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PUBLIC NOTICE | |
Federal Communications Commission 1919 - M Street, N.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 |
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Released: April 28, 1997 | ||
WCS Auction Closes WINNING BIDDERS IN THE AUCTION 0F 128 FCC Form 600s Due May 12, 1997 | ||
Report No. AUC-97-14-E (Auction No. 14)
On April 25, 1997 the Federal Communications Commission completed its auction of
128 licenses of the Wireless Communications Service (WCS)(1) in the 2 GHz band, raising a net
total of $13,638,940 for the U.S. Treasury.(2) Each of the 17 winning bidders is listed in
Attachment A.
This public notice provides detailed information concerning winning bidders, down
payments, bid withdrawal and default payments, FCC Form 600 filing requirements, requests for
waiver and licensing matters. Key information appears in the following attachments:
Attachment A: Lists the winning bidders, the licenses won by each winning bidder and
the net high winning bid amount.
Attachment B: Lists the down payments owed by winning bidders based on down
payments and withdrawn bid payments.
Attachment C: Lists withdrawn bid payments owed by all bidders.
Attachment D: Provides detailed information about how winning bidders should complete
their required FCC Form 600 license applications.
Attachment E: Provides instructions for downloading free software to file the FCC Form
600 electronically.
Bidders should note that this auction involves rules and procedures different in some
respects from those used in previous Commission auctions. Bidders should read this entire
public notice carefully and familiarize themselves with these rules, orders and other pertinent
FCC requirements. See Amendment of the Commission's Rules to Establish Part 27, the
Wireless Communications Service ("WCS"), Report and Order, FCC 97-50, 62 Fed. Reg. 9636
(1997); Amendment of Part 1 of the Commission's Rules -- Competitive Bidding Proceeding,
Report and Order, WT Docket No. 97-82, 62 Fed. Reg. 13,570 (1997).
Down payments. The Commission's rules require that within ten business days after the
Commission gives public notice, bidders must have on deposit with Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, enough funds to cover all required (1) down payments on winning bids and (2)
payments for withdrawn bids. In the WCS auction, each bidder's upfront payments cover the
required total of its down payments and withdrawn bid payments. Accordingly, no down
payments or FCC Form 159s are necessary at this time.
Withdrawn bid payments. To prevent insincere bidding, the Commission adopted bid
withdrawal payments for bidders who withdrew bids during the course of an auction. The
withdrawal payments are listed in the last column of Attachment C. As a general rule the bid
withdrawal payment is either (1) the difference between the net withdrawn bid and the
subsequent net winning bid, or (2) the difference between the gross withdrawn bid and the
subsequent gross winning bid for that license, whichever is less.(3) In those cases where the
amount of the withdrawal payment cannot yet be determined because there was no winning bid,
the withdrawing bidder is required to make a three percent deposit of the net amount bid on the
license(s); when it becomes possible to calculate and assess the payment, we will notify these
bidders. See Implementation of Section 309(j) of the Communications Act Competitive
Bidding, PP Docket No. 93-253, Fifth Report and Order, 9 FCC Rcd 5532, 5563 at n.51 (1994);
see also C.H. PCS, Inc., DA 96-1825 (rel. Nov. 4, 1996) (requiring a three percent deposit). A
bidder's upfront payment will be applied toward its withdrawn bid payment.
Refund of excess upfront payments. Upfront monies on deposit which are in excess of
the required down payment and withdrawal payment amounts will be refunded to the payor of
record. Refunds will be processed promptly and automatically. Bidders who prefer refunds to
be sent by wire transfer must fax the necessary wire transfer instructions to Regina Dorsey or
Linwood Jenkins at 202-418-2843. Any questions concerning refunds should be referred to
Regina Dorsey or Linwood Jenkins at 202-418-1995.
FCC FORM 600
By 5:30 Eastern Time p.m. on May 12, 1997, winning bidders must submit a completed
long-form license application or applications covering each license for which they were the
winning high bidder. Applications may be filed either electronically or manually, though we
encourage electronic filing. Attachment D sets out instructions for completing the FCC Form
600.
Electronic filing. Detailed instructions for downloading the software necessary to file
the Form 600 electronically are set out in Attachment E. Electronic filers should choose the two-letter code WS from the list of radio service codes.
Electronic filers applying for multiple licenses are not required to submit applications for
each market if all filing requirements associated with the application (the ownership worksheet,
all ownership and eligibility attachments, and waiver requests) are identical except for the
market designator, channel block and market name. Under these circumstances, applicants may
submit one FCC Form 600 Main Form and Schedule A. On Schedule A, applicants must select
the numerically lowest MEA market designator. If an applicant is applying for REAGs only, the
applicant must select the lowest REAG market designator (Item A2 on the Schedule A), the
corresponding channel block (Item A3) and market name (Item A5), and file an additional
exhibit under the "Attachment" tab labeled "Exhibit J: Market Designator" for the additional
licenses. This exhibit should contain all the additional market designators and channel blocks
(other than the market designator and channel block already indicated in Items A2 and A3) that
the application covers.
Example: A winning bidder for four licenses (ME01, Block B, Boston, MA;
ME11, Block A, Miami, FL; ME40, Block B, Phoenix, AZ; and RE01 Block D,
Northeast) with identical required filings would insert the lowest MEA market
designator in Item A2 (ME01), one channel block in Item A3 (B), and one market
name in Item A5 (Boston, MA). In Exhibit J the winning bidder would provide
the market number designators with the channel block for the additional licenses
using the following format:
ME11A,ME40B,RE01D
Note: This data string is computer-read to link an applicant's FCC Form 600 to all the
licenses in which it is applying. To ensure that the data is read correctly, applicants
should submit their data as requested and without any additional text.
