PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 1919 M STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 News media information (202) 418-0500. Recorded listing of releases and texts (202) 418-2222. DA 96-1400 August 20, 1996 AUCTION OF BROADBAND PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE (D, E AND F BLOCKS) Qualified Bidders and Bidding Instructions Report No. AUC-96-11-G (Auction No. 11) This public notice identifies applicants who have been found qualified to bid in the auction for 1,479 Basic Trading Area ("BTA") licenses to provide Broadband Personal Communications Services ("PCS") in the D, E and F frequency blocks, scheduled to begin August 26, 1996. This Notice also provides bidding instructions and other important information regarding the auction. Qualified bidders. Attachments A and B list each entity that has filed a timely short-form application to participate in the auction (FCC Form 175) that has been accepted for filing, and has timely submitted an amount sufficient to qualify it to bid on at least one license for which it has applied. Attachment A also lists each qualified bidder's maximum bidding eligibility, determined by its upfront payment. Attachment B lists the BTA licenses that were listed on the qualified bidders' FCC Form 175s. On Attachment A the letter P indicates an application that includes a pending waiver or confidentiality request; these applications are deemed qualified for the auction conditioned on our resolution of the requests. The letter R indicates that a waiver request has been ruled upon; where appropriate, the list of licenses in Attachment B has been modified to reflect resulting changes in eligibility. Attachment C lists those applicants found not qualified to bid in this auction. In addition, in accordance with the applicant's request, the application of CMT Partners has been dismissed. In order to participate effectively in the auction, qualified bidders should re-familiarize themselves with the auction rules and other information contained in the Bidder Information Package for this auction. The following information provides additional guidance. Registration. Qualified bidders have been automatically registered for the auction. For security reasons, the Commission will confirm registration by two separate mailings of registration materials, both sent to the contact person at the address identified in the bidder's FCC Form 175. The two mailings will include the bidder's identification number, login name, login password and the telephone number for telephonic bidding. Additional information will be included in both mailings, including remote bidding system software and other general information. Upon receipt of both mailings, each bidder should be in possession of the following information:  FCC account number (self-assigned on the FCC Form 175, and listed on Attachment A)  Bidder identification number (supplied by FCC mailing)  Login name (supplied by FCC mailing)  Login password (supplied by FCC mailing)  Telephone number for telephonic bidding (supplied by FCC mailing)  Remote bidding system software (if ordered) Any applicant listed as a qualified bidder in Attachment A to this Public Notice, who has not received both registration mailings by noon, Thursday, August 22, 1996, should contact the FCC at 800-322-1117. It is each applicant's responsibility to ensure that all registration information has been received. Lost login names, login passwords and bidder identification numbers can be replaced only at the FCC Auction Headquarters, located at 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. If replacement is necessary, either an authorized representative or the certifying official (as designated on the applicant's FCC Form 175) must appear in person with two forms of identification, one of which must be a photo identification. Electronic bidding. Each qualified bidder that wishes to bid electronically must purchase electronic bidding software. Bidders may duplicate the software for backup or for use by authorized representatives at different locations. However, the FCC Remote Bidding System will not accept electronic bids from qualified bidders who are not registered purchasers of the bidding software. The deadline for ordering software in time for delivery before the auction begins has already passed, but late orders will still be accepted. An order form is included at Tab A, Item 6 of the Bidder Information Package. The FCC Remote Bidding System requires access to a 900 telephone line. Bidders should verify in advance that the telephone systems they will be using to submit electronic bids permit access to 900 telephone numbers, and should consult their telephone administrators if they need assistance. Bidding schedule. Initially, one round of bidding will be conducted daily. The schedules for the first three days of the auction will be as follows: August 26: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. EDT Bid Submission Period 2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EDT. Submission Round Results 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. EDT. Bid Withdrawal Period 3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EDT. Withdrawal Round Results August 27 & 28: 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EDT Bid Submission Period 3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. EDT. Submission Round Results 4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. EDT. Bid Withdrawal Period 4:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. EDT. Withdrawal Round Results The FCC will set the pace of the auction based upon its monitoring of the bidding and its assessment of the auction's progress. Generally, at the end of each week of the auction, the FCC will announce the bidding schedule for the following week. Auction stages. The FCC will also give ample notice of stage transitions, which increase the minimum required activity levels. Bidders who are inattentive to these stage transitions may inadvertently lose either activity rule waivers or, if waivers are exhausted, bidding eligibility. Changes in activity rule. The minimum activity levels for the first two stages of this auction will be somewhat higher than previously announced, as follows: Stage One: In each round of the first stage of the auction, a bidder that wishes to maintain its current eligibility is required to be active on licenses encompassing at least 80 percent of its current bidding eligibility. Failure to maintain the requisite activity level will result in a reduction in the bidder's bidding eligibility in the next round of bidding (unless an activity rule waiver is used). During Stage One, reduced eligibility for the next round will be calculated by multiplying the current round activity by five-fourths (5/4). Stage Two: In each round of the second stage, a bidder that wishes to maintain its current eligibility is required to be active on 90 percent of its current bidding eligibility. During Stage Two, reduced eligibility for the next round will be calculated by multiplying the current round activity by ten-ninths (10/9). Messages and announcements. The FCC will post pertinent auction information as messages and announcements on the FCC Remote Bidding System, on its Internet site and on its Bulletin Board System (BBS). Bidders should check for messages and announcements each time they enter the Remote Bidding System or call to place telephonic bids, and should read this information carefully. Bidder questions during the auction. FCC auction officials, technical support staff and others will be available during the course of the auction to answer questions from bidders. Help can be obtained through the following telephone numbers: FCC Bidder Line Use telephonic bid number supplied in registration mailing FCC Technical Support Hotline 202-414-1250 Minor Amendments to FCC Form 175s. Applicants are responsible for the continuing accuracy and completeness of information furnished in FCC Form 175 and its exhibits. It is the staff's position that applicants should amend their applications within ten business days from the occurrence of a reportable change. Electronic filers should make modifications to their FCC Form 175s electronically, and submit a letter briefly summarizing the changes to: Kathleen O'Brien Ham Chief, Auctions Division Federal Communications Commission Washington DC 20554 with a courtesy copy to Mark Bollinger either sent to the same address or faxed to 202-418-2082. Manual filers should send their amended FCC Form 175s to: FCC Form 175 Filing, Auction No. 11 Federal Communications Commission Office of Operations 1270 Fairfield Road Gettysburg, PA 17325-7245 and submit a letter briefly summarizing the changes to Kathleen O'Brien Ham with a courtesy copy to Mark Bollinger, as described in the previous paragraph. In both cases, the amendments should be incorporated into the amended exhibits (i.e., if an applicant amends an ownership exhibit, the applicant should not submit just the change, but should resubmit the entire exhibit). News Media contact: Kara Palamaras at 202-418-0654 FCC Auctions contact: Louis Sigalos, Mark Bollinger, or John Spencer at 202-418- 0660. - FCC -