PUBLIC NOTICE
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
445 TWELFTH STREET, S.W.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554
News media information 202/418-0500 Fax-On-Demand 202/418-2830 Internet:
http://www.fcc.gov ftp.fcc.gov
DA 13-354
Released: March 5, 2013
AT&T INC., CELLCO PARTNERSHIP D/B/A VERIZON WIRELESS, GRAIN SPECTRUM,
LLC, AND GRAIN SPECTRUM II, LLC SEEK FCC CONSENT TO THE ASSIGNMENT OF
ADVANCED WIRELESS SERVICES AND LOWER 700 MHZ BAND B BLOCK LICENSES
AND TO LONG-TERM DE FACTO
TRANSFER SPECTRUM LEASING ARRANGEMENTS
INVOLVING ADVANCED WIRELESS SERVICES AND LOWER 700 MHZ BAND B BLOCK
LICENSES
WT DOCKET NO. 13-56
PLEADING CYCLE ESTABLISHED
Petitions To Deny Due:
April 4, 2013
Oppositions Due:
April 15, 2013
Replies Due:
April 22, 2013
I.
INTRODUCTION
AT&T Inc., through its indirect and wholly-owned subsidiaries AT&T Mobility Spectrum LLC
and New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC (collectively, “AT&T”), Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon
Wireless (“Verizon Wireless”), Grain Spectrum, LLC (“Grain I”), and Grain Spectrum II, LLC (“Grain
II,” and together with Grain I, “Grain” and collectively with AT&T and Verizon Wireless, the
“Applicants”) have filed applications pursuant to Section 310(d) of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended,
1 seeking consent to the assignment and lease of various licenses. In particular, the Applicants
seek consent to the assignment from Verizon Wireless to AT&T of 39 Lower 700 MHz Band B Block
licenses and to Grain I of three Lower 700 MHz Band B Block licenses. They also seek consent to the
assignment from AT&T to Verizon Wireless of one full and five partial Advanced Wireless Services
(“AWS-1”) licenses and to Grain II of one full AWS-1 license. Finally, the Applicants seek consent for
Grain I to lease to AT&T the three Lower 700 MHz Band B Block licenses it is acquiring from Verizon
Wireless, and for Grain II to lease to Verizon Wireless the AWS-1 spectrum it is acquiring from AT&T.
2
According to the Applicants, the proposed transaction would allow AT&T and Verizon Wireless
each to further rationalize their spectrum holdings and obtain contiguous spectrum in many markets,
enabling more spectrally efficient deployments and assisting AT&T and Verizon Wireless to provide
high-quality, high-speed wireless broadband. The Applicants also allege that the proposed transaction
would further the Commission’s goal of extending opportunities in the wireless market to small and
1 47 U.S.C. § 310(d).
2 The Lower 700 Band B Block licenses being acquired by Grain I are for spectrum in three Cellular Market Areas
(“CMAs”) and the AWS-1 license being acquired by Grain II covers all or a portion of 18 CMAs.
minority-owned businesses by enabling Grain, a minority-owned business, with an existing
telecommunications infrastructure business, to participate in complementary spectrum-based services
initially on a wholesale basis. Finally, the Applicants state that the proposed transaction would complete
Verizon Wireless’s disposition of all 77 of its Lower 700 MHz Band B Block licenses.
Pursuant to the proposed transaction, AT&T would be assigned or would lease 12 megahertz of
Lower 700 MHz Band B Block spectrum in 157 counties in 42 CMAs. Post-transaction, AT&T would
hold a maximum of 150 megahertz of spectrum in those CMAs. Verizon Wireless would be assigned or
would lease 10 megahertz of AWS-1 spectrum in 115 counties in 36 CMAs. Post-transaction, Verizon
Wireless would hold a maximum of 164 megahertz of spectrum in one CMA (CMA 658 – Texas 7 –
Fannin).
II.
SECTION 310(d) APPLICATIONS
The following applications for consent to the assignment or partitioning of licenses have been
assigned the following file numbers:
File No.
Licensee/Assignor
Assignee
Lead Call Sign
0005627587
3
Cellco Partnership
AT&T Mobility Spectrum LLC
WQJQ721
0005627610
Cellco Partnership
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC WQJQ726
0005630397
AT&T Mobility Spectrum LLC
Cellco Partnership
WQGA742
0005630442
Cellco Partnership
Grain Spectrum, LLC
WQJQ728
0005630591
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC
Cellco Partnership
WQGB397
0005630585
AT&T Mobility Spectrum LLC
Grain Spectrum II, LLC
WQGA729
0005630946
AT&T Mobility Spectrum LLC
Cellco Partnership
WQGT887
The following applications for new long-term
de facto transfer spectrum leasing authorizations
have been assigned the following file numbers:
File No.
Licensee
Lessee
Lead Call Sign
7004WYNL13
4 Grain Spectrum, LLC
AT&T Mobility Spectrum LLC
WQJQ728
7005AWNL1
35 Grain Spectrum II, LLC
Cellco Partnership
WQGA729
3 The Applicants have designated ULS File No. 0005627587 as the lead application.
4 This application is a manual filing, and it is attached to ULS File No. 0005630442. We hereby grant the
Applicants’ request for waiver of section 1.913(b) of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.913(b), which requires
that applications for new leases be filed electronically, to permit the filing of this manual application.
5 This application is a manual filing, and it is attached to ULS File No. 0005630585. We hereby grant the
Applicants’ request for waiver of section 1.913(b) of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.913(b), which requires
that applications for new leases be filed electronically, to permit the filing of this manual application.
2
III.
