 54.313(a)(9),
which mandates that annual reports on
the Tribal government engagement
requirements be filed by carriers
receiving high-cost universal service
support other than or in addition to any
mobility fund support. In addition,
there is a pending petition for
reconsideration and clarification of the
Tribal Engagement Further Guidance.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
C. Coverage Requirements, Reporting
Obligations, and Payment
Disbursements
i. Coverage Requirements
179. Support recipients will be
required to provide voice and
broadband service meeting the
established minimum standards over at
least 75 percent of the population
associated with the eligible blocks in
each bidding area for which they receive
support. Because Census data does not
specify how population is distributed
within a census block, the Bureaus
sought comment on how to determine
whether this coverage requirement is
met. If a provider demonstrates new
coverage over the entirety of an eligible
census block, the Bureaus can assume
coverage of the entire population of that
census block. However, the Bureaus
sought input on how to evaluate the
population served by new coverage
where a provider demonstrates new
coverage over part of an eligible census
block. In particular, the Bureaus asked
whether they should assume that census
block population is evenly distributed
and assess coverage on the proportion of
the geographic area covered, and they
also sought comment on alternatives.
180. The Bureaus conclude that
support recipients will be able to prove
coverage as follows. If an awardee can
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
prove coverage of at least 75 percent of
the actual population associated with
the eligible census blocks within a
winning bid area, it may provide and
prove coverage in any combination
across eligible census blocks within that
single bidding area, including providing
coverage to more than 75 percent of the
population in one eligible census block
and less than 75 percent of the
population in another eligible census
block in the same bidding area. In
response to comments, in the alternative
the Bureaus will also permit proof of
coverage by relying on a geographic area
safe harbor, by which an awardee may
show that it is providing coverage to at
least 75 percent of the geographic area
in a census block as a proxy for
providing service to at least 75 percent
of the population within that census
block. Because using a geographic proxy
is a safe harbor, geographic coverage
must be shown on a census-block by
census-block basis, rather than within
the winning bid area as a whole. In
other words, if a winning bidder relies
on the geographic area safe harbor for a
particular winning bid area, it must
provide and prove coverage to at least
75 percent of the geographic area of
each eligible census block within that
winning bid area. With respect to
demonstrating compliance with the
coverage requirements, the
Commission’s rules set forth the
standards for applicable drive test data
and scattered site testing.
181. The Commission recognized the
unique challenges of Tribal lands,
which may have sparse roads and
isolated populations for which a
winning bidder would be required to
prove coverage. In particular, given that
the Commission adopted a populationbased coverage metric for Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I, the Commission
explained that providers may
demonstrate coverage of an area with
scattered site tests—i.e., a statistically
significant number of tests in the
vicinity of residences being covered.
The Commission also noted that
equipment to conduct such testing
could be transported by off-road
vehicles, such as snow-mobiles or other
vehicles appropriate to local conditions.
ii. Annual Reporting and Record
Retention Requirements
182. Winning bidders that are
authorized to receive Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support are required to
submit to the Commission an annual
report each year for the five years after
being so authorized. Each annual report
covers the preceding calendar year. As
a result, any Auction 902 winning
bidder that is first authorized to receive
PO 00000
Frm 00039
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support in
2014 will not be required to file an
annual report regarding such support
until the applicable deadline in 2015.
The information and certifications
required to be included in the annual
report are described in 47 CFR 54.1009.
As explained in the USF/ICC
Transformation Order, if a recipient of
Mobility Fund support is a carrier
subject to other existing or new annual
reporting requirements under 47 CFR
54.313 of the rules based on their
receipt of universal service support
under another high cost mechanism, it
will be permitted to satisfy its Mobility
Fund Phase I reporting requirements by
filing a separate Mobility Fund annual
report or by including this additional
information in a separate section of its
other annual report filed with the
Commission. Mobility Fund recipients
choosing to fulfill their Mobility Fund
reporting requirements in an annual
report filed under 47 CFR 54.313 must,
at a minimum, file a separate Mobility
Fund annual report notifying the
Commission that the required
information is included in the other
annual report. In addition, authorized
winning bidders are required to submit
certain reports before receiving
disbursements of support. A winning
bidder authorized to receive Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support and all
of its agents are required to retain any
documentation prepared for, or in
connection with, the award of Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support for a
period of not less than ten years after
the date on which the winning bidder
receives its final disbursement of Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support.
iii. Disbursement of Payments
183. Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
support will be available for
disbursement to authorized winning
bidders in three stages, with the first
disbursement made when the winning
bidder is authorized to receive support.
A recipient will be eligible to receive
the second disbursement when it
submits a report demonstrating coverage
of 50 percent of the applicable coverage
requirements of 47 CFR 54.1006. The
report a recipient files for this purpose
will be subject to review and
verification before support is disbursed.
A recipient will be eligible to receive
the final disbursement when it submits
a report demonstrating coverage meeting
the applicable requirements of 47 CFR
54.1006. A party’s final payment will be
the difference between the total amount
of support based on the population
covered—i.e., a figure between the
required 75 percent and 100 percent of
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Notices
the population—and any support
previously received.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
D. Default Payment Requirements
184. In the USF/ICC Transformation
Order, the Commission determined that
it would impose two types of default
payment obligations on winning
bidders: a default payment owed by
Mobility Fund winning bidders that
default on their winning bids prior to
approval for receiving support, and a
default payment owed by Mobility Fund
winning bidders that apply for and are
approved to receive support but
subsequently fail to meet their public
interest obligations or other terms and
conditions of Mobility Fund support.
Under the competitive bidding rules
adopted in the USF/ICC Transformation
Order, bidders selected by the auction
process to receive USF support have a
binding obligation to file a post-auction
long-form application—by the
applicable deadline and consistent with
other requirements of the long-form
application process—and failure to do
so constitutes an auction default. In
addition, a performance default occurs
when a winning bidder that the
Commission has authorized to receive
support fails to meet its minimum
coverage requirement or adequately
comply with quality of service or any
other requirements upon which support
was granted.
i. Auction Default Payment
185. Any winning bidder that fails to
timely file a long-form application, is
found ineligible or unqualified to
receive Mobility Fund support, has its
long-form application dismissed, or
otherwise defaults on its bid or is
disqualified for any reason after the
close of the auction and prior to the
authorization of support for each
winning bid will be subject to an
auction default payment. Agreeing to
such payment in event of a default is a
condition for participating in bidding.
In the event of an auction default, the
Bureaus will assess a default payment of
five percent of the total defaulted bid.
Liability for the auction default payment
will be imposed without regard to the
intentions or fault of any specific
defaulting bidder.
186. The Bureaus’ experience in
Auction 901 has demonstrated that this
amount, which is well below the
maximum allowable percentage,
provides bidders sufficient incentive to
fully inform themselves of the
obligations associated with participation
in the Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
auction and to commit to fulfilling those
obligations, and yet is not unduly
punitive. The Bureaus anticipate that
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:46 Sep 13, 2013
Jkt 229001
such a requirement here should serve to
deter failures to fulfill auction
obligations that might undermine the
stability and predictability of the
auction process and impose costs on the
Commission as well as higher support
costs for USF. The Bureaus therefore
adopt their proposal.
187. The Bureaus did not receive any
comments on whether there should be
an alternative methodology for
calculation of an auction default
payment, or whether an applicant
should be required to furnish a bond or
place funds on deposit prior to bidding.
The Bureaus conclude that their
adoption of an auction default payment
calculated as five percent of the total
defaulted bid will provide adequate
protection against costs to the
Commission and the USF, and therefore
they find that establishing a bond or
deposit requirement is unnecessary.
ii. Performance Default Payment
188. A winning bidder that has
received notice from the Commission
that it is authorized to receive Mobility
Fund support will be subject to a
performance default payment if it fails
or is unable to meet its minimum
coverage requirement, other service
requirements, or fails to fulfill any other
term or condition of Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support. The Bureaus
conclude that in the event of a
performance default, they will assess a
default payment of ten percent of the
total defaulted bid. The LOC that a
winning bidder will be required to
provide for each winning bid must
include an additional ten percent based
on the total amount of support for
which the winning bidder is eligible.
189. The Commission recognized in
the USF/ICC Transformation Order that
a Mobility Fund recipient’s failure to
fulfill its obligations may impose
significant costs on the Commission and
higher support costs for the USF and
concluded that it was necessary to adopt
a default payment obligation for
performance defaults. In addition to
being liable for a performance default
payment, the recipient will be required
to repay the Mobility Fund all of the
support it has received, and depending
on circumstances, could be disqualified
from receiving any additional Mobility
Fund or other USF support.
Federal Communications Commission.
Gary Michaels,
Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access
Division, WTB.
[FR Doc. 2013–22483 Filed 9–13–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
PO 00000
Frm 00040
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
56895
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection
Renewal; Comment Request Re:
Federal Deposit Insurance Act Section
19 Application
Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC).
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
chapter 35), the FDIC may not conduct
or sponsor, and a respondent is not
required to respond to, an information
collection unless it displays a currently
valid Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) control number. The FDIC
hereby gives notice that it is seeking
comment on renewal of its information
collection, entitled Federal Deposit
Insurance Act Section 19 Applications
(OMB No. 3064–0018). At the end of the
comment period, any comments and
recommendations received will be
analyzed to determine the extent to
which the collections should be
modified prior to submission to OMB
for review and approval.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before November 15, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are
invited to submit written comments to
the FDIC by any of the following
methods:
• https://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/
laws/federal/notices.html
• Email: comments@fdic.gov Include
the name of the collection in the subject
line of the message.
• Mail: Leneta G. Gregorie (202–898–
3719), Counsel, Room NY–5050, Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th
Street NW., Washington, DC 20429.
• Hand Delivery: Comments may be
hand-delivered to the guard station at
the rear of the 17th Street Building
(located on F Street), on business days
between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
All comments should refer to the
relevant OMB control number. A copy
of the comments may also be submitted
to the OMB desk officer for the FDIC:
Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, New Executive Office Building,
Washington, DC 20503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Leneta Gregorie, at the FDIC address
above.
SUMMARY:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposal to renew the following
currently approved collection of
information:
E:\FR\FM\16SEN1.SGM
16SEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 179 (Monday, September 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56875-56895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22483]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[AU Docket No. 13-53; DA 13-1672]
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I Auction Rescheduled for December 19,
2013; Notice and Filing Requirements and Other Procedures for Auction
902
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In this document, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and
the Wireline Competition Bureau (the Bureaus) announce the procedures
and filing requirements for a reverse auction to award up to $50
million in one-time Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support and reschedule
the auction to be held on December 19, 2013. The Bureaus also announce
the availability of eligible area data in various formats.
DATES: Short-form applications, FCC Form 180, are due prior to 6:00
p.m. on October 9, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wireless Telecommunications Bureau,
Auctions and Spectrum Access Division: For Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
questions: Patricia Robbins at (202) 418-0660; for auction process
questions: Lisa Stover at (717) 338-2868. Wireline Competition Bureau,
Telecommunications Access Policy Division: For general universal
service questions: Alex Minard at (202) 418-7400. Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Office of Native Affairs and Policy: For
questions regarding Tribal lands and Tribal governments: Geoffrey
Blackwell at (202) 418-3629 or Irene Flannery at (202) 418-1307.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice released on August 7, 2013. The complete text
of the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice, including attachments and
related Commission documents, is available for public inspection and
copying from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) Monday through
Thursday or from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET on Fridays in the FCC
Reference Information Center, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-A257,
Washington, DC 20554. The Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice and
related Commission documents also may be purchased from the
Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc.
(BCPI), 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554,
telephone 202-488-5300, fax 202-488-5563, or you may contact BCPI at
its Web site: https://www.BCPIWEB.com. When ordering documents from
BCPI, please provide the appropriate FCC document number, for example,
DA 13-1672 for the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice. The Auction
902 Procedures Public Notice and related documents also are available
on the Internet at the Commission's Web site: https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/902/ or by using the search function for AU Docket No. 13-53
on the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) Web page at
https://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/
I. Introduction and Summary
1. The Bureaus establish the procedures that will apply to the
reverse auction that will award up to $50 million in one-time Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support. This auction, which is designated as
Auction 902, is rescheduled to be held on December 19, 2013. The
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice establishes the procedures, terms,
and conditions governing Auction 902, including the pre- and post-
auction application processes, and provides other important information
for parties that wish to seek Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support.
2. Auction 902 will award one-time support to carriers that commit
to provide 3G or better mobile voice and broadband services to Tribal
lands that lack such services. Support will be allocated to maximize
the population covered by new mobile services without exceeding the
budget of $50 million. Winning bidders will be obligated to choose
whether to deploy 3G service within two years or 4G service within
three years after the award of support.
3. Auction 902 will award high-cost universal service support
through reverse competitive bidding. The USF/ICC Transformation Order,
76 FR 73830, November 29, 2011 and 76 FR 81562, December 28, 2011,
established the Mobility Fund as a universal service support mechanism
dedicated expressly to mobile services and adopted rules for
distribution of the $50 million budget for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase
I. The Commission concluded in the USF/ICC Transformation Order that a
population-based metric is appropriate for the Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I auction. In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission
delegated authority to the Bureaus to implement Tribal Mobility
[[Page 56876]]
Fund Phase I, including the authority to prepare for and conduct an
auction and administer program details. On March 29, 2013, the Bureaus
released the Auction 902 Comment Public Notice, 78 FR 21355, April 10,
2013, which provided a summary of census blocks potentially eligible
for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support, announced the availability on
the web of the complete list of potentially eligible census blocks, and
sought comment on whether census blocks should be added to or removed
from the list of potentially eligible blocks on Tribal lands, on the
details of auction procedures, and on certain related program
requirements for Auction 902.
4. After considering the record encompassing 44 separate filings in
response to the Auction 902 Comment Public Notice, the Bureaus, among
other things: (1) Provide an updated summary of census blocks eligible
for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support in Auction 902, with the
complete list available on the web; (2) conclude that the Bureaus will
conduct Auction 902 as a single-round, sealed bid auction; (3) provide
for bidding on predefined bidding areas consisting of eligible census
blocks aggregated by Tribal lands and census tracts, and in some cases
consisting of individual census blocks in Alaska; (4) establish bidding
procedures, including stopping procedures to help assure that winning
bids make cost-effective use of limited available funds and implement
the Commission's commitment to fiscal responsibility; (5) permit
winning bidders to demonstrate that they offer supported services at
rates comparable to those in urban areas by offering one stand-alone
voice and one data plan in supported areas that match plans in urban
areas and cost no more than the matching plans; and (6) require that
each winning bidder provide coverage, consistent with the performance
requirements of the rules adopted in the USF/ICC Transformation Order,
to 75 percent or more of the population associated with the eligible
blocks in each bidding area for which it receives support and describe
acceptable methods for demonstrating such coverage.
5. In addition, the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice reviews
important Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I program requirements, including
eligibility requirements for participation in Auction 902 and the
public interest obligations of winning bidders; describes in detail
pre-auction procedures and auction application requirements; explains
requirements and details related to the structure and procedures for
bidding; and provides an overview of the post-auction procedures,
requirements, and deadlines, including information on the post-auction
application and on default payment requirements that will be used to
enforce carriers' obligations.
