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K. Sandoval ; Director, Office of Communications Business Opportunities ' Federal Communications Commission 'May 6, 1996 eStatement Regarding Closing of PCS Entrepreneurs' Block Auction  SH-x Thank you very much Michele. I am delighted to be here on behalf of the FCC's Office of Communications Business Opportunities to congratulate the winners of the Personal Communications Services Entrepreneurs or "C" block auction on the successful conclusion of the largest auction in history both in terms of dollars and opportunities. xAs you have heard, all 89 winning bidders are small businesses. 25 are owned by minorities, and 15 are owned by women. Minority owned firms were the winning bidders for 150 or 30.4% of the 493 licenses auctioned, while womenowned firms won 95 or 19.3%. Rural telephone companies won 22 of the licenses up for auction.  SK- xThese small businesses will offer new ideas, new energy and renewed competition to the customers they serve. Urban Communicators, for example, is a minorityowned company with extensive experience in broadcast radio. As they serve the communities in the 10 rural and urban North Carolina markets they won, their experience with the broadcast lane of the information superhighway will help them in meeting their customers' needs in the interactive wireless communications lane. The auction also allowed broadcasting companies like Urban Communicators and RobertsRoberts, which acquired 6 licenses in Missouri and Illinois, to make a relatively quick jump from broadcasting into PCS . They were declared winners in just over four months from the start of the auction, compared to the decade  SN-comparative hearings often took to acquire broadcast licenses. xx xThis auction created a rare opportunity for small businesses to get in on the ground floor of a brand new service in the burgeoning communications industry, which constitutes approximately onesixth of the U.S. economy. That opportunity was made possible by the leadership and vision of the U.S. Congress and this Administration. In the 1993 Budget Act, Congress and President Clinton created opportunity for all Americans, including small businesses, by authorizing the FCC to use auctions to license spectrumbased services. The 1993 Budget Act mandated that the FCC take steps to ensure that small businesses, businesses owned by minorities and women, and rural telephone companies would be able to participate in the provision of PCS and other spectrumbased services. Congress authorized the use of installment payments to allow bidders to pay for their licenses over time,":&0*((`'" bidding credits and other provisions to lower the capital access barriers which keep many small businesses from competing. xThese provisions were enacted because Congress recognized that small business is the leading innovator among U.S. firms. They wanted to bring entrepreneurial energy to the communications marketplace to spur competition and improve service. Unlocking the initiative of firms from all communities is key to achieving this goal. In the recent debates on the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Representative Cardiss Collins stressed the importance of helping minority and womenowned businesses overcome obstacles to full participation when she observed that "diversity of ownership remains a key to the competitiveness of the U.S. communications marketplace." xCreating widespread business opportunities is particularly important when many communities still do not have adequate communications services. Approximately 95% of American households have active telephone service, compared to about 86% of Hispanic and AfricanAmerican households. Those who aren't connected can't call 911 from home, receive messages about job interviews or calls from their child's teachers, let alone plug into the internet to help with their child's homework. In many rural Native American communities, fewer than 60% of the households have telephones. Those who want phones may have to wait 6 months or more while a landline wire is built to their home in a rural area or on a reservation. xWireless communication may change that. With a few towers, communication can be established in a much shorter period of time, making remote areas accessible. As these new PCS companies introduce ideas for local loop competition, they may also help households such as those mentioned above to get connected to the economy and to their communities. For its role in bringing about these connections, FCC stands for "Fostering Communications & Community." xThis auction was also made possible by the hard work and dedication of the FCC staff. Thanks to Chairman Hundt for being a champion of small, minority and womenowned businesses; Commissioners Quello, Ness and Chong; former Commissioner Barrett; the Commissioners' legal advisors; Blair Levin, the FCC Chief of Staff; the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau for their leadership; the General Counsel's office for their work on the rulemaking and litigation; the FCC's Office of Plans and Policy; Office of Public Affairs; Office of Managing Director; Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, and many others who made the PCS Entrepreneurs block effort a success. It was truly a team effort. xThanks also to the other government agencies whose assistance was key throughout the process: the Department of Treasury, the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration,"#'0*((P(" especially the hard work and dedication of Assistant Secretary Larry Irving and Tatia Williams; the Federal Trade Commission; and the partnership of the Small Business Administration. xI'd like to give a special thanks to the staff of the FCC's Office of Communications Business Opportunities who worked for many years to make this auction an opportunity and a reality. Special thanks to Karen Beverly, a 20 year government employee and dedicated public servant, who answered questions from hundreds of potential bidders and always ended each call by saying "we are here to serve you." Thanks to Lavenya Williams and Dolly Johnson who mailed out thousands of packets of information on the auction over the last two years. Thanks to S. Jenell Trigg, OCBO Telecommunications Policy Specialist. Thanks to Dwayne Dowtin, former OCBO Senior Telecom Policy Analyst, and Anthony Williams, former OCBO Director. Though Dwayne and Anthony are now in the private sector, their contributions to the C block auction are evident in the number of small businesses, minorities and women who acquired licenses. Thanks to the FCC's Small Business Advisory Committee whose studies and recommendations helped shape this opportunity. Together we spoke at and organized many PCS conferences to inform the public about this opportunity, answered many questions, worked to make the rules conducive to small business participation and success, and take pride in the fact that many of the bidders OCBO has worked with over the past two years won licenses in the auction. xThanks also to John Winston, former director of the FCC's Office of Small Business Activities who is now the Assistant Bureau Chief for Information of the FCC's Compliance and Information Bureau, for his work in laying the foundation for this auction, and to everyone who helped with this process. xThe public interest organizations and industry associations whose comments on the rulemakings helped lay the groundwork for the auction, and who hosted many forums on PCS, also deserve our thanks. Organizations such as Women in Wireless, American Women in Radio & Television, the National Paging & Personal Communications Association, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, the Personal Communications Industry Association, the National Association of BlackOwned Broadcasters and many others went the extra mile to make sure that small businesses were aware of and prepared for this opportunity. xI also wanted to extend my congratulations to the PCS "C" block bidders. They persisted through rule changes, court stays, furloughs and snow storms. The winning companies stuck through the process and bid in the auction because they value the opportunity to serve the public through innovative PCS services. We are all very happy that today FCC also stands for "Finally Completed Cblock." xCongratulations to one and all.