EX PARTE
STATUS OF THIS PROCEEDING
Pursuant to section 1.1200(a) of the Commission’s rules,
6 the Commission may adopt modified
or more stringent
ex parte procedures in particular proceedings if the public interest so requires. We
announce that this proceeding will be governed by permit-but-disclose
ex parte procedures that are
applicable to non-restricted proceedings under section 1.1206 of the Commission’s rules.
7
Parties making oral
ex parte presentations are directed to the Commission’s
ex parte rules.
Parties are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation must contain the presentation’s
substance and not merely list the subjects discussed.
8 More than a one- or two-sentence description of the
views and arguments presented is generally required.
9 Other rules pertaining to oral and written
presentations are set forth in section 1.1206(b) as well.
10
IV.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The assignment and long-term
de facto transfer spectrum leasing applications have been found,
upon initial review, to be acceptable for filing. The Commission reserves the right to return any
application if, upon further examination, it is determined to be defective and not in conformance with the
Commission’s rules or policies.
Interested parties must file petitions to deny no later than
April 4, 2013
. Persons and entities that
file petitions to deny become parties to the proceeding. They may participate fully in the proceeding,
including seeking access to any confidential information that may be filed under a protective order,
seeking reconsideration of decisions, and filing appeals of a final decision to the courts. Oppositions to
such pleadings must be filed no later than
April 15, 2013
. Replies to such pleadings must be filed no later
than
April 22, 2013
. All filings concerning matters referenced in this Public Notice should refer to WT
Docket No. 13-56 and reference the specific file numbers of the individual applications to which the
filings pertain, if applicable
.
To allow the Commission to consider fully all substantive issues regarding the applications in
as timely and efficient a manner as possible, petitioners and commenters should raise all issues in
their initial filings. New issues may not be raised in responses or replies.11 A party or interested
person seeking to raise a new issue after the pleading cycle has closed must show good cause why it
was not possible for it to have raised the issue previously. Submissions after the pleading cycle has
closed that seek to raise new issues based on new facts or newly discovered facts should be filed
within 15 days after such facts are discovered. Absent such a showing of good cause, any issues not
timely raised may be disregarded by the Commission.
Under the Commission’s current procedures for the submission of filings and other documents,
12
submissions in this matter may be filed electronically though the Commission’s Universal Licensing
System (“ULS”) or by hand delivery to the Commission.
6 47 C.F.R. § 1.1200(a).
7 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206.
8
See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206(b)(1).
9
See id.
10 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206(b).
11
See 47 C.F.R. § 1.45(c).
12
See FCC Announces Change in Filing Location for Paper Documents,
Public Notice, 24 FCC Rcd 14312 (2009).
3
•
If filed by ECFS
,
13 comments shall be sent as an electronic file via the Internet to
http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html . In completing the transmittal screen, commenters should
include their full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address, and the applicable docket number.
Parties may also submit an electronic comment by Internet e-mail.
•
If filed by paper
, the original and four copies of each filing must be filed by hand or messenger
delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail.
All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission’s Secretary must be
delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 12th St., SW, Room TW-A325, Washington, D.C. 20554.
The filing hours at this location are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held
together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes 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 should be addressed to 445 12th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20554. All filings must be addressed to the Commission’s Secretary, Office of
the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
One copy of each pleading must be delivered electronically, by e-mail or facsimile, or if delivered
as paper copy, by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or
overnight U.S. Postal Service mail (according to the procedures set forth above for paper filings), to:
(1) the Commission’s duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., at
FCC@BCPIWEB.COM or
(202) 488-5563 (facsimile); (2) Kathy Harris, Mobility Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau,
at
kathy.harris@fcc.gov or (202) 418-7447 (facsimile); (3) Linda Ray, Broadband Division, Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau, at
linda.ray@fcc.gov or (202) 418-7247 (facsimile); (4) Kate Matraves,
Spectrum and Competition Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at
catherine.matraves@fcc.gov or (202) 418-7447 (facsimile); and (5) Jim Bird, Office of General Counsel,
at
TransactionTeam@fcc.gov or (202) 418-1234 (facsimile). Any submission that is e-mailed to Best
Copy and Printing, Kathy Harris, Linda Ray, Kate Matraves, and Jim Bird should include in the subject line
of the e-mail: (1) WT Docket No. 13-56; (2) the name of the submitting party; and (3) a brief description
or title identifying the type of document being submitted (
e.g., WT Docket No. 13-56, [name of
submitting party], Notice of
Ex Parte Communication).
Copies of the applications and any subsequently-filed documents in this matter may be obtained
from Best Copy and Printing, Inc. in person at 445 12th Street, S.W., Room CY-B402, Washington, D.C.
20554, via telephone at (202) 488-5300, via facsimile at (202) 488-5563, or via email at
FCC@BCPIWEB.COM . The applications and any associated documents are also available for public
inspection and copying during normal reference room hours at the following Commission office: FCC
Reference Information Center, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room CY-A257, Washington, D.C. 20554. In
addition, the wireless applications are available electronically through ULS, which may be accessed on
the Commission’s Internet website, and the international application is available electronically through
IBFS, which also may be accessed on the Commission’s Internet website.
To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print,
electronic files, audio format), send an email to
fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice) or (202) 418-0432 (TTY). Contact the FCC to request
reasonable accommodations for filing comments (accessible format documents, sign language
interpreters, CART, etc.) by email: FCC504@fcc.gov; phone: (202) 418-0530 or TTY: (202) 418-0432.
13
See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, GC Docket No. 97-113,
Report and Order, 13
FCC Rcd 11322 (1998).
4
For further information, contact Kathy Harris, Mobility Division, Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau, at (202) 418-0609, Linda Ray, Broadband Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at
(202) 418-0257, or Kate Matraves, Spectrum and Competition Policy Division, Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau, at (202) 391-6272.
-FCC-
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