6. The Bureaus in the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice announce
a new auction date. The auction was originally scheduled to be held on
October 24, 2013--the date announced in the Auction 902 Comment Public
Notice. In order to provide interested parties ample time to analyze
the updated lists of eligible census blocks released concurrently with
the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice and to take any further steps
required to establish eligibility for participation in Auction 902, the
Bureaus delay the auction date until December 19, 2013. The Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice provides additional information regarding
other dates related to Auction 902, including the short-form
application deadline.
7. Throughout the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice, the term
``per-pop'' means per population (or per person) within a given
geographic area. The term ``3G'' refers to third generation wireless
networks, and ``4G'' refers to fourth generation wireless networks. The
terms ``3G,'' ``3G or better,'' ``current generation,'' and
``advanced'' are used interchangeably to refer to mobile wireless
services that provide voice telephony service on networks that also
provide services such as Internet access and email. Areas without 3G or
better services and the population within them are referred to as
``unserved,'' even though there may be existing service at a lower
level. The Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice refers to ``awarding''
or ``selecting awardees'' by auction for simplicity of expression. Each
party that becomes a winning bidder in the auction must file an
application for support. Only after review of the application to
confirm compliance with all the applicable requirements will a winning
bidder become authorized to receive support.
II. General Information
A. Overview of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
i. Background
8. In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission
comprehensively reformed and modernized the high-cost component of the
Universal Service Fund (USF) to help ensure the universal availability
of fixed and mobile communication networks capable of providing voice
and broadband services, and established a universal service support
mechanism dedicated exclusively to mobile services--the Mobility Fund.
9. Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I will provide up to $50 million in
one-time support to address gaps in mobile services availability by
supporting the buildout of current- and next-generation mobile networks
on Tribal lands where these networks are unavailable. The support
offered under Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I is in addition to any
ongoing support provided under existing high-cost universal service
program mechanisms.
10. The goal for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I is to extend the
availability of mobile voice and broadband service on networks that
provide 3G or better performance and to accelerate the deployment of 4G
wireless networks in areas where it is cost effective to do so with
one-time support. To maximize the population covered in eligible areas
on Tribal lands within the established budget of $50 million, the USF/
ICC Transformation Order established general rules for a reverse
auction to identify those areas where additional investment can make as
large a difference as possible in a transparent, simple, speedy, and
effective way. In this reverse auction, bidders will indicate the
amount of one-time support they require to deploy service meeting the
defined performance standard in given eligible areas. Because the
auction generally will award support based on the lowest per-pop bid
amount irrespective of geographic area, bidders will compete not only
against other carriers that may be seeking support in the same areas,
but also against carriers bidding for support in other areas
nationwide. Support will be awarded based on the lowest per-pop bid
amounts submitted, but will not be awarded to more than one provider
per area. In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission provided
for a 25 percent bidding credit for Tribally-owned or -controlled
providers that participate in Auction 902.
ii. Identification of Census Blocks Eligible for Tribal Mobility Fund
Support
11. In the Auction 902 Comment Public Notice, the Bureaus sought
comment on a list of census blocks identified as potentially eligible
for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support. The Bureaus received numerous
comments addressing census block eligibility.
12. In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission decided to
target Mobility Fund Phase I support,
[[Page 56877]]
including Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support, to census blocks
without 3G or better service at the geometric center of the block,
referred to as the centroid (i.e., the internal point latitude/
longitude of a census block polygon), and concluded that Mosaik
Solutions (Mosaik) data is the best available data source for
determining the availability of such service. More specifically, the
Commission concluded that it would consider any census block in the
2010 Census as unserved, and thus eligible for support, if an analysis
of the Mosaik data indicated that the centroid is not covered by
networks using EV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, or UMTS/HSPA or better. In the
Auction 902 Comment Public Notice, the Bureaus concluded that January
2013 Mosaik data was the most recently available for the purpose of
doing an analysis to identify eligible census blocks within Tribal
lands and described the methodology for identifying potentially
eligible blocks. ``Tribal lands'' include any federally recognized
Indian Tribe's reservation, pueblo or colony, including former
reservations in Oklahoma, Alaska Native regions established pursuant to
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and Indian Allotments, as well
as Hawaiian Home Lands--areas held in trust for native Hawaiians by the
state of Hawaii, pursuant to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, as
amended.
13. The USF/ICC Transformation Order also concluded that population
should be the basis for calculating the number of units in each
eligible census block for purposes of comparing bids and measuring the
performance of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support recipients. In
particular, the Commission concluded, based on concerns raised by
Tribes, that using a population-based metric would provide greater
assurance that mobile deployment supported by Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I would focus more directly on population centers.
14. The Bureaus first identified census blocks within Tribal lands
using 2010 Census data. The Bureaus proposed to identify Tribal lands
in Alaska using Census data boundaries for the Annette Island Reserve
and Alaska Native village statistical areas. Alaska Native village
statistical areas represent the more densely settled portions of Alaska
Native villages, which are the associations, bands, clans, communities,
groups, Tribes, or villages recognized pursuant to the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act.
15. The Bureaus used geographic information system (GIS) software
to determine whether the Mosaik data showed 3G or better wireless
coverage at the centroid of each block. The Bureaus used ArcGIS
software from Esri to determine whether the Mosaik data showed 3G or
better coverage at each block's centroid. The following technologies
were considered 3G or better: EV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, UMTS/HSPA, HSPA+,
WiMAX, and LTE. If the Mosaik data did not show such coverage, the
Bureaus determined the block to be potentially eligible. Because Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support will be awarded based on the bid amounts
that will maximize the population covered by new mobile services, the
Bureaus excluded any of these census blocks without population. The
Bureaus then excluded any blocks that, during the Auction 901 challenge
process, they determined to be served or to be ineligible for Mobility
Fund Phase I support because a provider had made a regulatory
commitment to provide 3G or better wireless service or had received a
funding commitment from a federal executive department or agency in
response to the provider's commitment to provide 3G or better wireless
service in that area. In addition, the Bureaus identified those census
blocks that were the subject of winning bids in Auction 901. The
Bureaus noted that any census block that was the subject of a winning
bid in Auction 901 and for which support is authorized at the
conclusion of the Auction 901 long-form application review will not be
eligible for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support. If prior to Auction
902 the Bureaus determine that any of the identified winning bids from
Auction 901 cannot be authorized, but would otherwise be eligible for
Auction 902, then such eligible blocks will be included in Auction 902.
16. In the Auction 902 Comment Public Notice, the Bureaus sought
comment on whether there were any additional census blocks not
identified during the Auction 901 challenge process for which,
notwithstanding the absence of 3G service, any provider had made a
regulatory commitment to provide 3G or better wireless service, or had
received a funding commitment from a federal executive department or
agency in response to the provider's commitment to provide 3G or better
wireless service. The Bureaus did not receive any comments addressing
this issue.
17. In the Auction 902 Comment Public Notice, the Bureaus asked
commenters identifying census blocks for removal and/or addition to the
list of potentially eligible census blocks to provide detailed
information in support of their views. The Bureaus noted that in making
such determinations for Auction 901, they found demonstrations of
coverage to be more credible and convincing where they were supported
by maps, discussions of drive tests, explanation of methodologies for
determining coverage, and certifications by one or more individuals as
to the veracity of the material provided. For Auction 901, the Bureaus
did not make changes to potentially eligible areas based on submissions
making assertions of coverage without any supporting evidence.
18. In response to the comments the Bureaus received regarding
their list of potentially eligible census blocks, they add certain
eligible census blocks, for purposes of Auction 902, based on the
Commission's definition of ``Tribal lands.'' Specifically, the Bureaus
add populated, unserved census blocks in Alaska and in the Navajo
Eastern Agency. The Bureaus conclude, however, that other areas that
were ceded to the United States by treaty are not eligible for Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support because they do not fall within the
applicable definition of ``Tribal lands.'' The Bureaus remove all state
designated Tribal statistical areas (SDTSAs) from the list of eligible
census blocks for purposes of Auction 902 because they do not qualify
as ``Tribal lands'' under the Commission's definition. Separately, the
Bureaus also remove certain Tribal designated statistical areas
(TDSAs), as defined by the 2010 Census data, that do not qualify as
``Tribal lands'' under the Commission's definition. In addition, the
bureaus add and remove census blocks based on credible and convincing
demonstrations by commenters regarding service coverage, or the lack
thereof.
19. The Bureaus add populated, unserved census blocks in the Alaska
Native regions to the updated list of bidding areas and the
corresponding list of eligible census blocks that are available on the
Auction 902 Web site (https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/902/). The
Bureaus identify the eligible Tribal lands in Alaska using the
boundaries of the twelve geographic Alaska Native regional corporations
and the Annette Island Reserve, which together cover the entire state
of Alaska.
20. The Tribal bidding credit and special ETC provisions are
available to entities that are owned or controlled by federally-
recognized Alaska Native villages. Specifically, a Tribal entity that
is owned or controlled by an Alaska Native village may receive these
benefits in eligible areas that are within the boundaries of the Alaska
Native village statistical area associated with that village, as well
as in eligible areas that
[[Page 56878]]
are not within any Alaska Native village statistical area but are
within the same Alaska Native region as that village. In addition, the
Bureaus note that the Office of Native Affairs and Policy, in
coordination with the Bureaus, has provided guidance on the Tribal
engagement requirements that apply to providers serving Tribal lands,
including Alaska. In order to facilitate engagement with appropriate
Tribal government officials in Alaska, the Bureaus' list of eligible
areas identifies the Alaska Native village statistical areas, which
indicate where the Alaska Native villages are more densely settled.
Appropriate Tribal government officials are elected or duly authorized
government officials of federally recognized American Indian Tribes and
Alaska Native Villages.
21. The Bureaus also add populated, unserved census blocks in the
Navajo Eastern Agency. The Bureaus conclude that all of the populated,
unserved census blocks in the Navajo Eastern Agency should be included
in the Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I auction.
22. The Bureaus decline to include certain areas that Tribes
previously ceded to the United States by treaty. These areas do not
fall within the Commission's definition of ``Tribal lands,'' and thus,
such areas are not eligible for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support.
23. The Bureaus remove all SDTSAs from the updated list of eligible
census blocks because they do not qualify as ``Tribal lands'' under the
Commission's definition. Separately, the Bureaus also remove certain
TDSAs, as defined by the 2010 Census data, that do not qualify as
``Tribal lands'' under the Commission's definition.
24. The Bureaus also received several challenges to their initial
determination based on Mosaik data that certain census blocks are
either served or unserved. The Bureaus find four of these
demonstrations to be sufficiently credible and convincing to meet the
requirements of the USF/ICC Transformation Order and incorporate the
requested changes into the updated list of eligible census blocks. The
Bureaus conclude that ten commenters that seek additions to the list of
eligible blocks do not demonstrate actual lack of service, and
therefore do not provide a basis for the Bureaus to depart from their
initial determination of potentially eligible census blocks.
25. The list of census blocks on Tribal lands released concurrently
with the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice now includes all of the
eligible census blocks that were identified by analyzing 2010 Census
data, January 2013 Mosaik data, and information submitted by third
parties. The differences between this list and the list provided with
the Auction 902 Comment Public Notice are as follows: (1) The Bureaus
have added blocks based on comments received regarding their
application of the definition of ``Tribal lands'' to Alaska and the
Navajo Eastern Agency, (2) the Bureaus have removed all SDTSAs and
certain TDSAs, (3) the Bureaus have added blocks based on the comments
of one carrier that provided a sufficiently credible and convincing
demonstration regarding the absence of 3G or better coverage, (4) the
Bureaus have removed blocks based on the comments of three carriers
that provided sufficiently credible and convincing demonstrations
regarding the presence of 3G or better coverage, and (5) the Bureaus
have removed blocks for which Auction 901 support has been authorized,
and have added blocks (i.e., removed the asterisks next to blocks) for
which Auction 901 defaults have been determined. In this list, the
Bureaus continue to identify census blocks that were covered by winning
bids in Auction 901 for which the relevant long-form applications
remain pending. If the Bureaus determine prior to Auction 902 that any
winning bids from Auction 901 cannot be authorized, and any of those
bids cover census blocks that would otherwise be eligible for Auction
902, then such eligible blocks will be available in the auction.
Similarly, if support is authorized prior to Auction 902 for any of the
census blocks covered by Auction 901 winning bids, those census blocks
will be excluded from Auction 902. The Bureaus will announce by public
notice the removal of any census blocks for which support is authorized
for Auction 901 winning bids.
26. The Bureaus are mindful of the Commission's goal of moving
quickly to expand the availability of advanced mobile services by
providing one-time support with the limited funds budgeted for this
purpose. The Bureaus also heed the Commission's warning that more
extended dialog and pre-auction review of these issues might risk undue
delay in the award of this support. As was true for the list of
eligible areas for Auction 901, the Bureaus recognize that no such list
will be perfect or perfectly up-to-date. Accordingly, the list of
census blocks on Tribal lands that the Bureaus released concurrently
with the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice on August 7, 2013,
contains their determinations with respect to the areas eligible for
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support, with the exception of census
blocks covered by Auction 901 winning bids, which may be removed from
this list by public notice at the conclusion of the Auction 901 long-
form application review. The eligible census blocks will, in most
cases, be aggregated into predefined bidding areas by Tribal lands and
census tracts. Eligible census blocks in Alaska will be aggregated by
Alaska Native village statistical areas and census tracts, and where
there are not Alaska Native village statistical areas, bidding will be
conducted on a census block basis.
27. The Bureaus remind those interested in seeking Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support that applicants for Auction 902 are required to
certify that they will not seek support for any areas in which they
made a public commitment to deploy 3G or better service by December 31,
2012.
28. Attachment A-1 released with the Auction 902 Procedures Public
Notice provides a summary of the list of eligible census blocks.
Attachment A-2 released with the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice
provides a list of the bidding areas. Due to the large number of
eligible blocks, the complete list of the individual blocks is provided
in electronic format only, available as a separate ``Attachment A''
file at https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/902/. In addition to these
attachments and files, the Bureaus provide an interactive map for this
information on the Commission Web site. The Bureaus note that the names
assigned to the bidding areas listed in the Attachment A files have
been changed since the release of the Auction 902 Comment Public Notice
in order to conform to the requirements of the FCC Auction System. A
crosswalk between the names used in the Attachment A files released
with the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice and the names used in the
Auction 902 Comment Public Notice is available on the Commission Web
site.
iii. Establishing Eligible Units
29. The Bureaus conclude that they must use population to determine
units in Auction 902, and that they cannot deviate from their proposal
to use Census data to determine which census blocks are populated. The
Bureaus lack delegated authority to revise this rule to use road miles,
as some commenters suggest, or any other metric other than population.
30. The Bureaus conclude that the population-based metric for
comparing bids and assessing coverage for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
requires that the Bureaus must exclude census blocks without population
from Auction 902 eligibility. The Bureaus recognize that
[[Page 56879]]
winning bidders may need to extend their networks to or through
unpopulated blocks that are not eligible for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase
I support in order to meet their Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
performance requirements. The Commission's rules with respect to how
winning bidders can use Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I funds to meet
their performance requirements do not preclude this. Therefore, the
Bureaus decline to accept the suggestion that all census blocks should
be scored with a minimum population of one.