Electronic filers whose ownership, eligibility, and waiver filings are identical for some
licenses but different for others may utilize this streamlined filing procedure only for those
licenses that have identical filing information. For those licenses with unique filings, electronic
filers must submit a separate application.
Electronic filers should upload each exhibit to the FCC Form 600 Main Form separately.
That is, electronic filers should label each ownership and eligibility exhibit (as described below)
and upload it into the "Attachments" tab as a separate ASCII text (.TXT) file. If applicable,
electronic filers should upload waiver requests into the "Waiver" tab. Applicants should not use
the "Divestiture" tab.
Manual filing. Manual filers must submit a separate FCC Form 600 Main Form,
Schedule A and required exhibit information for each license on which they are the high bidder.
Manual filers must complete the FCC Form 600 Main Form and Schedule A and attach
any exhibits. Manual filers are requested to submit a "clean" (i.e., without lines, markings,
footnotes, tables, charts, etc.) original application which does not contain any information in
spreadsheet format. Manual filers must mail or deliver the original application to:
Federal Communications Commission
Note: Applications should not be filed with the Office of the Secretary in Washington, D.C. Copies of the FCC Form 600 can be obtained by calling the Commission's Forms
Distribution Center at 1-800-418-3676 (outside Washington, D.C.) or 202-418-3676 (in the
Washington area). Copies of the FCC Form 600 can also be obtained via the Internet and by
Fax-On-Demand. If applicants have any questions concerning availability of the FCC Form 600,
they should call the FCC Records Management Branch at 202-418-0210.
All manually filed FCC Form 600s shall be submitted on one original paper copy and
with a 3.5-inch floppy disk containing all attachments, and any other supporting documentation
in separate ACSII text (.TXT) file formats. See 47 C.F.R. § 27.304. When converting word
processing files to ASCII text format, formatting is often lost. For example, the conversion
frequently results in the deletion of text in footnotes. Manual filers should therefore review each
exhibit file to ensure that the information contained in the exhibit is complete.
Failure to sign a manually-filed FCC Form 600 will result in dismissal of the
application. Only original signatures will be accepted for manually-filed applications.
Application processing and grant. Within five business days after the Commission
gives public notice that the FCC Form 600s are acceptable for filing, petitions to deny may be
filed. An applicant may file an opposition to any petitions to deny within five business days after
the deadline for filing petitions to deny. After the FCC reviews an applicant's FCC Form 600
and any associated filings, a determination will be made as to whether there are any reasons why
the license should not be granted. If there are none, the Commission will issue a public notice
announcing that it is prepared to grant the license, conditioned on an applicant's timely payment
of the remaining balance(s) of its winning bids within ten business days of the issuance of the
Commission's public notice. See 47 C.F.R. § 27.208(a).
Bidder default. If a winning bidder fails to submit the remaining balance by the
payment deadline, the bidder will be deemed to have defaulted, its application will be dismissed,
and it will be subject to the default payment specified in 47 C.F.R. § 27.203(b). See also Public
Notice, "Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Will Strictly Enforce Default Payment Rules,"
DA 96-481 (rel. April 4, 1996). Specifically, the defaulting bidder will be required to reimburse
the Commission the amount of the difference between its net winning bid and the amount of the
winning bid the next time the license is offered, if the subsequent winning bid is lower. In
addition, defaulting winning bidders will be subject to a default payment of three percent of the
subsequent winning bid or three percent of the defaulting bid, whichever is less. See 47 C.F.R. §
27.203(b).
Anti-collusion rules. To ensure the integrity of its auctions, the Commission's anti-collusion rules generally prohibit bidders for the same MEA or REAG from discussing bids or
bidding strategies during the course of the auction. The prohibition begins when short-form
applications to participate in the auction are filed; it ends when the winning bidders submit their
down payments. Because the upfront payments of all winning bidders are sufficient to cover
their required down payments and withdrawn bid payments, we will consider the anti-collusion
prohibition to be lifted upon release of this public notice. See 47 C.F.R § 1.2105(c).
For further information, contact: News Media: Audrey Spivack at 202-418-0654 Auctions Technical Support Hotline: 202-414-1250
Office of the Managing Director (down payment and refund questions): Regina Dorsey or Linwood Jenkins at 202-418-1995
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Auctions: Josh Roland or Matthew Moses at 202-418-0660
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Commercial Wireless (FCC Form 600 questions): Tania Hanna, Zenji Nakazawa or Kelly Quinn at 202-418-0620
1. 1 The 128 WCS licenses consisted of 2 licenses (frequency blocks "A" and "B") in 52 Major Economic Areas (MEAs) authorizing service on 10 MHz of spectrum, and 2 licenses (frequency blocks "C" and "D") in 12 Regional Economic Area Groupings (REAGs) authorizing service on 5 MHz of spectrum. The A block encompasses the 2305-2310 MHz band paired with the 2350-2355 MHz band; the B block encompasses the 2310-2315 MHz band paired with the 2355-2360 MHz band; the C block encompasses the 2315-2320 MHz band; and the D block encompasses the 2345-2350 MHz band. 2. 2 This figure is total net bids for 126 WCS licenses. Two licenses did not receive bids after a standing high bid was withdrawn. 3. 3 See 47 C.F.R. § 27.203(a). |