Fact Sheet

Date:

Auction 22 began on 3/23/1999 and closed on 4/15/1999.

Round 78 (See PN DA 99-757)
Licenses:
347 licenses - 133 15 MHz
206 30 MHz C block licenses
six 10 MHz E
two 10 MHz F block licenses
(See PN DA99-528 (pdf)) in various Basic Trading Areas ("BTA").
Spectrum
30 MHz C block: 1895 - 1910 MHz paired with 1975 - 1990 MHz
15 MHz C block (with license suffix C2): 1895 - 1902.5 MHz paired with 1975 - 1982. 5 MHz
E block: 1885 - 1890 MHz paired with 1965 - 1970 MHz
F block: 1890 - 1895 MHz paired with 1970 - 1975 MHz
(See Broadband PCS Bandplan (pdf))
Bandwidth:

C block - 30 MHz
C block (suffix C2)- 15 MHz
E and F - 10 MHz (5 MHz paired)

Winning Bidders:
57 bidders won 302 licenses (8 license of 10 MHz, 115 licenses of 15 MHz, and 179 licenses of 30 MHz) 277 licenses won by 48 small bidders, 25 licenses won by 9 other bidders
Rounds:
78
Qualified Bidders
67
Licenses Won:
302
Licenses Held by FCC:
45
Total Licenses:
347
Net Bids
$412,840,945
Gross Bids:
$532,970,215

 
 
 
General information and associated licensing parameters are provided below. Public Notices provide specific information regarding this auction. This fact sheet includes:

Key Dates

 

Event Date
Pre-Auction Seminar
2/3/1999
Form 175 (Short Form) Application Filing Deadline
2/12/1999; 5:30 pm ET
Upfront Payments Deadline
3/1/1999; 6:00 pm ET
Orders for Remote Bidding Software
3/9/1999; 5:30 pm ET
Mock Auction
3/18/1999
Auction Start
3/23/1999
Auction Closed
4/15/1999
 

Licenses Offered

A total of 347 licenses were offered(133 15 MHz, 206 30 MHz C block licenses, six 10 MHz E, and two 10 MHz F block licenses) in this auction. A complete list of licenses available for this auction was included in the Bidders Information Package at the end of TAB A.
Note: Nine licenses (B089C, B149C, B012C, B397D, B405D, B406D, B405F, B490F, and B493F) were removed from the 356 licenses initially scheduled for auction. (See PN DA 99-528 (pdf))
 

Permissible Operations

Broadband PCS encompasses a variety of mobile and/or portable radio services, using such devices as small, lightweight, multifunction portable phones, portable fax machines, and advanced devices with two-way data capabilities that are competing with existing cellular, paging, and other land mobile services.

License Period

Licenses are issued for a ten-year term from the initial license grant date

Bidding Credits

Qualifying applicants in Auction No. 22 were eligible for a bidding credit on C and F block licenses that represents the amount by which a bidder's winning bids are discounted. The size of the bidding credit depends on the average gross revenues for the preceding three years of the bidder, its affiliates, and persons or entities that hold interests in the bidder and their affiliates:
Bidding credits are not cumulative. A qualifying applicant receives either the 15 percent or the 25 percent bidding credit, but not both. The definitions of very small business and small business (or a consortium of very small or small businesses; including calculation of average gross revenues) are set forth in 47 C.F.R. § 24.720(b).
Winning bidders of C or F block licenses should note that transfer and assignment restrictions and unjust enrichment provisions apply to winning bidders that use bidding credits and subsequently assign or transfer control of their licenses to an entity not qualifying for the same levels of bidding credits.
Finally, bidders should also note that there are no installment payment plans in Auction No. 22.

Entrepreneur Status Eligibility

The C and F block spectrum licenses were designated as Entrepreneur's Blocks and were only available for those bidders designated as such. To qualify as an entrepreneur, a bidder must have gross revenues not to exceed $125 million for the last two years and have total assets not to exceed $500 million at the time of their Form 175 filing. (Note: Any bidder that participated in either of the C block auctions [Auctions Nos. 5 and 10] were not required to meet the revenue and asset rules as set out in Section 24.709 of the Commission's rules.)