31. The Bureaus further conclude that they should not deviate from
their proposal to use Census data as the basis for limiting eligible
blocks to those where there is a population greater than zero. Given
the Commission's decision to use population as the bidding comparison
unit, the Bureaus must use reliable data on population in order to
conduct the Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I auction.
iv. Public Interest Obligations
32. Voice and Broadband Service. All Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
recipients must satisfy specified public interest obligations in
exchange for the support they receive, as must all recipients of any
Connect America Fund support. Specifically, all Connect America Fund
recipients, including Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I recipients, must
offer stand-alone voice service to the public. Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I recipients must offer voice service with coverage of at least
75 percent or more of the population within the area for which support
is provided. If an awardee can prove coverage of at least 75 percent of
the actual population associated with the eligible census blocks within
a winning bid area, it may provide and prove coverage in any
combination across eligible census blocks within that single bidding
area, including providing coverage to more than 75 percent of the
population in one eligible census block and less than 75 percent of the
population in another eligible census block in the same bidding area.
In the alternative, the Bureaus will also permit proof of coverage by
relying on a geographic area safe harbor, by which an awardee may show
that it is providing coverage to at least 75 percent of the geographic
area in a census block as a proxy for providing service to at least 75
percent of the population within that census block. If a winning bidder
relies on the geographic area safe harbor for a particular winning bid
area, it must provide and prove coverage to at least 75 percent of the
geographic area of each eligible census block within that winning bid
area. Furthermore, receipt of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support is
conditioned upon the recipient providing service over a network that
achieves particular data rates under particular conditions, which the
Commission, for this purpose, refers to as 3G networks or better. The
Commission expects that ETCs that offer standalone broadband service in
any portion of their service territory will also offer such service in
all areas that receive Connect America Fund support.
33. Data Rates. For purposes of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I, the
Commission refers to a network as a 3G network if it achieves outdoor
minimum data transmission rates of 50 kilobits per second (kbps) uplink
and 200 kbps downlink at vehicle speeds appropriate for the areas
covered. Also for purposes of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I, the
Commission refers to a network as a 4G network if it achieves outdoor
minimum data transmissions rates of 200 kbps uplink and 768 kbps
downlink at vehicle speeds appropriate for the area covered. With
respect to both 3G and 4G networks, transmission latency must be low
enough to enable the use of real-time applications, such as Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP).
34. Performance Deadlines. Winning bidders in Auction 902 will
commit to provide service over either a 3G or a 4G network, as those
terms are used with respect to Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I, in their
post-auction long-form applications for support. Those parties
committing to provide service over a 3G network must do so for at least
75 percent or more of the population within the winning bidding area
within two years of being authorized to receive support. Winning
bidders committing to provide service over a 4G network must do so for
at least 75 percent or more of the population within the winning
bidding area within three years of being authorized to receive support.
To the extent that a recipient covers population in excess of the
minimum, support will be available for up to 100 percent of the
eligible population for which the recipient demonstrates coverage
within the timeframe required for the technology deployed.
35. Reasonably Comparable Rates. Recipients of Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support must certify annually that they offer service in
supported areas at rates that are within a reasonable range of rates
for similar service plans offered by mobile wireless providers in urban
areas. This requirement extends for a period ending five years after
the date of award of support.
36. Collocation. In exchange for the support provided, Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support recipients shall allow for reasonable
collocation by other providers of services that would meet the voice
and data requirements of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I on newly-
constructed towers that the recipient owns or manages in the area for
which it receives support. Consistent with this requirement, a
recipient may not enter into facilities access arrangements regarding
relevant facilities that restrict any party to the arrangement from
allowing others to collocate on the facilities.
37. Voice and Data Roaming. Recipients of Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support must provide voice and data roaming on networks built
with the support, consistent with the requirements of 47 CFR 20.12, as
those rules were in effect on the date the Commission adopted the USF/
ICC Transformation Order. This condition of support is independent of
subsequent changes to the Commission's rules on voice and data roaming.
In other words, even if 47 CFR 20.12 is amended, support recipients
must continue to meet the requirements of 47 CFR 20.12 as that rule
existed as of October 27, 2011. To the extent the Commission adopts any
new rules regarding voice and data roaming that are generally
applicable, recipients of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support may be
subject to those new rules as well. As these requirements, and all of
the other public interest obligations, are a condition of Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support, violations may result in the withholding
or clawing back, i.e., return, of universal service support in addition
to any other applicable sanctions.
v. Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I Eligibility Requirements
38. In order to participate in Auction 902 and receive Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support, an applicant must be designated as an
eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) for the areas on which it
wishes to bid or, if it is a Tribally-owned or -controlled entity, have
a pending application for ETC designation for the relevant areas within
the boundaries of the Tribal land associated with the Tribe that owns
or controls the entity. A Tribally-owned or -controlled entity must
have its application for ETC designation pending at the relevant short-
form application deadline. The ETC designation must cover a sufficient
portion of the bidding area to allow the applicant to satisfy the
applicable performance requirements. A Tribal entity that wins support
in Auction 902 while its ETC petition is pending must receive an ETC
designation prior to support being
[[Page 56880]]
authorized and disbursed. Allowing a Tribally-owned or -controlled
entity to participate at auction while its ETC petition is pending in
no way prejudges the ultimate decision on its pending ETC petition.
Because of the lead time necessary to receive designation as an ETC,
prospective applicants that need to do so are strongly encouraged to
initiate the process as soon as possible in order to increase the
likelihood that they will be eligible to participate in Auction 902.
Carriers subject to the jurisdiction of a state in which they seek
designation should petition that state's commission for designation as
an ETC to provide voice service. Carriers not subject to the
jurisdiction of the relevant state commission should petition the
Commission for designation as an ETC. The Commission has established a
framework for determining whether a state commission or the Commission
itself has jurisdiction to designate ETCs on Tribal lands. First, a
carrier serving Tribal lands must petition the Commission for a
determination on whether the state has jurisdiction over the carrier.
The Commission then determines whether the carrier is subject to the
jurisdiction of a state commission or whether it is subject to a Tribal
authority given the Tribal interests involved. In the latter case, the
Commission has jurisdiction to designate the carrier as an ETC and will
proceed to consider the merits of the carrier's petition for
designation. The Bureaus have provided guidance on existing
requirements for filing an ETC application with the Commission in a
separate public notice: Eligible Telecommunications Carrier Designation
for Participation in Mobility Fund Phase I, 77 FR 14012, March 8, 2012.
Petitions for designation as an ETC should be filed in WC Docket No.
09-197 and WT Docket No. 10-208, and should not be filed in the docket
for Auction 902, AU Docket No. 13-53. The Bureaus adopted a protective
order limiting access to proprietary and confidential information that
may be filed in WC Docket No. 09-197 and WT Docket No. 10-208 in
connection with petitions filed for designation as an ETC for purposes
of participation in any Mobility Fund auction.
39. An applicant for Auction 902 must also demonstrate that it has
access to the spectrum necessary to satisfy the applicable performance
requirements. The requirement that parties have access to spectrum
applies equally to all parties, including Tribal entities. In addition,
an applicant must certify that it is financially and technically
capable of providing 3G or better service.
vi. Annual Reporting and Record Retention Requirements
40. Winning bidders that are authorized to receive Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support are required to submit to the Commission an annual
report each year for the five years after being so authorized. In
addition, authorized winning bidders are required to submit certain
reports before receiving disbursements of support. Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support will be available for disbursement to authorized
winning bidders in three stages, with the first disbursement made when
the winning bidder is authorized to receive support. A winning bidder
authorized to receive Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support and all of
its agents are required to retain any documentation prepared for, or in
connection with, the award of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support for
a period of not less than ten years after the date on which the winning
bidder receives its final disbursement of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
support.
B. Auction Specifics
i. Auction Start Date
41. Bidding in Auction 902 will be held on Thursday, December 19,
2013. Unless otherwise announced, bidding for all eligible census
blocks will be offered at the same time.
42. The start and finish time of bidding will be announced by
public notice approximately one week before the start of the auction.
ii. Bidding Methodology
43. The bidding methodology for Auction 902 will be a single-round
reverse auction format. The Commission will conduct this auction over
the Internet using the FCC Auction System. Qualified bidders must bid
electronically via the Internet. Telephonic bidding will not be
available for Auction 902 because it will not be feasible given the
number of eligible geographic areas and the manner in which bids will
be uploaded.
iii. Pre-Auction Dates and Deadlines
44. The following dates and deadlines apply to Auction 902: (1) An
auction tutorial will be available (via Internet) by September 25,
2013; (2) the short-form application (FCC Form 180) filing window will
open on September 25, 2013, at 12:00 noon ET; (3) the short-form
application (FCC Form 180) filing window will close on October 9, 2013,
at 6:00 p.m. ET; (4) a mock auction will be held on December 16, 2013;
and (5) Auction 902 will be held on December 19, 2013.
iv. Requirements for Participation
45. Those wishing to participate in this auction must: (1) Submit a
short-form application (FCC Form 180) electronically prior to 6:00 p.m.
ET, October 9, 2013, following the electronic filing procedures
described in Attachment D of the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice;
and (2) comply with all provisions outlined in the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice and applicable Commission rules.
C. Rules and Disclaimers
i. Relevant Authority
46. Prospective applicants in Auction 902 must familiarize
themselves with the Commission's general universal service rules,
contained in 47 CFR Part 54, and the Mobility Fund specifically, 47 CFR
54.1001-54.1010. They should also familiarize themselves with the
Commission's decision in the USF/ICC Transformation Order to implement
the Mobility Fund Phase I, including Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I.
47. Prospective bidders in Auction 902 must be familiar with the
specific competitive bidding rules for universal service support
contained in 47 CFR 1.21000-1.21004, as well as the procedures, terms,
and conditions contained in the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice
and all other public notices related to Auction 902 (AU Docket No. 13-
53). Additionally, prospective Auction 902 bidders will find it helpful
to familiarize themselves with the processes established for the
Commission's first auction of Mobility Fund Phase I support (Auction
901) and with the Commission's general competitive bidding rules,
including recent amendments and clarifications; and Commission
decisions in proceedings regarding competitive bidding procedures,
application requirements, and obligations of Commission licensees.
Information on Auction 901, including copies of all Auction 901 public
notices and auction results, may be found on the Commission's Auction
901 Web page at https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/901.
48. 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 its 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 rules and with all public notices
pertaining to this auction.
[[Page 56881]]
ii. Prohibited Communications and Compliance With Antitrust Laws
49. To ensure the competitiveness of the auction process, 47 CFR
1.21002 prohibits an applicant in a Mobility Fund auction from
cooperating or collaborating with any other applicant with respect to
its own, or one another's, or any other competing applicant's bids or
bidding strategies, and from communicating with any other applicant in
any manner the substance of its own, or one another's, or any other
competing applicant's bids or bidding strategies, until after the post-
auction deadline for winning bidders to submit applications for
support, unless such applicants are members of a joint bidding
arrangement identified on the short-form application(s) pursuant to 47
CFR 1.21001(b)(3) and (b)(4).
50. 47 CFR 1.21002 is based on a similar rule used in competitive
bidding for spectrum licenses, 47 CFR 1.2105(c). Potential bidders
should familiarize themselves with 47 CFR 1.2105(c) and 1.21002, and
with the judicial, Commission, and Wireless Bureau decisions addressing
application of the rule prohibiting certain communications listed in
Attachment E of the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice. Because 47
CFR 1.21002 was adopted for Mobility Fund competitive bidding
relatively recently, the Commission's prior experience in this area is
in the context of 47 CFR 1.2105(c). Applicants should review
information regarding the interpretation of 47 CFR 1.2105(c) to gain
insight into the Commission's views on prohibited communications during
competitive bidding for Mobility Fund support.
a. Entities Subject to Section 1.21002, the Rule Prohibiting Certain
Communications
51. 47 CFR 1.21002's prohibition of certain communications will
apply to any applicant that submits a short-form application to
participate in Auction 902. Thus, unless they have identified each
other on their short-form applications as parties with whom they have
entered into agreements under 47 CFR 1.21001(b)(3), applicants in
Auction 902 must affirmatively avoid all communications with or
disclosures to each other that affect or have the potential to affect
bids or bidding strategy. In some instances, this prohibition extends
to communications regarding the post-auction market structure. This
prohibition applies to all applicants regardless of whether such
applicants become qualified bidders or actually bid.
52. All bidders will compete for support with all other bidders in
Auction 902, regardless of the geographic areas they seek to serve with
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support. Therefore, applicants will be
prohibited from making certain communications with all other applicants
in Auction 902 regardless of the eligible areas for which they seek
support, unless the parties disclose agreements reached between them on
their short-form applications.
53. For purposes of the prohibition of certain communications, 47
CFR 1.21002 defines ``applicant'' broadly to include the applicant,
each party capable of controlling the applicant, including all officers
and directors, and each party that may be controlled by the applicant
or by a party capable of controlling the applicant.
54. Individuals and entities subject to 47 CFR 1.21002 should take
special care in circumstances where their officers, directors, and
employees may receive information directly or indirectly relating to
any competing applicant's bids or bidding strategies. For example, the
Wireless Bureau has found that when an individual serves as an officer
for two or more applicants, the bids and bidding strategies of one
applicant are conveyed to the other applicant, and, absent a disclosed
bidding agreement, an apparent violation of the rule prohibiting
certain communications occurs. The Wireless Bureau has not addressed a
situation where non-principals (i.e., those who are not officers or
directors, and thus not considered to be the applicant) receive
information regarding a competing applicant's bids or bidding
strategies and whether that information should be presumed to be
communicated to the applicant.
55. Moreover, the Bureaus encourage Auction 902 applicants not to
use the same individual authorized bidder as is used by another
applicant. A violation of 47 CFR 1.21002 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 such applicants. Also, if the authorized bidders are
different individuals employed by the same organization (e.g., a law
firm, engineering firm, or consulting firm), a violation similarly
could occur. 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 the applicant and
its bidders will comply with 47 CFR 1.21002.
b. Prohibition Applies Until Long-Form Application Deadline
56. The 47 CFR 1.21002 prohibition of certain communications begins
at the short-form application filing deadline and ends at the long-form
application deadline after the auction closes, which will be announced
in a future public notice.
c. Prohibited Communications
57. Applicants must not communicate directly or indirectly about
bids or bidding strategy to other applicants in this auction. 47 CFR
1.21002 prohibits not only communication about an applicant's own bids
or bidding strategy, but also communications about another applicant's
bids or bidding strategy. While 47 CFR 1.21002 does not prohibit non-
auction-related business negotiations among auction applicants, each
applicant must remain vigilant so as not to directly or indirectly
communicate information that affects, or could affect, bids or bidding
strategies.
58. Applicants are cautioned that the Commission remains vigilant
about prohibited communications taking place outside of the auction
itself. For example, the Commission has warned that prohibited
``communications concerning bids and bidding strategies may include
communications regarding capital calls or requests for additional funds
in support of bids or bidding strategies to the extent such
communications convey information concerning the bids and bidding
strategies directly or indirectly.'' Moreover, the Commission has found
a violation of the rule against prohibited communications where an
applicant used the Commission's bidding system to disclose ``its
bidding strategy in a manner that explicitly invited other auction
participants to cooperate and collaborate in specific markets,'' and
has placed auction participants on notice that the use of its bidding
system ``to disclose market information to competitors will not be
tolerated and will subject bidders to sanctions.'' Applicants also
should use caution in their dealings with other parties, such as
members of the press, financial analysts, or others who might become
conduits for the communication of prohibited bidding information. For
example, an applicant's statement to the press that it intends to stop
bidding in the auction could give rise to a finding of a 47 CFR 1.21002
violation. Similarly, an applicant's public statement of intent not to
participate in Auction 902 bidding could also violate the rule.
Applicants are hereby placed on notice
[[Page 56882]]
that public disclosure of information relating to bids, bidding
strategies, or post-auction market structures may violate 47 CFR
1.21002.
d. Disclosure of Bidding Agreements and Arrangements
59. The Commission's rules do not prohibit applicants from entering
into otherwise lawful bidding agreements before filing their short-form
applications, as long as they disclose the existence of the agreements
in their short-form applications. Applicants must identify in their
short-form applications all parties with whom they have entered into
any agreements, arrangements, or understandings of any kind relating to
the Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support they seek, including any
agreements relating to post-auction market structure.
60. If parties agree in principle on all material terms prior to
the short-form application filing deadline, each party to the agreement
must identify the other party or parties to the agreement on its short-
form application under 47 CFR 1.21001(b)(3), even if the agreement has
not been reduced to writing. If the parties have not agreed in
principle by the short-form filing deadline, they should not include
the names of parties to discussions on their applications, and they may
not continue negotiation, discussion or communication with any other
applicants after the short-form application filing deadline.
61. 47 CFR 1.21002 does not prohibit non-auction-related business
negotiations among auction applicants. However, certain discussions or
exchanges could touch upon impermissible subject matters because they
may convey pricing information and bidding strategies. Such subject
areas include, but are not limited to, issues such as management,
sales, local marketing agreements, and other transactional agreements.
e. Section 1.21001(b)(4)-(5) Applicant Certifications
62. By electronically submitting a short-form application, each
applicant in Auction 902 certifies its compliance with 47 CFR
1.21001(b)(3) and 1.21002. In particular, an applicant must certify
under penalty of perjury that the application discloses all real
parties in interest to any agreements involving the applicant's
participation in the competitive bidding for Tribal Mobility Fund
support. Also, the applicant must certify that it and all applicable
parties have complied with and will continue to comply with 47 CFR
1.21002.
63. The Bureaus caution, however, that merely filing a certifying
statement as part of an application will not outweigh specific evidence
that a prohibited communication has occurred, nor will it preclude the
initiation of an investigation when warranted. The Commission has
stated that it ``intend[s] to scrutinize carefully any instances in
which bidding patterns suggest that collusion may be occurring.'' Any
applicant found to have violated 47 CFR 1.21001(b)(4) or (b)(5) may be
subject to sanctions.
f. Duty To Report Prohibited Communications
64. 47 CFR 1.21002(c) provides that any applicant that makes or
receives a communication that appears to violate 47 CFR 1.21002 must
report such communication in writing to the Commission immediately, and
in no case later than five business days after the communication
occurs. An applicant's obligation to make such a report continues until
the report has been made. This reporting requirement applies even if
the communication of bids or bidding strategies does not result in a
bidding arrangement, agreement, or understanding.
65. In addition, 47 CFR 1.65 requires an applicant to maintain the
accuracy and completeness of information furnished in its pending
application and to notify the Commission of any substantial change that
may be of decisional significance to that application. Thus, 47 CFR
1.65 requires an Auction 902 applicant to notify the Commission of any
substantial change to the information or certifications included in its
pending short-form application. An applicant is therefore required by
47 CFR 1.65 to report to the Commission any communication the applicant
has made to or received from another applicant after the short-form
application filing deadline that affects or has the potential to affect
bids or bidding strategy, unless such communication is made to or
received from a party to an agreement identified under 47 CFR
1.21001(b)(3) and (b)(4).
66. 47 CFR 1.65(a) and 1.21002 require each applicant in
competitive bidding proceedings to furnish additional or corrected
information within five days of a significant occurrence, or to amend
its short-form application no more than five days after the applicant
becomes aware of the need for amendment. These rules are intended to
facilitate the auction process by making the information available
promptly to all participants and to enable the Bureaus to act
expeditiously on those changes when such action is necessary.
g. Procedure for Reporting Prohibited Communications
67. A party reporting any prohibited communication pursuant to 47
CFR 1.65, 1.21001(b), or 1.21002(c) must take care to ensure that any
report of the prohibited communication does not itself give rise to a
violation of 47 CFR 1.21002. For example, a party's report of a
prohibited communication could violate the rule by communicating
prohibited information to other applicants through the use of
Commission filing procedures that would allow such materials to be made
available for public inspection.
68. Parties must file only a single report concerning a prohibited
communication and must file that report with Commission personnel
expressly charged with administering the Commission's auctions. This
process differs from filing procedures used in connection with other
Commission rules and processes which may call for submission of filings
to the Commission's Office of the Secretary or via the Commission's
Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). Filing through the Office of
the Secretary or ECFS could allow the report to become publicly
available and might result in the communication of prohibited
information to other auction applicants. This rule is designed to
minimize the risk of inadvertent dissemination of information in such
reports. Any reports required by 47 CFR 1.21002(c) must be filed
consistent with the instructions set forth in the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice. For Auction 902, such reports must be filed
with the Chief of the Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau, by the most expeditious means available. Any
such report should be submitted by email to the following email
address: auction902@fcc.gov. If you choose instead to submit a report
in hard copy, any such report must be delivered only to Margaret W.
Wiener, Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th
Street SW., Room 6423, Washington, DC 20554.
69. A party seeking to report such a prohibited communication
should consider submitting its report with a request that the report or
portions of the submission be withheld from public inspection by
following the procedures specified in 47 CFR 0.459. Filers requesting
confidential treatment of documents must be sure that the cover page of
the filing prominently displays that the documents seek confidential
treatment. For example, a filing might
[[Page 56883]]
include a cover page stamped with ``Request for Confidential Treatment
Attached'' or ``Not for Public Inspection.'' Any such request must
cover all of the material to which the request applies. The Bureaus
encourage such parties to coordinate with the Auctions and Spectrum
Access Division staff about the procedures for submitting such reports.
h. Winning Bidders May Need To Disclose Terms of Agreements
70. Each applicant that is a winning bidder may be required to
disclose in its long-form application the specific terms, conditions,
and parties involved in any agreement it has entered into. This may
apply to any bidding consortium, joint venture, partnership, or
agreement, understanding, or other arrangement entered into relating to
the competitive bidding process, including any agreement relating to
the post-auction market structure. Failure to comply with the
Commission's rules can result in enforcement action.
i. Additional Information Concerning Rule Prohibiting Certain
Communications
71. A summary listing of documents issued by the Commission and the
Wireless Bureau addressing the application of the rule prohibiting
certain communications may be found in Attachment E of the Auction 902
Procedures Public Notice. These documents are available on the
Commission's auction Web page at https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/prohibited_communications.
j. Antitrust Laws
72. The Bureaus also remind applicants that, regardless of
compliance with the Commission's rules, they remain subject to the
antitrust laws, which are designed to prevent anticompetitive behavior
in the marketplace. Compliance with the disclosure requirements of 47
CFR 1.21002 will not insulate a party from enforcement of the antitrust
laws. For instance, a violation of the antitrust laws could arise out
of actions taking place well before any party submitted a short-form
application. The Commission has cited a number of examples of
potentially anticompetitive actions that would be prohibited under
antitrust laws: For example, actual or potential competitors may not
agree to divide territories in order to minimize competition,
regardless of whether they split a market in which they both do
business, or whether they merely reserve one market for one and another
market for the other. Similarly, the Wireless Bureau previously
reminded potential applicants and others that ``[e]ven where the
applicant discloses parties with whom it has reached an agreement on
the short-form application, thereby permitting discussions with those
parties, the applicant is nevertheless subject to existing antitrust
laws.''
73. To the extent the Commission becomes aware of specific
allegations that suggest that violations of the federal antitrust laws
may have occurred, the Commission may refer such allegations to the
United States Department of Justice for investigation. If an applicant
is found to have violated the antitrust laws or the Commission's rules
in connection with its participation in the competitive bidding
process, it may be subject to a forfeiture and may be prohibited from
participating in future auctions, among other sanctions.
iii. Due Diligence
74. The Bureaus remind each potential bidder that it has sole
responsibility for investigating and evaluating all technical and
marketplace factors that may have a bearing on the level of Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support it submits as a bid in Auction 902. Each
bidder is responsible for assuring that, if it wins the support, it
will be able to build and operate facilities in accordance with the
Mobility Fund obligations and the Commission's rules generally.
75. Applicants should be aware that Auction 902 represents an
opportunity to apply for Mobility Fund support, subject to certain
conditions and regulations. Auction 902 does not constitute an
endorsement by the FCC of any particular service, technology, or
product, nor does Mobility Fund support constitute a guarantee of
business success.
76. An applicant should perform its due diligence research and
analysis before proceeding, as it would with any new business venture.
In particular, the Bureaus strongly encourage each potential bidder to
review all underlying Commission orders, including the USF/ICC
Transformation Order. Each potential bidder should perform technical
analyses or refresh its previous analyses to assure itself that, should
it become a winning bidder for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support, it
will be able to build and operate facilities that will fully comply
with all applicable technical and legal requirements. The Bureaus
strongly encourage each applicant to inspect any prospective
transmitter sites located in, or near, the service area for which it
plans to construct transmitters with Mobility Fund support, to confirm
the availability of such sites, and to familiarize itself with the
Commission's rules regarding environmental compliance.
77. The Bureaus strongly encourage each applicant to conduct its
own research prior to Auction 902 in order to determine the existence
of pending administrative or judicial proceedings that might affect its
decision to participate in the auction. The due diligence
considerations mentioned in the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice do
not comprise an exhaustive list of steps that should be undertaken
prior to participating in this auction. As always, the burden is on the
potential bidder to determine how much research to undertake, depending
upon specific facts and circumstances related to its interests.
78. The Bureaus also remind each applicant that pending and future
judicial proceedings, as well as certain pending and future proceedings
before the Commission--including applications for modification,
petitions for rulemaking, requests for special temporary authority,
waiver requests, petitions to deny, petitions for reconsideration,
informal objections, and applications for review--may relate to
particular licensees or applicants for support in Auction 902. Each
prospective applicant is responsible for assessing the likelihood of
the various possible outcomes and for considering the potential impact
on Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support available through this auction.
79. Each applicant is solely responsible for identifying associated
risks and for investigating and evaluating the degree to which such
matters may affect its ability to bid on or otherwise receive Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support. Each potential bidder is responsible for
undertaking research to ensure that any support won in this auction
will be suitable for its business plans and needs. Each potential
bidder must undertake its own assessment of the relevance and
importance of information gathered as part of its due diligence
efforts.
80. 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, it must
obtain or verify such information from independent sources or assume
the risk of any incompleteness or inaccuracy in said
[[Page 56884]]
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 its
databases.
iv. Use of FCC Auction System
81. Bidders will be able to participate in Auction 902 over the
Internet using the FCC Auction System. The Commission makes no warranty
whatsoever with respect to the FCC Auction System. In no event shall
the Commission, or any of its officers, employees, or agents, be liable
for any damages whatsoever (including, but not limited to, loss of
business profits, business interruption, loss of business information,
or any other loss) arising out of or relating to the existence,
furnishing, functioning, or use of the FCC Auction System that is
accessible to qualified bidders in connection with this auction.
Moreover, no obligation or liability will arise out of the Commission's
technical, programming, or other advice or service provided in
connection with the FCC Auction System.
v. Environmental Review Requirements
82. Recipients of Mobility Fund support, like all licensees, must
comply with the Commission's rules regarding implementation of the
National Environmental Policy Act and other federal environmental
statutes. The construction of a wireless antenna facility is a federal
action, and any entity constructing a wireless antenna facility must
comply with the Commission's environmental rules for each such
facility. The Commission's environmental rules require, among other
things, that the entity constructing the facility consult with expert
agencies having environmental responsibilities, including the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Army
Corps of Engineers, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(through the local authority with jurisdiction over floodplains). If
the facility will not be located on Tribal lands as defined in the
Nationwide Programmatic Agreement Regarding the Section 106 National
Historic Preservation Act Review Process (NPA), the entity constructing
the facility must follow the provisions of the NPA in assessing the
effect of facilities construction on historic properties. However, if
the facility will be located on Tribal lands as defined in the NPA, the
entity must follow the procedures set forth in the rules of the
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The NPA defines Tribal lands
as ``all lands within the exterior boundaries of any Indian reservation
and all dependent Indian communities,'' and does not include Native
Hawaiian Home Lands. The entity must prepare environmental assessments
for facilities that may have a significant impact in or on wilderness
areas, wildlife preserves, threatened or endangered species or
designated critical habitats, historical or archaeological sites,
Indian religious sites, floodplains, and surface features. The entity
also must prepare environmental assessments for facilities that include
high intensity white lights in residential neighborhoods or excessive
radio frequency emission, or that are over 450 feet in height.
Facilities that require antenna registration will also be required to
complete an environmental notification process.
III. Short-Form Application Requirements
A. General Information Regarding Short-Form Applications
83. An application to participate in Auction 902, referred to as a
short-form application or FCC Form 180, provides information used to
determine whether the applicant is legally, technically, and
financially qualified to participate in Commission auctions for
universal service funding support. The short-form application is the
first part of the Commission's two-phased auction application process.
In the first phase, each party desiring to participate in the auction
must file a streamlined, short-form application in which it certifies
under penalty of perjury as to its qualifications. Each applicant must
take seriously its duties and responsibilities and carefully determine
before filing an application that it has the legal, technical, and
financial resources to participate in the auction and to meet the
public interest obligations associated with Tribal Mobility Fund Phase
I support. Eligibility to participate in bidding is based on the
applicant's short-form application and certifications. In the second
phase of the process, each winning bidder must file a more
comprehensive long-form application (FCC Form 680).
84. Every entity seeking support available in Auction 902 must file
a short-form application electronically via the FCC Auction System
prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on October 9, 2013, following the procedures
prescribed in Attachment D to the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice.
The short-form application requires each applicant to establish its
eligibility for bidding for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support. Among
other things, to establish eligibility at the short-form stage, an
applicant must certify that it is a designated ETC in any geographic
area for which it will seek support, or that it is a Tribally-owned or
-controlled entity with a pending application for ETC designation, and
provide the Study Area Codes (SACs) associated with its ETC designation
and/or provide the names of its corresponding Tribal lands in lieu of
SACs. Each applicant will also be required to provide a general
narrative description of its access to the spectrum it plans to use to
meet Mobility Fund obligations in the particular areas for which it
plans to bid and certify that it will retain its access to the spectrum
for at least five years from the date of award of support. If an
applicant claims eligibility for a bidding credit as a Tribally-owned
or -controlled entity, the information provided in its FCC Form 180
will be used in determining whether the applicant is eligible for the
claimed bidding credit. Each applicant bears full responsibility for
submitting an accurate, complete, and timely short-form application.
Each applicant must certify on its short-form application under penalty
of perjury that it is legally, technically, financially, and otherwise
qualified to receive universal service support funding. Each applicant
should read carefully the instructions set forth in Attachment D to the
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice and should consult the
Commission's rules to ensure that all of the information required is
included in its short-form application.
85. A party may not submit more than one short-form application for
Auction 902. If a party submits multiple short-form applications, only
one application may be accepted for filing.
86. Each applicant also should note that submission of a short-form
application (and any amendments thereto) constitutes a representation
by the certifying official that he or she is an authorized
representative of the applicant, that he or she has read the form's
instructions and certifications, and that the contents of the
application, its certifications, and any attachments are true and
correct. An applicant is not permitted to make major modifications to
its application; such impermissible changes include a change of the
certifying official to the application. Submission of a false
certification to the Commission may result in penalties, including
monetary forfeitures, the forfeiture of universal service support,
license forfeitures, ineligibility to participate in future auctions,
and/or criminal prosecution.
[[Page 56885]]
B. SAC Identification
87. An applicant will not be required to select the specific census
blocks on which it wishes to bid when submitting its short-form
application. Based on the SACs or Tribal lands information entered by
an applicant, the FCC Auction System will identify during the
application process bidding areas for which the applicant may be
eligible. The FCC Auction System will identify the bidding areas on
which the applicant is potentially eligible to bid based on information
provided in the applicant's FCC Form 180. Applicants are reminded that
this is not a determination of eligibility under the Commission's
rules. The identification of an area as one in which the applicant is
potentially eligible to bid does not mean that the applicant is
actually eligible to bid for support in that area. Some of the areas
may be outside the areas for which a bidder is actually eligible to bid
pursuant to the Commission's rules--i.e., the areas in which it is
designated as an ETC or, in the case of a Tribally-owned or -controlled
entity, areas in its Tribal lands for which it has a pending petition
for designation as an ETC.
C. Disclosure of Bidding Arrangements
88. An applicant will be required to identify in its short-form
application all real parties in interest to any agreements relating to
the participation of the applicant in the competitive bidding for
Tribal Mobility Fund support.
89. Each applicant will also be required to certify under penalty
of perjury in its short-form application that it has disclosed all real
parties in interest to any agreements involving the applicant's
participation in the competitive bidding for Tribal Mobility Fund
support. If an applicant has had discussions, but has not reached an
agreement by the short-form application filing deadline, it should not
include the names of parties to the discussions on its application and
may not continue such discussions with any other applicant after the
deadline.
90. Moreover, each applicant will also be required to certify under
penalty of perjury in its short-form application that it and all
applicable parties have complied with and will continue to comply with
47 CFR 1.21002, the rule prohibiting certain communications. While 47
CFR 1.21002 does not prohibit non-auction-related business negotiations
among auction applicants, the Bureaus remind applicants that certain
discussions or exchanges could touch upon impermissible subject matters
because they may convey pricing information and bidding strategies.
Further, compliance with the disclosure requirements of 47 CFR 1.21002
will not insulate a party from enforcement of the antitrust laws.
D. Ownership Disclosure Requirements
91. Each applicant must comply with the uniform Part 1 ownership
disclosure standards and provide information required by 47 CFR
54.1005(a)(1) and 1.2112(a) (47 CFR 54.1005(a)(1) requires the
disclosure on the short-form application of the applicant's ownership
information as set forth in 47 CFR 1.2112(a)). Specifically, in
completing the short-form application, an applicant will be required to
fully disclose information on the real party- or parties-in-interest
and the ownership structure of the applicant, including both direct and
indirect ownership interests of 10 percent or more, as prescribed in 47
CFR 1.2112(a). Each applicant is responsible for ensuring that
information submitted in its short-form application is complete and
accurate.
92. In certain circumstances, an applicant's most current ownership
information on file with the Commission, if in an electronic format
compatible with the short-form application (such as information
submitted in an FCC Form 602 or in an FCC Form 175 filed for a previous
Commission spectrum license auction, or FCC Form 180 for a previous
Mobility Fund auction using the FCC Auction System), will automatically
be entered into the applicant's short-form application (FCC Form 180).
Each applicant must carefully review any information automatically
entered to confirm that it is complete and accurate as of the deadline
for filing the short-form application for Auction 902. Any information
that needs to be corrected or updated must be changed directly in the
short-form application.
E. Specific Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I Eligibility Requirements and
Certifications
i. ETC Designation Certification
93. In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission concluded
that, in order to apply to participate in an auction offering Mobility
Fund support, any entity first had to be designated as an ETC pursuant
to section 214 of the Communications Act in any geographic area for
which it seeks support, with one narrow exception for Tribally-owned or
-controlled entities. An applicant must be the entity designated by a
state or the Commission as an ETC in that geographic area. For example,
if a designated ETC is a subsidiary of a parent holding company, only
the subsidiary that is designated an ETC, and not the holding company,
would be eligible to participate in the auction. For purposes of
participation in the Mobility Fund, a party's ETC designation may not
be limited in any way. Accordingly, a party designated as an ETC solely
for purposes of the Low Income Program cannot satisfy the ETC
eligibility requirement for the Mobility Fund on that basis. Of course,
nothing prohibits such a party from seeking a general designation as an
ETC and then, if it receives such a designation, participating in the
Mobility Fund.
94. ETC status carries with it certain obligations. So that a party
might obtain the required ETC designation but not be subject to those
obligations unless and until it wins any Mobility Fund support, the
Commission further determined that a party might participate with an
ETC designation conditioned upon the party winning support in the
auction. The Bureaus note that prior to Auction 901, where the
Commission granted a conditional designation, it did so contingent only
on the applicant winning Mobility Fund Phase I support, thus requiring
no additional substantive determinations post-auction. The Bureaus
anticipate that the Commission will grant any request for conditional
designation in the same manner for Auction 902, and they suggest that
an applicant be mindful of this approach when requesting a similar
determination from its state's designating authority. At the short-form
application stage, an applicant will be required to state that it is
designated as an ETC in any area for which it will seek support or is a
Tribal entity with a pending application to become an ETC in any such
area, and certify that the disclosure is accurate. A winning bidder
will be required to provide proof of its ETC designation in all of the
areas in which it will receive support before it may receive support.
95. The Commission further decided to permit participation by a
Tribally-owned or -controlled entity that at the short-form application
deadline has an application for ETC designation pending for the
provision of service within the boundaries of the associated Tribal
land. The Commission did so to afford Tribes an increased opportunity
to participate at auction, in recognition of their interest in self-
government and self-provisioning on their own lands. However, allowing
such participation at auction in no way prejudges the ultimate decision
on a Tribally-owned or -controlled entity's petition for ETC
designation. Moreover, support will be disbursed only after an
applicant receives such designation. A Tribally-
[[Page 56886]]
owned or -controlled entity that does not obtain and provide the
required ETC designation will not be entitled to any support payments
and may ultimately be in default in accordance with the rules. A
Tribally-owned or -controlled entity whose application for ETC
designation remains pending at the short-form application deadline
should provide the date the application was filed, with whom (i.e., the
Commission or relevant state regulatory agency), any file or case
number associated with the application, and its current status. The
following entities may be designated as qualifying Tribal entities: (1)
Tribes, which are federally-recognized American Indian Tribes and
Alaska Native Villages; (2) Tribal consortia; and (3) entities that are
more than 50 percent owned and controlled by a Tribe or Tribes.
96. GRIC/GRTI supports the Commission's rule requiring an applicant
to state on its short-form application that it is designated as an ETC
in any area for which it will seek support or is a Tribal entity with a
pending application to become an ETC in any such area, and to certify
that the disclosure is accurate. Bad River Tribe, however, argues that
the Commission should only impose this requirement as a post-auction
condition of funding. NTUA notes with concern that the lengthy
timeframe that can be associated with resolving ETC applications may
create a chilling effect on Tribal participation in the auction.
97. The Commission adopted the requirement that, at the time of the
short-form filing deadline, an Auction 902 applicant must be designated
as an ETC for the areas on which it wishes to bid or, if it is a
Tribally-owned or -controlled entity, have a pending application for
ETC designation for the relevant areas within the boundaries of the
Tribal land associated with the Tribe that owns or controls the entity.
These ETC designation rules cannot be amended in the context of
establishing procedures for Auction 902.
98. Pursuant to the rules, an applicant's ETC designation must
cover a sufficient portion of the bidding area to allow it to satisfy
the applicable performance requirements. Additionally, as explained in
the USF/ICC Transformation Order, a Tribal entity that wins support in
Auction 902 while its ETC petition is pending must receive an ETC
designation prior to support being authorized. Although the Bureaus
realize that in some limited situations the ETC designation process can
be arduous, the Commission takes significant efforts to resolve pending
filings before it in an expeditious manner.
ii. Access to Spectrum Description and Certification
99. Pursuant to the rules that the Commission adopted in the USF/
ICC Transformation Order, and as explained in the Auction 902 Comment
Public Notice, any applicant for Auction 902 must have access to the
necessary spectrum to fulfill any obligations related to support. In an
application to participate in Auction 902, each applicant must describe
its required spectrum access and certify that the description is
accurate and that the applicant will retain such access for at least
five years from the date on which it is authorized to receive support.
Specifically, an applicant will be required to disclose whether it
currently holds, leases, or has otherwise contracted for access to
spectrum consistent with Commission rules and whether such spectrum
access is contingent on obtaining support in Auction 902. For the
described spectrum access to be sufficient as of the date of the short-
form application, the applicant must obtain any necessary approvals
from the Commission for the spectrum access prior to filing the
application. A pending request for such an approval is not sufficient
to satisfy this requirement. Furthermore, only assured access is
sufficient, which means that the access must be to licensed spectrum
subject to limited access.
100. Tribal entities responding to the Auction 902 Comment Public
Notice reiterated policy concerns that have been raised in another
rulemaking proceeding concerning the use of spectrum over Tribal lands
and the difficulties Tribes face in acquiring spectrum in the secondary
market. Several Tribal entities contend that requiring auction
participants to have spectrum access as of the date they file their
short-form applications for Auction 902 may preclude many Tribes from
participating. Other Tribal entities urge the Commission to delay an
applicant's certification regarding access to spectrum in the pre-
auction phase of Auction 902, and to instead impose the rule on winning
bidders as a condition of funding.
101. In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission rejected
the suggestion of some commenters to apply a more relaxed standard that
might allow entities to seek to acquire access to spectrum only after
becoming a winning bidder. The Commission instead concluded that
``failing to ensure spectrum access, on at least a conditional basis,
prior to entering a Mobility Fund Auction would be inconsistent with
the serious undertaking implicit in bidding for support.''
102. The requirement for an applicant to obtain access to spectrum
as of the date of the short-form application was adopted by the
Commission as a rule and cannot be amended in the context of
establishing procedures for Auction 902. The Bureaus recognize the
challenges all applicants may face in negotiating access to spectrum
over Tribal lands. The Mobility Fund rules afford entities the
flexibility to consider whatever spectrum arrangements might meet their
individual needs, as long as those arrangements comply with all
Mobility Fund Phase I and other regulatory requirements. Accordingly,
an applicant for Auction 902 should identify the license applicable to
the spectrum to be accessed, the licensee, and, if the licensee is a
different party than the applicant, the relationship between the
applicant and the licensee that provides the applicant with the
required access sufficient to fulfill its obligations related to the
support. With the exception of the certification, the terms of which
are set forth in FCC Form 180, an applicant must provide all required
information relating to spectrum access in an attachment to FCC Form
180, designated as a ``Spectrum Access'' attachment.
iii. Financial and Technical Capability Certification
103. The Commission requires that an applicant certify in the pre-
auction short-form application that it is financially and technically
capable of providing 3G or better service within the specified
timeframe in the geographic areas for which it seeks support. This
certification indicates that an applicant for Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I funds can provide the requisite service without any assurance
of ongoing support for the areas in question after Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support has been exhausted. An applicant should be aware that
in making a certification to the Commission it exposes itself to
liability for a false certification. An applicant should take care to
review its resources and its plans before making the required
certification and be prepared to document its review, if necessary.
[[Page 56887]]
iv. Certification That Applicant Will Not Seek Support for Areas in
Which It Has Made a Public Commitment To Deploy 3G or Better Service by
December 31, 2012
104. The Commission requires each applicant for Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support to certify that the applicant will not seek
support for any areas for which it made a public commitment to deploy
3G or better wireless service by December 31, 2012. In determining
whether an applicant made such a public commitment, the Bureaus would
consider any public statement made with some specificity as to
geographic area, time period, and level of service. This requirement
helps to assure that Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support will not go
to finance coverage that carriers would have provided in the near term
without any subsidy. Furthermore, the requirement may conserve funds
and avoid displacing private investment by making a carrier that made
such a commitment ineligible for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support
with respect to the relevant geographic area. Because circumstances are
more likely to change over a longer term, the Bureaus do not hold
providers to any statements for any time period beyond December 31,
2012. Applicants should note that this restriction does not prevent a
party from seeking and receiving support for an eligible geographic
area where another provider has announced such a commitment to deploy
3G or better wireless service.
F. Tribally-Owned or -Controlled Providers--25% Reverse Bidding Credit
105. The Commission adopted a 25 percent ``reverse'' bidding credit
for Tribally-owned or -controlled providers seeking either general or
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support. In order to be eligible for the
bidding credit, a qualifying Tribally-owned or -controlled provider
must certify in its short-form application that it is qualified and
identify the applicable Tribe and Tribal lands.
106. The bidding credit will effectively reduce the Tribal entity's
bid amount by 25 percent for the purpose of comparing it to other bids,
thus increasing the likelihood that Tribally-owned and -controlled
entities will receive funding. If the Tribally-owned or -controlled
entity were to win, support would be calculated at the full,
undiscounted bid amount. The preference is available with respect to
the eligible census blocks located within the geographic area defined
by the boundaries of the Tribal land associated with the Tribally-owned
or -controlled provider seeking support.
107. The bidding credit adopted by the Commission applies only to
Tribally-owned or -controlled entities with respect to bids for support
within the boundaries of associated Tribal lands. In the USF/ICC
Transformation Order, the Commission declined to adopt other types of
bidding credits or prioritization mechanisms. The rule cannot be
amended in the context of establishing procedures for Auction 902, and
thus cannot be extended to apply to any entities that are not in fact
owned or controlled by the Tribe or to areas outside of the Tribe's own
Tribal lands.
108. The Bureaus note that although the bidding credit applies to
Tribally-owned or -controlled entities, it was adopted in recognition
of Tribes' interest in self-government and self-provisioning on their
own lands, and with the Commission's unique government-to-government
relationship with Tribes in mind. As such, the Bureaus retain
discretion to look behind assertions of Tribal ownership and assertions
of Tribal control to ensure that the Tribe is the true beneficiary of
the bidding credit. This standard would be satisfied by the following
entities: (1) Tribes (federally-recognized American Indian Tribes and
Alaska Native Villages); (2) Tribal consortia; and (3) entities that
are more than 50 percent owned and controlled by a Tribe or Tribes.
G. Commission Red Light Rules
109. Applications to participate in Auction 902 are subject to the
Commission's rules regarding an applicant with delinquent debts, often
referred to as the Commission's Red Light Rules. Parties familiar with
spectrum license auctions should note that the stricter spectrum
license application rules supersede the Commission's Red Light Rules in
the context of a spectrum license auction. No corresponding provision
applies with respect to Auction 902, however. Accordingly, the
Commission's standard Red Light Rules will apply. Pursuant to the Red
Light Rules, unless otherwise expressly provided for, the Commission
will withhold action on an application by any entity found to be
delinquent in its debt to the Commission for purposes of the Red Light
Rule. Accordingly, parties interested in filing applications to
participate in Auction 902 should review the status of any debts that
they owe the Commission before submitting their application and resolve
any delinquent debts. The Commission maintains a Red Light Display
System (RLD) to enable entities doing business with the FCC to
determine if they have any outstanding delinquent debt. The RLD enables
a party to check the status of its account by individual FCC
Registration Numbers (FRNs), and links other FRNs sharing the same Tax
Identification Number (TIN) when determining whether there are
outstanding delinquent debts. The RLD is available at https://www.fcc.gov/redlight/. Additional information is available at https://transition.fcc.gov/debt_collection/.
H. USF Debarment
110. The Commission's rules provide for the debarment of those
convicted of or found civilly liable for defrauding the high-cost
support program. Applicants are reminded that those rules apply with
equal force to the Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I.
I. Minor Modifications to Short-Form Applications
111. After the deadline for filing short-form applications, an
Auction 902 applicant is permitted to make only minor changes to its
application. Permissible minor changes include, among other things,
deletion and addition of authorized bidders (to a maximum of three) and
revision of the addresses and telephone numbers of the applicant and
its contact person. An applicant is not permitted to make a major
modification to its application (e.g., change in control of the
applicant or change of the certifying official) after the initial
application filing deadline. Thus, any change in control of an
applicant, resulting from a merger, for example, will be considered a
major modification, and the application will consequently be dismissed.
The Bureaus reiterate that even if an applicant's short-form
application is dismissed, the applicant would remain subject to the
communication prohibitions of 47 CFR 1.21002 until the long-form
application deadline after the auction closes.
112. If an applicant wishes to make permissible minor changes to
its short-form application, such changes should be made electronically
to its short-form application using the FCC Auction System whenever
possible. For the change to be submitted and considered by the
Commission, be sure to click on the SUBMIT button. After the revised
application has been submitted, a confirmation page will be displayed
that states the submission time, submission date, and a unique file
number. The Bureaus advise applicants to print and retain a copy of
this confirmation page.
113. An applicant cannot use the FCC Auction System outside of the
initial and resubmission filing windows to
[[Page 56888]]
make changes to its short-form application other than administrative
changes (e.g., changing certain contact information or the name of an
authorized bidder). If permissible minor changes need to be made
outside of these windows, the applicant must submit a letter briefly
summarizing the changes and subsequently update its short-form
application in the FCC Auction System once it is available. Moreover,
after the filing window has closed, the system will not permit
applicants to make certain changes, such as the applicant's legal
classification.
114. Any letter describing changes to an applicant's short-form
application must be submitted by email to auction902@fcc.gov. The email
summarizing the changes must include a subject or caption referring to
Auction 902 and the name of the applicant, for example, ``RE: Changes
to Auction 902 Short-Form Application of ABC Corp.'' The Bureaus
request that parties format any attachments to email as Adobe[supreg]
Acrobat[supreg] (pdf) or Microsoft[supreg] Word documents. Questions
about short-form application amendments should be directed to the
Auctions and Spectrum Access Division at (202) 418-0660.
115. Any application amendment and related statements of fact must
be certified by an appropriate party. Appropriate parties include one
of the partners if the applicant is a partnership; an officer,
director, or duly authorized employee, if the applicant is a
corporation; or a member who is an officer, if the applicant is an
unincorporated association.
116. Applicants must not submit application-specific material
through the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), which
was used for submitting comments regarding Auction 902. Further,
parties submitting information related to their applications should use
caution to ensure that their submissions do not contain confidential
information or communicate information that would violate 47 CFR
1.21002 or the limited information procedures adopted for Auction 902.
A party seeking to submit information that might reflect non-public
information should consider submitting any such information along with
a request that the filing or portions of the filing be withheld from
public inspection until the end of the prohibition of certain
communications pursuant to 47 CFR 1.21002.
J. Maintaining Current Information in Short-Form Applications
117. 47 CFR 1.65 requires an applicant to maintain the accuracy and
completeness of information furnished in its pending application. If an
amendment reporting changes is a ``major amendment,'' as defined by 47
CFR 1.21001(d)(4), the major amendment will not be accepted and may
result in the dismissal of the application. After the application
filing deadline, applicants may make only minor changes to their
applications.
IV. Pre-Auction Procedures
A. Online Auction Tutorial--Available September 25, 2013
118. No later than Wednesday, September 25, 2013, the Commission
will post an educational auction tutorial on the Auction 902 Web page
for prospective bidders to familiarize themselves with the auction
process. This online tutorial will provide information about pre-
auction procedures, completing short-form applications, auction
conduct, the FCC Auction System, auction rules, and Mobility Fund
rules. The tutorial will also provide an avenue to ask FCC staff
questions about the auction, auction procedures, filing requirements,
and other matters related to this auction.
119. This interactive, online tutorial should provide an efficient
and effective way for interested parties to further their understanding
of the auction process. The Auction 902 online tutorial will allow
viewers to navigate the presentation outline, review written notes,
listen to audio of the notes, and search for topics using a text search
function. Additional features of this web-based tool include links to
auction-specific Commission releases, email links for contacting
Commission staff, and a timeline with deadlines for auction
preparation. The online tutorial will be accessible through a web
browser with Adobe Flash Player. As always, Commission staff will be
available to promptly answer questions posed by telephone and email
throughout the auction process.
120. The auction tutorial will be accessible from the FCC's Auction
902 Web page at https://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/902/ through an
``Auction Tutorial'' link. Once posted, this tutorial will remain
available for reference in connection with the procedures outlined in
this Public Notice and accessible anytime.
B. Short-Form Applications--Due Prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on October 9,
2013
121. In order to be eligible to bid in this auction, applicants
must first follow the procedures set forth in Attachment D to the
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice to submit a short-form application
(FCC Form 180) electronically via the FCC Auction System. This short-
form application must be submitted prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on October 9,
2013. Late applications will not be accepted. No application fee is
required.
122. Applications may generally be filed at any time beginning at
noon ET on September 25, 2013, until the filing window closes at 6:00
p.m. ET on October 9, 2013. The Bureaus strongly encourage applicants
to file early and allow for adequate time for the filing process.
Applications can be updated or amended multiple times until the filing
deadline on October 9, 2013.
123. An applicant must always click on the SUBMIT button on the
``Certify & Submit'' screen to successfully submit its FCC Form 180 and
any modifications; otherwise the application or changes to the
application will not be received or reviewed by Commission staff.
Additional information about accessing, completing, and viewing the FCC
Form 180 is included in Attachment D of the Auctions 902 Procedures
Public Notice. FCC Auctions Technical Support is available at (877)
480-3201, option nine; (202) 414-1250; or (202) 414-1255 (text
telephone (TTY)); hours of service are Monday through Friday, from 8:00
a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. In order to provide better service to the public,
all calls to Technical Support are recorded.
C. Application Processing and Minor Corrections
124. After the deadline for filing FCC Form 180 applications,
Commission staff will process all timely submitted applications to
determine which are complete, and subsequently will issue a public
notice identifying (1) those that are complete; (2) those that are
rejected; and (3) those that are incomplete or deficient because of
minor defects that may be corrected. The public notice will include the
deadline for resubmitting corrected applications.
125. After the application filing deadline on October 9, 2013,
applicants can make only minor corrections to their applications. They
will not be permitted to make major modifications (e.g., change control
of the applicant or change of the certifying official).
126. Commission staff will communicate only with an applicant's
contact person or certifying official, as designated on the short-form
application, unless the applicant's certifying official or contact
person notifies the Commission in writing that applicant's counsel or
other representative is authorized to speak on its behalf.
Authorizations may be sent
[[Page 56889]]
by email to auction902@fcc.gov. In no event, however, will the
Commission send auction registration materials to anyone other than the
contact person listed on the applicant's FCC Form 180 or respond to a
request for replacement registration materials from anyone other than
the authorized bidder, contact person, or certifying official listed on
the applicant's FCC Form 180.
D. Auction Registration
127. Approximately ten days before the auction, the Bureaus will
issue a public notice announcing all qualified bidders for the auction.
Qualified bidders are those applicants with submitted FCC Form 180
applications that are deemed timely-filed, accurate, and complete.
128. All qualified bidders are automatically registered for the
auction. Registration materials will be distributed prior to the
auction by overnight mail. The mailing will be sent only to the contact
person at the contact address listed in the FCC Form 180 and will
include the SecurID[supreg] tokens that will be required to place bids,
the ``FCC Auction System Bidder's Guide,'' and the Auction Bidder Line
telephone number for bidding questions.
129. Qualified bidders that do not receive this registration
mailing will not be able to submit bids. Therefore, any qualified
bidder that has not received this mailing by noon on Wednesday,
December 11, 2013, should call the Auctions Hotline at (717) 338-2868.
Receipt of this registration mailing is critical to participating in
the auction, and each applicant is responsible for ensuring it has
received all of the registration material.
130. In the event that SecurID[supreg] tokens are lost or damaged,
only a person who has been designated as an authorized bidder, the
contact person, or the certifying official on the applicant's short-
form application may request replacements. To request replacement of
these items, call Technical Support at (877) 480-3201, option nine;
(202) 414-1250; or (202) 414-1255 (TTY).
E. Remote Electronic Bidding
131. The Commission will conduct this auction over the Internet.
Only qualified bidders are permitted to bid. Each authorized bidder
must have its own SecurID[supreg] token, which the Commission will
provide at no charge. Each applicant with one authorized bidder will be
issued two SecurID[supreg] tokens, while applicants with two or three
authorized bidders will be issued three tokens. Bidders cannot bid
without their SecurID tokens. For security purposes, the
SecurID[supreg] tokens, a telephone number for bidding questions, and
the ``FCC Auction System Bidder's Guide'' are only mailed to the
contact person at the contact address listed on the FCC Form 180. Each
SecurID[supreg] token is tailored to a specific auction.
SecurID[supreg] tokens issued for other auctions or obtained from a
source other than the FCC will not work for Auction 902.
132. The SecurID[supreg] tokens can be recycled and the Bureaus
encourage bidders to return the tokens to the FCC. Pre-addressed
envelopes will be provided to return the tokens once the auction has
ended.
F. Mock Auction--December 16, 2013
133. All qualified bidders will be eligible to participate in a
mock auction on Monday, December 16, 2013. The mock auction will enable
qualified bidders to become familiar with the FCC Auction System and to
practice submitting bids prior to the auction. The Bureaus strongly
recommend that all qualified bidders participate to gain experience
with the bidding procedures. Details will be announced by public
notice.
V. Auction Event
A. Auction Structure--Reverse Auction Mechanism
134. Auction 902 will be held on Thursday, December 19, 2013. The
start and finish time of the bidding round will be announced in a
public notice listing the qualified bidders, which will be released
approximately 10 days before the start of the auction. The Bureaus'
choice of auction design for Auction 902--a single-round format with
other design characteristics--is specific to the particular context of
the Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I auction. The choices the Bureaus make
here do not prejudge their future auction design choices for other
phases of the Mobility Fund or other competitive bidding mechanisms
related to the USF.
i. Single-Round Sealed-Bid Reverse Auction Format
135. The Bureaus will conduct Auction 902 using a single round of
bidding. The Bureaus conclude that a multiple-round auction would not
be appropriate in the context of the Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
auction.
ii. Aggregation Method--Predefined Aggregation
136. The Commission determined that the census block should be the
minimum geographic building block for which support is provided, but
left to the Bureaus the task of deciding how to facilitate bidding on
aggregations of eligible census blocks. The Commission recognized that
some aggregation of census blocks may be necessary because census
blocks are numerous and can be quite small, but encouraged the Bureaus
to consider permitting bidding on individual census blocks in Alaska
because they are so much larger on average than census blocks
elsewhere.
137. Aggregation of census blocks by Tribal lands and census
tracts. In the Auction 902 Comment Public Notice, the Bureaus proposed
aggregating eligible census blocks by Tribal land, and subdividing the
aggregation by census tract where applicable. That is, for any Tribal
land covering more than one census tract, the eligible census blocks
would be aggregated into one bidding area for each tract. Aggregating
by Tribal lands may also create--for any census tract with more than
one Tribal land--more than one bidding area for the tract. A bidder
would bid on these bidding areas, not on individual census blocks. The
Bureaus proposed that while census blocks in Alaska are larger than
those in other parts of the country, aggregations by Tribal land and
census tract--due to many instances of census tracts in Alaska covering
multiple Tribal lands--would result in Alaska aggregations being closer
in size to the aggregations in other parts of the country.
138. In all eligible areas other than in Alaska, the Bureaus adopt
their original proposal to establish bidding areas consisting of
predefined aggregations of eligible census blocks. Under this approach,
eligible census blocks will be grouped by the Tribal land in which they
are located, and bidders will be able to bid for support for these
bidding areas. Bidders will not bid on individual blocks, except for
some blocks in Alaska. If a single Tribal land includes more than one
census tract, then the Tribal land will be subdivided by tract for
bidding area purposes; there will be one bidding area for each tract in
the Tribal land. For each bidding area on which a bidder bids, the
bidder will indicate a per-pop price to cover the population in the
bidding area. The auction will assign support to an awardee equal to
the per-pop rate of its bid multiplied by the population associated
with the eligible census blocks within the bidding area as shown in the
files provided by the Bureaus. A bidder may bid on multiple bidding
areas and win support for any or all of them. This approach requires
separate bids on individual bidding areas. An awardee will be required
to cover a given percentage of the total population of the eligible
census blocks in the bidding area.
[[Page 56890]]
139. For Alaska the eligible Tribal lands will be identified using
not only the Alaska Native village statistical areas (ANVSAs) that were
originally proposed for inclusion in Auction 902, but also the
boundaries of the twelve geographic Alaska Native regional corporations
and the Annette Island Reserve, which together cover the entire state
of Alaska. This requires that the Bureaus establish bidding areas that
are different from those originally proposed for Alaska. The eligible
census blocks in ANVSAs will be aggregated as proposed. That is,
eligible census blocks will be aggregated by Alaska Native village
statistical areas, and if an ANVSA covers more than one tract, there
will be a bidding area for each tract in that ANVSA.
140. For eligible census blocks in Alaska outside of ANVSAs, each
block will be a single bidding area. As with other bidding areas,
bidders will indicate a per-pop price to cover the population in the
block. The auction will assign support to an awardee equal to the per-
pop rate of its bid multiplied by the population associated with the
eligible census block, as shown in the files provided by the Bureaus. A
bidder may bid on multiple bidding areas--be they individual blocks
and/or predefined aggregations of blocks--and may win support for any
or all of them.
141. Coverage requirement. Each awardee will be required to provide
voice and broadband service meeting the established minimum standards
over at least 75 percent of the population associated with each bidding
area for which it receives support--that is, at least 75 percent of the
total population of the eligible blocks that comprise the bidding area.
If a winning bidder covers more than 75 percent of the population
within the required timeframe, it may collect support for up to 100
percent of the population in the bidding area. The required minimum
standards for service will depend on whether a winning bidder elects to
deploy 3G or 4G service. Pursuant to the USF/ICC Transformation Order,
awardees meeting the minimum coverage requirement could receive their
winning bid amount for that population and for any additional
population covered in excess of the 75 percent minimum, up to 100
percent of the population associated with the eligible blocks, subject
to the rules on disbursement of support.
iii. Winner Selection Process
142. Under the auction format that the Bureaus adopt, during the
single bidding round, bidders will be able to submit bids that indicate
a per-pop support price at which they are willing to meet the Bureaus'
requirements to cover the population in the eligible census blocks of
the bidding areas covered by the bids. The population of each bidding
area can be found in Attachment A, which is available on the Auction
902 Web page.
143. After the single bidding round closes, the FCC Auction System
will rank bids from lowest to highest per-pop bid amount and assign
support first to the lowest per-pop bid. An amount equal to the per-pop
bid times the population in the bidding area will be deducted from the
total available funds. The auction system will continue to assign
support to the next lowest per-pop bid in turn, as long as support has
not already been assigned for that geographic area, deducting assigned
support funds from the remaining available funds. The auction system
will stop assigning support when the next ranked per-pop bid implies a
support amount exceeding the remaining funds available. A bidder will
be eligible to receive support for each of its winning bids equal to
the per-pop rate of the bid multiplied by the population in the
eligible census blocks covered by the bid, subject to meeting the
obligations associated with receiving support. For bidders claiming
eligibility for a Tribal entity bidding credit, the auction system will
reduce those bid amounts by 25 percent for the purpose of comparing
them to other bids, thus increasing the likelihood that Tribally-owned
and -controlled entities will receive funding.
144. To ensure that the finite resource of universal service
support is used to extend mobile voice and broadband services to as
many people on Tribal lands as possible, the Bureaus may, in their sole
discretion, stop assigning support in the rank order of per-pop bids
immediately prior to a bid even though funds remain available. In
determining when to exercise this authority, the Bureaus will carefully
consider the costs and benefits given the unique challenges associated
with deploying mobile broadband on Tribal lands, as well as whether
dedication of the funds to other programs for eligible Tribal lands
could help bring broadband to a greater number of people in those
lands. The Bureaus conclude that these steps will reduce incentives to
submit extremely high per-pop bids in an attempt to take advantage of
the potential for reduced competition relative to Auction 901 and help
assure that winning bids will make cost-effective use of the limited
funds.
145. Bids will be assigned a random selection number that will be
used to determine the ranking of tied bids. If there are any identical
bids--in the same per-pop amounts to cover the same block, submitted by
different bidders--only the bid with the highest random selection
number will be considered in the ranking. Tied bids for different
areas, submitted by the same or different bidders, will be considered
for support in the order of the random number. Bidders that submit
multiple bids for the same per-pop amount for different areas, but that
have a preference for the order in which the Bureaus consider such
bids, may wish to vary the per-pop bid by some small amount in order to
indicate a preferential ranking of the tied bids that otherwise will be
ranked randomly.
iv. Limited Information Disclosure Procedures: Information Available to
Bidders Before and During the Auction
146. The Bureaus will conduct Auction 902 using procedures for
limited information disclosure. That is, for Auction 902, the Bureaus
will withhold, until after the close of bidding and announcement of
auction results, the public release of (1) information from applicants'
short-form applications regarding their interests in bidding areas in
particular Tribal lands and (2) information that may reveal the
identities of bidders placing bids and taking other bidding-related
actions. Because the Bureaus will conduct Auction 902 using a single
round of bidding, they do not anticipate a need to release bidding-
related actions during the auction as they would in a multiple-round
auction. If such circumstances arise prior to the release of non-public
information and auction results, however, the Bureaus will not indicate
the identity of any bidders taking such actions. After the close of
bidding, information regarding applicants' interests in eligible areas
in particular Tribal lands, their bids, and any other bidding-related
actions and information will be made publicly available.
v. Auction Delay, Suspension, or Cancellation
147. In the Auction 902 Comment Public Notice, the Bureaus proposed
that, by public notice or by announcement during the auction, they may
delay, suspend, or cancel the auction in the event of natural disaster,
technical obstacle, administrative or weather necessity, evidence of an
auction security breach or unlawful bidding activity, or for any other
reason that affects the fair and efficient conduct of competitive
bidding. The Bureaus received no comments on this issue.
148. Because this approach has proven effective in resolving
exigent
[[Page 56891]]
circumstances in previous auctions, the Bureaus adopt these proposals
regarding auction delay, suspension, or cancellation. By public notice
or by announcement during the auction, the Bureaus may delay, suspend,
or cancel the auction in the event of natural disaster, technical
obstacle, administrative or weather necessity, evidence of an auction
security breach or unlawful bidding activity, or for any other reason
that affects the fair and efficient conduct of competitive bidding. In
such cases, the Bureaus, in their sole discretion, may elect to resume
the auction starting from the point at which the auction was suspended,
or cancel the auction in its entirety. Network interruption may cause
the Bureaus to delay or suspend the auction. The Bureaus emphasize that
they will exercise this authority solely at their discretion.
B. Bidding Procedures
i. Bidding
149. All bidding will take place through the web-based FCC Auction
System. To place bids a bidder will upload a text file that includes,
for each bid, the bidding area name and the bid amount, expressed in a
dollars per-pop price to cover the population in the eligible census
blocks of that bidding area. When a bidder uploads a bid file, the FCC
Auction System will provide a verification that includes the bidding
area names, the dollars per-pop bid for each bidding area, the
population in each bidding area, the total bid amount for each bidding
area, and the county, state, and Tribal land for each bidding area. The
bidder then submits the bids, or the bidder can cancel the bids if it
wishes to make changes.
150. Bidders must submit their bids before the finish time of the
bidding round, which will be announced in a public notice listing the
qualified bidders, and which will be released approximately 10 days
before the start of the auction.
ii. Reserve Prices
151. The Bureaus conclude that a reserve price is not needed to
ensure the commitment to fiscal responsibility made in the USF/ICC
Transformation Order. The Bureaus will stop assigning support at the
point at which remaining funds are insufficient to satisfy the next
ranked per-pop bid. Thus, in Auction 902, the Bureaus will not award
support at higher per-pop bid amounts but for lower total support
amounts in order to use as much of the budget as possible. In addition,
the Bureaus retain the authority to stop the assignment of support to
unreasonably high per-pop bids.
iii. Bid Removal
152. For Auction 902, before the end of the single round of
bidding, a bidder will have the option of removing any bid it has
placed. By removing a selected bid, a bidder may effectively ``undo'' a
bid placed within the single round of bidding. Once the single round of
bidding ends, a bidder may no longer remove any of its bids.
153. To remove bids a bidder will upload a text file that includes
the bidding area name for each bid it wants to remove. When a bidder
uploads such a file, the FCC Auction System will provide a verification
that includes the bidding area names, and the county, state, and Tribal
land for each bidding area.
iv. Auction Announcements
154. The Bureaus will use auction announcements to report necessary
information. All auction announcements will be available by clicking a
link in the FCC Auction System.
v. Auction Results
155. The Bureaus will determine the winning bids based on the
lowest per-pop bids, as described in the Auction 902 Procedures Public
Notice. After the Bureaus announce the auction results, the Bureaus
will provide downloadable files of the bidding and results data.
VI. Post-Auction Procedures
A. General Information Regarding Long-Form Applications
156. After the conclusion of Auction 902, each winning bidder will
be required to file a long-form application to demonstrate that it
qualifies for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support. Shortly after
bidding has ended, the Commission will issue a public notice declaring
the auction closed, identifying the winning bidders, and establishing
the deadline for the long-form application. Winning bidders will use
FCC Form 680 and the FCC Auction System to submit the long-form
application. The public notice announcing the close of the auction will
provide details regarding the submission and processing of the long-
form application. Unless otherwise provided by public notice, as was
the case for Auction 901, a winning bidder must file its long-form
application no later than 10 business days after being identified by
public notice as such a winning bidder. The Bureaus note that in
Auction 901, winning bidders initially had 21 business days to file
long-form applications, and this deadline was later extended to 23
business days. The Bureaus anticipate that they will provide at least a
similar time period before the long-form application deadline for
Auction 902.
157. In addition to the long-form application process described in
the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice, any bidder winning support in
Auction 902 must notify the relevant Tribal government(s) no later than
five business days after being identified by public notice as such a
winning bidder. The Office of Native Affairs and Policy (ONAP), in
coordination with the Bureaus, has provided guidance regarding the
appropriate points of contact for Tribal governments.
B. Long-Form Application: Disclosures and Certifications
158. By the due date specified in the auction closing public
notice, a winning bidder must electronically submit a properly-
completed long-form application (FCC Form 680) for the bidding areas of
its winning bids. A Tribally-owned or -controlled provider claiming
eligibility for a Tribal entity bidding credit must certify as to its
eligibility for the bidding credit. Further filing instructions will be
provided to winning bidders in the auction closing public notice.
i. Ownership Disclosure
159. In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission adopted
for Mobility Fund Phase I auctions the existing Part 1 ownership
disclosure requirements that already apply to short-form applicants to
participate in spectrum license auctions and long-form applicants for
licenses in wireless services. Under these requirements, an applicant
for Mobility Fund support must fully disclose its ownership structure
as well as information regarding the real party- or parties-in-interest
of the applicant or application.
160. As the Commission has previously noted, wireless providers
that have participated in spectrum license auctions will already have
ownership disclosure reports (in the short-form application) on file
with the Commission, which may simply need to be updated. To minimize
the reporting burden on winning bidders, the Bureaus will allow them to
use ownership information stored in existing Commission databases and
update that information as necessary.
ii. Documentation of ETC Designation
161. A winning bidder must submit with its long-form application
appropriate documentation of its ETC
[[Page 56892]]
designation in all of the areas for which it will receive support and
certify that its proof is accurate. Although a Tribally-owned or -
controlled entity may participate in Auction 902 so long as it has an
application to be designated as an ETC pending at the relevant short-
form application deadline, a Tribally-owned or -controlled entity may
receive Tribal Mobility Fund support only after it has become an ETC
and has provided the appropriate documentation. Appropriate
documentation should include the original designation orders, any
relevant modifications, e.g., expansion of service area or inclusion of
wireless services, and any relevant name-change orders. Any ETC
designation documentation provided as an attachment to the long-form
application must be designated as an ``Eligible Telecommunications
Carrier'' attachment.
162. Each winning bidder should connect the designated areas (e.g.,
wire centers, exchanges, and study areas) to its winning bid areas so
that it is clear that the applicant has ETC status in each winning bid
area. This obligation may be satisfied by providing maps of the
recipient's ETC designation area, map overlays of the winning bid
areas, charts listing designated areas and associated winning bid
areas, and narrative descriptions explaining the connections between
the ETC designations and the winning bid areas. An applicant must
demonstrate that it has been designated as an ETC throughout a
sufficient portion of each winning bid area to satisfy the applicable
performance requirements.
iii. Financial and Technical Capability Certification
163. As in the pre-auction short-form application stage, a long-
form applicant must certify that it is financially and technically
capable of providing 3G or better service within the specified
timeframe in the geographic areas in which it seeks support. This
certification indicates that an applicant for Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I funds can provide the requisite service without any assurance
of ongoing support for the areas in question after Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I support has been exhausted. An applicant should be aware that
in making a certification to the Commission it exposes itself to
liability for a false certification. An applicant should take care to
review its resources and its plans before making the required
certification and be prepared to document its review, if necessary.
iv. Project Construction Schedule/Specifications
164. Applicants are required to provide in their long-form
application a ``Project Description'' attachment for each winning bid
with a detailed project description that describes the network,
identifies the proposed technology, demonstrates that the project is
technically feasible, discloses the complete project budget, and
describes each specific phase of the project, e.g., network design,
construction, deployment, and maintenance, as those details pertain to
each winning bid. Applicants are urged to include an initial summary
paragraph in layman's terms that describes the project for each winning
bid. A complete project schedule, including timelines, milestones, and
costs, also must be provided in detail for each winning bid. Milestones
should include the start and end date for network design, start and end
date for drafting and posting requests for proposal (RFPs), start and
end date for selecting vendors and negotiating contracts, start date
for commencing construction and end date for completing construction,
and the dates by which the applicant will meet applicable requirements
to receive the installments of Mobility Fund support. To the extent an
applicant has one project description for multiple winning bids, it
still must provide all of the specific details described herein as
those details correspond to each winning bid. Additionally, applicants
need to ensure that each winning bid's project description corresponds
with the applicant's access to spectrum certification for each winning
bid, and that all prior Commission approvals have been obtained. In
order to demonstrate eligibility for Auction 902, applicants relying on
Cellular Geographic Service Area (CGSA) expansion to demonstrate
spectrum access must have prior approvals in place or alternative
access to spectrum until such approvals are obtained.
165. Applicants will indicate for each winning bid whether the
supported network will provide 3G mobile service within the period
prescribed by 47 CFR 54.1006(a) or 4G mobile service within the period
prescribed by 47 CFR 54.1006(b). The description of the proposed
technology should include information on whether the network will
qualify as either a 3G or 4G network.
v. Spectrum Access
166. Applicants are required to provide a description of the
spectrum access that the applicant will use to meet its obligations in
areas for which it is the winning bidder, including whether the
applicant currently holds a license for, leases, or otherwise has
contracted for access to the spectrum consistent with Commission rules.
The description should identify the license applicable to the spectrum
to be accessed. The description of the license must include the type of
service (e.g., AWS, 700 MHz, BRS, PCS), the particular frequency bands,
and the call sign. If the licensee is a different party than the
applicant, the licensee name and the relationship and type of agreement
between the applicant and the licensee that provides the applicant with
the required access should be described. If the applicant is leasing
spectrum, the lease number should be provided along with the license
information. An applicant must provide this required information
relating to spectrum access in an attachment to the long-form
application that is designated as a ``Spectrum Access'' attachment.
167. Applicants must also certify that the description of the
spectrum access is accurate and that the applicant will retain such
access for at least five years after the date on which it is authorized
to receive support. Applications will be reviewed to assess the
reasonableness of the certification.
vi. Letter of Credit Commitment Letter
168. A winning bidder must submit with its long-form application
either a Letter of Credit (LOC) for each winning bid or a written
commitment letter from an acceptable bank to issue such an LOC. If the
applicant submits a commitment letter, the letter must at a minimum
provide the dollar amount of the LOC and the issuing bank's agreement
to follow the terms and conditions of the Commission's model LOC, set
forth in Appendix N of the USF/ICC Transformation Order. The commitment
letter must be from an acceptable bank, as defined in 47 CFR
54.1007(a)(1). The Bureaus waived 47 CFR 54.1007(a)(1) on their own
motion to allow Auction 901 winning bidders seeking authorization for
Mobility Fund Phase I support to use CoBank, ACB as an issuing bank for
the required LOC, in addition to the acceptable banks described in 47
CFR 54.1007(a)(1).
vii. Letter of Credit and Bankruptcy Code Opinion Letter
169. After receipt and review of the long-form applications, the
Commission will issue a public notice identifying each winning bidder
and bid that may be authorized to receive Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
support. Upon notice from the Commission, a winning bidder for
[[Page 56893]]
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support must submit an irrevocable stand-
by LOC, issued in substantially the same form as set forth in the model
LOC provided in Appendix N of the USF/ICC Transformation Order, by a
bank that is acceptable to the Commission. An LOC must be submitted for
each winning bid in an amount equal to one-third of the winning bid
amount plus an additional 10 percent of the winning bid amount which
shall serve as a performance default payment. The Commission's rules
provide specific requirements, as defined in 47 CFR 54.1007(a)(1), for
a bank to be acceptable to the Commission to issue the LOC. Those
requirements vary for U.S. banks and non-U.S. banks.
170. In addition, a winning bidder will be required to provide with
the LOC an opinion letter from legal counsel clearly stating, subject
only to customary assumptions, limitations, and qualifications, that in
a proceeding under the Bankruptcy Code, the bankruptcy court would not
treat the LOC or proceeds of the LOC as property of the winning
bidder's bankruptcy estate, or the bankruptcy estate of any other
bidder-related entity requesting issuance of the LOC, under section 541
of the Bankruptcy Code.
viii. Certification as to Program Requirements
171. The long-form application contains certifications that the
applicant has available funds for all project costs that exceed the
amount of support to be received and will comply with all program
requirements. The program requirements include the public interest
obligations contained in the Commission's rules and set forth in the
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice. Also, an applicant must certify
that it will meet the applicable deadline for construction of a network
meeting the coverage and performance requirements set forth in the
rules, that it will comply with the Mobility Fund collocation
obligations specified in the rules, and that it will comply with the
voice and data roaming obligations that the Commission has established
with respect to Phase I of the Mobility Fund.
ix. Reasonably Comparable Rate Certification
172. The Commission's rules require a recipient of Mobility Fund
Phase I support--including Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support--to
certify on its long-form application that it will offer service in
supported areas at consumer rates that are within a reasonable range of
rates for similar service plans offered by mobile wireless providers in
urban areas. Recipients will be subject to this requirement for five
years after the date of the award of support. Recipients must offer
service plans in supported areas that meet the public interest
obligations specified in the Commission's Mobility Fund rules and that
include a stand-alone voice service plan.
173. In the Auction 902 Comment Public Notice, the Bureaus proposed
to permit a recipient of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support to
demonstrate compliance with the reasonably comparable rates requirement
in the same manner as recipients of general Mobility Fund Phase I
support. This would require a supported provider to demonstrate that
its required stand-alone voice plan, and one service plan that offers
data services, if it offers such plans, are (1) substantially similar
to a service plan offered by at least one mobile wireless service
provider in an urban area, and (2) offered for the same or a lower rate
than the matching urban service plan. The Bureaus note that any
provider that itself offers the same service plan for the same rate in
a supported area and in an urban area would be able to meet this
requirement. For purposes of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I, the Bureaus
proposed to treat any rate equal to or less than the highest rate for a
matching service charged in an urban area as reasonably comparable to,
i.e., within a reasonable range of, rates for similar service in urban
areas. For purposes of this requirement, the Bureaus proposed to define
``urban area'' as one of the 100 most populated CMAs in the United
States. (A list of the top 100 CMAs is available in Attachment B to the
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice). The Bureaus also proposed to
retain discretion to consider whether and how variable rate structures
should be taken into account, and further proposed to address such
issues on a case-by-case basis. To provide recipients with flexibility
to tailor their offerings to consumer demand while complying with the
rule, the Bureaus proposed to deem a Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
support recipient compliant with the terms of the required
certification if it can demonstrate that its rates for services satisfy
the requirements, and if it provides supporting documentation. Under
this approach, the supported party must offer services at rates within
the range but that do not exceed one particular rate that is presumed
to be a part of that range.
174. The Bureaus proposed to make a limited exception for supported
parties serving Alaska in light of the distinct character of Alaska and
the related costs of providing service, and in line with the approach
adopted for Auction 901. Specifically, the Bureaus proposed that
supported parties in Alaska may demonstrate comparability by comparison
with rates offered in the CMA for Anchorage, Alaska.
175. The Bureaus adopt the proposals in the Auction 902 Comment
Public Notice for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I, including the proposed
limited exception for supported providers serving Alaska.
x. Tribal Engagement Requirements: Certification and Summary of
Engagement
176. Beginning at the long-form application stage, and continuing
throughout the term of support, Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I winning
bidders are required to comply with the Tribal engagement obligations
applicable to all ETCs. As the Commission discussed in the USF/ICC
Transformation Order, these obligations are designed to ensure that
Tribal governments have been formally and effectively engaged in the
planning process and that the services to be provided will advance the
goals established by the Tribal government. Thus, the Bureaus encourage
applicants seeking to serve Tribal lands to begin engaging with the
appropriate Tribal governments as soon as possible. The Bureaus note
that any such engagement must be done consistent with the rules
prohibiting certain communications during the competitive bidding
process.
177. Any bidder winning support in Auction 902 must notify the
appropriate Tribal government(s) of its winning bid no later than five
business days after being identified by public notice as such a winning
bidder. A winning bidder's engagement with the appropriate Tribal
government(s) must consist, at a minimum, of discussion regarding: (i)
A needs assessment and deployment planning with a focus on Tribal
community anchor institutions; (ii) feasibility and sustainability
planning; (iii) marketing services in a culturally sensitive manner;
(iv) rights of way processes, land use permitting, facilities siting,
environmental and cultural preservation review processes; and (v)
compliance with Tribal business and licensing requirements. Thereafter,
at the long-form application stage and in annual reports, a bidder
winning support in Auction 902 will be required to certify that it has
substantively engaged appropriate Tribal government officials regarding
the minimum discussion topics, as well as any other issues specified by
the Commission, and provide a summary of the results of such
engagement. A copy of the certification and summary must be sent
[[Page 56894]]
to the appropriate Tribal officials when it is sent to the Commission.
Appropriate Tribal government officials are elected or duly authorized
government officials of federally recognized American Indian Tribes and
Alaska Native Villages. In the instance of the Hawaiian Home Lands,
this engagement must occur with the State of Hawaii Department of
Hawaiian Home Lands and Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The Bureaus remind
carriers that failure to satisfy the Tribal government engagement
obligations could subject them to financial consequences including
potential reduction in support should they fail to fulfill their
obligations.
178. The Tribal engagement obligations established by the
Commission will apply to Auction 902. The Bureaus note that there are
three pending petitions for reconsideration of certain aspects of 47
CFR 54.313(a)(9), which mandates that annual reports on the Tribal
government engagement requirements be filed by carriers receiving high-
cost universal service support other than or in addition to any
mobility fund support. In addition, there is a pending petition for
reconsideration and clarification of the Tribal Engagement Further
Guidance.
C. Coverage Requirements, Reporting Obligations, and Payment
Disbursements
i. Coverage Requirements
179. Support recipients will be required to provide voice and
broadband service meeting the established minimum standards over at
least 75 percent of the population associated with the eligible blocks
in each bidding area for which they receive support. Because Census
data does not specify how population is distributed within a census
block, the Bureaus sought comment on how to determine whether this
coverage requirement is met. If a provider demonstrates new coverage
over the entirety of an eligible census block, the Bureaus can assume
coverage of the entire population of that census block. However, the
Bureaus sought input on how to evaluate the population served by new
coverage where a provider demonstrates new coverage over part of an
eligible census block. In particular, the Bureaus asked whether they
should assume that census block population is evenly distributed and
assess coverage on the proportion of the geographic area covered, and
they also sought comment on alternatives.
180. The Bureaus conclude that support recipients will be able to
prove coverage as follows. If an awardee can prove coverage of at least
75 percent of the actual population associated with the eligible census
blocks within a winning bid area, it may provide and prove coverage in
any combination across eligible census blocks within that single
bidding area, including providing coverage to more than 75 percent of
the population in one eligible census block and less than 75 percent of
the population in another eligible census block in the same bidding
area. In response to comments, in the alternative the Bureaus will also
permit proof of coverage by relying on a geographic area safe harbor,
by which an awardee may show that it is providing coverage to at least
75 percent of the geographic area in a census block as a proxy for
providing service to at least 75 percent of the population within that
census block. Because using a geographic proxy is a safe harbor,
geographic coverage must be shown on a census-block by census-block
basis, rather than within the winning bid area as a whole. In other
words, if a winning bidder relies on the geographic area safe harbor
for a particular winning bid area, it must provide and prove coverage
to at least 75 percent of the geographic area of each eligible census
block within that winning bid area. With respect to demonstrating
compliance with the coverage requirements, the Commission's rules set
forth the standards for applicable drive test data and scattered site
testing.
181. The Commission recognized the unique challenges of Tribal
lands, which may have sparse roads and isolated populations for which a
winning bidder would be required to prove coverage. In particular,
given that the Commission adopted a population-based coverage metric
for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I, the Commission explained that
providers may demonstrate coverage of an area with scattered site
tests--i.e., a statistically significant number of tests in the
vicinity of residences being covered. The Commission also noted that
equipment to conduct such testing could be transported by off-road
vehicles, such as snow-mobiles or other vehicles appropriate to local
conditions.
ii. Annual Reporting and Record Retention Requirements
182. Winning bidders that are authorized to receive Tribal Mobility
Fund Phase I support are required to submit to the Commission an annual
report each year for the five years after being so authorized. Each
annual report covers the preceding calendar year. As a result, any
Auction 902 winning bidder that is first authorized to receive Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support in 2014 will not be required to file an
annual report regarding such support until the applicable deadline in
2015. The information and certifications required to be included in the
annual report are described in 47 CFR 54.1009. As explained in the USF/
ICC Transformation Order, if a recipient of Mobility Fund support is a
carrier subject to other existing or new annual reporting requirements
under 47 CFR 54.313 of the rules based on their receipt of universal
service support under another high cost mechanism, it will be permitted
to satisfy its Mobility Fund Phase I reporting requirements by filing a
separate Mobility Fund annual report or by including this additional
information in a separate section of its other annual report filed with
the Commission. Mobility Fund recipients choosing to fulfill their
Mobility Fund reporting requirements in an annual report filed under 47
CFR 54.313 must, at a minimum, file a separate Mobility Fund annual
report notifying the Commission that the required information is
included in the other annual report. In addition, authorized winning
bidders are required to submit certain reports before receiving
disbursements of support. A winning bidder authorized to receive Tribal
Mobility Fund Phase I support and all of its agents are required to
retain any documentation prepared for, or in connection with, the award
of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support for a period of not less than
ten years after the date on which the winning bidder receives its final
disbursement of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support.
iii. Disbursement of Payments
183. Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support will be available for
disbursement to authorized winning bidders in three stages, with the
first disbursement made when the winning bidder is authorized to
receive support. A recipient will be eligible to receive the second
disbursement when it submits a report demonstrating coverage of 50
percent of the applicable coverage requirements of 47 CFR 54.1006. The
report a recipient files for this purpose will be subject to review and
verification before support is disbursed. A recipient will be eligible
to receive the final disbursement when it submits a report
demonstrating coverage meeting the applicable requirements of 47 CFR
54.1006. A party's final payment will be the difference between the
total amount of support based on the population covered--i.e., a figure
between the required 75 percent and 100 percent of
[[Page 56895]]
the population--and any support previously received.
D. Default Payment Requirements
184. In the USF/ICC Transformation Order, the Commission determined
that it would impose two types of default payment obligations on
winning bidders: a default payment owed by Mobility Fund winning
bidders that default on their winning bids prior to approval for
receiving support, and a default payment owed by Mobility Fund winning
bidders that apply for and are approved to receive support but
subsequently fail to meet their public interest obligations or other
terms and conditions of Mobility Fund support. Under the competitive
bidding rules adopted in the USF/ICC Transformation Order, bidders
selected by the auction process to receive USF support have a binding
obligation to file a post-auction long-form application--by the
applicable deadline and consistent with other requirements of the long-
form application process--and failure to do so constitutes an auction
default. In addition, a performance default occurs when a winning
bidder that the Commission has authorized to receive support fails to
meet its minimum coverage requirement or adequately comply with quality
of service or any other requirements upon which support was granted.
i. Auction Default Payment
185. Any winning bidder that fails to timely file a long-form
application, is found ineligible or unqualified to receive Mobility
Fund support, has its long-form application dismissed, or otherwise
defaults on its bid or is disqualified for any reason after the close
of the auction and prior to the authorization of support for each
winning bid will be subject to an auction default payment. Agreeing to
such payment in event of a default is a condition for participating in
bidding. In the event of an auction default, the Bureaus will assess a
default payment of five percent of the total defaulted bid. Liability
for the auction default payment will be imposed without regard to the
intentions or fault of any specific defaulting bidder.
186. The Bureaus' experience in Auction 901 has demonstrated that
this amount, which is well below the maximum allowable percentage,
provides bidders sufficient incentive to fully inform themselves of the
obligations associated with participation in the Tribal Mobility Fund
Phase I auction and to commit to fulfilling those obligations, and yet
is not unduly punitive. The Bureaus anticipate that such a requirement
here should serve to deter failures to fulfill auction obligations that
might undermine the stability and predictability of the auction process
and impose costs on the Commission as well as higher support costs for
USF. The Bureaus therefore adopt their proposal.
187. The Bureaus did not receive any comments on whether there
should be an alternative methodology for calculation of an auction
default payment, or whether an applicant should be required to furnish
a bond or place funds on deposit prior to bidding. The Bureaus conclude
that their adoption of an auction default payment calculated as five
percent of the total defaulted bid will provide adequate protection
against costs to the Commission and the USF, and therefore they find
that establishing a bond or deposit requirement is unnecessary.
ii. Performance Default Payment
188. A winning bidder that has received notice from the Commission
that it is authorized to receive Mobility Fund support will be subject
to a performance default payment if it fails or is unable to meet its
minimum coverage requirement, other service requirements, or fails to
fulfill any other term or condition of Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
support. The Bureaus conclude that in the event of a performance
default, they will assess a default payment of ten percent of the total
defaulted bid. The LOC that a winning bidder will be required to
provide for each winning bid must include an additional ten percent
based on the total amount of support for which the winning bidder is
eligible.
189. The Commission recognized in the USF/ICC Transformation Order
that a Mobility Fund recipient's failure to fulfill its obligations may
impose significant costs on the Commission and higher support costs for
the USF and concluded that it was necessary to adopt a default payment
obligation for performance defaults. In addition to being liable for a
performance default payment, the recipient will be required to repay
the Mobility Fund all of the support it has received, and depending on
circumstances, could be disqualified from receiving any additional
Mobility Fund or other USF support.
Federal Communications Commission.
Gary Michaels,
Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, WTB.
[FR Doc. 2013-22483 Filed 9-13-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P