[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 8, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6113-6114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-2766]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 1

[WT Docket No. 97-82; FCC 99-384]


Communication Between Applicants in Commission Spectrum Auctions

AGENCY:  Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:  Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY:  This document proposes to amend the regulation of the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC) regarding communications between 
applicants in FCC spectrum auctions. The Commission proposes to require 
any auction applicant that makes or receives a prohibited communication 
of bids or bidding strategies to report promptly such a communication 
to the Commission. The information reported to the FCC would facilitate 
the Commission's monitoring and investigation of unlawful activity 
during Commission spectrum auctions.

DATES:  Comments are due on or before April 10, 2000. Reply comments 
are due on or before June 7, 2000. Written comments by the public on 
the proposed information collections are due April 10, 2000. The Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) must submit written comments on the 
proposed information collection(s) on or before April 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES:  An original and four copies of each filing must be sent to 
the Commission's Secretary, Magalie Roman Salas, Office of the 
Secretary, TW-A306, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20554. If you want each Commissioner to receive a 
copy of your comments, you must file an original plus eleven copies. 
Alternatively, comments and reply comments may be filed with the FCC 
using the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (``ECFS''), via 
the Internet to http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html>. See Electronic 
Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121 (May 1, 
1998).
    In addition to filing comments with the Secretary, a copy of any 
comments on the information collections contained herein should be 
submitted to Judy Boley, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-
C804, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554, or via the Internet to 
[email protected], and to Virginia Huth, OMB Desk Officer, 10236 NEOB, 
725--17th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20503 or via the Internet to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Richard Arsenault, Commercial 
Wireless Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Federal 
Communications Commission, 418-0920, or via the Internet at 
[email protected]. For additional information concerning the information 
collection(s) contained in this document, contact Judy Boley at 202-
418-0214, or via the Internet at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. In the subject Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM), the FCC proposes to amend its regulation, 47 CFR 
1.2105(c)(1), regarding communications between applicants in FCC 
spectrum auctions. The Commission proposes to amend

[[Page 6114]]

Sec. 1.2105(c)(1) to require any auction applicant that makes or 
receives a communication of bids or bidding strategies prohibited by 
Sec. 1.2105(c)(1) to report promptly such a communication to the 
Commission. The Commission also proposes to amend Sec. 1.2105(c)(1) to 
reflect a recent clarification that the rule prohibits an auction 
applicant from discussing another applicant's bids or bidding 
strategies even if the first applicant does not discuss its own bids or 
bidding strategies. See Western PCS BTA 1 Corporation, Memorandum 
Opinion and Order at paragraphs 7 through 9, FCC 99-385 (released 
December 13, 1999). Lastly, the Commission seeks comment regarding 
whether other changes to Sec. 1.2105(c)(1) may be warranted at this 
time.
    2. The proposed rules are not major rules for the purposes of 
Executive Order 12866. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 
the FCC certifies that the proposed rules will not have a significant 
impact on small business entities. The NPRM contains proposed 
information collection(s) subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (PRA), Public Law 104-13. It has been submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review under the PRA. The Commission, 
as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites 
OMB, the general public, and other Federal agencies to comment on the 
information collection(s) contained in the NPRM, as required by the 
PRA. Public and agency comments are due April 10, 2000. OMB 
notification of action is due April 10, 2000. Comments should address: 
(a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including 
whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy 
of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    3. Parties who chose to file comments or reply comments on the NPRM 
using the Commission's ECFS system, should include their full name, 
postal service mailing address, and the applicable docket or rulemaking 
number on the transmittal screen. Parties may also submit an electronic 
comment by Internet e-mail. To obtain filing instructions for e-mail 
comments, commenters should send an e-mail to [email protected], and should 
include the following words in the body of the message, ``get form your 
e-mail address>.'' A sample form and directions will be sent in reply. 
Parties who choose to file by paper should also submit their comments 
on diskette. A 3.5-inch diskette formatted in an IBM compatible format 
using Microsoft Word for Windows or compatible software Diskettes 
should be submitted to: Richard Arsenault, Federal Communications 
Commission, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, 445 12th Street, SW., 
Room 4-A234, Washington, DC 20554. The diskette should be accompanied 
by a cover letter and should be submitted in ``read only'' mode. The 
diskette should be clearly labeled with the commenter's name, 
proceeding (including the docket number in this case--WT Docket No. 97-
82), type of pleading (comments or reply comments), date of submission, 
and the name of the electronic file on the diskette. The label should 
also include the following phrase ``Disk Copy--Not an Original.'' Each 
diskette should contain only one party's pleadings, preferably in a 
single electronic file. In addition, commenters must send diskette 
copies to the Commission's copy contractor, International Transcription 
Service, Inc., 1231 20th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20036.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-XXXX.
    Title: Amendment of Part 1 of the Commission's Rules--Competitive 
Bidding Procedures
    Form No.: None.
    Type of Review: New collection.
    Respondents: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit; not-for-profit institutions; and/or state, local or tribal 
governments.
    Number of Respondents: 25.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 8 hours.
    Total Annual Burden: 200 hours
    Total Annual Costs: $40,000.
    Needs and Uses: Section 1.2105(c)(1) of the Commission's rules 
provides that ``all [auction] applicants are prohibited from 
cooperating, collaborating, discussing or disclosing in any manner the 
substance of their bids or bidding strategies. . . .'' 47 CFR 
1.2105(c)(1). The Commission's experience enforcing Sec. 1.2105(c)(1) 
over the past five years, however, indicates that, on occasion, some 
auction applicants engage in communications prohibited by the rule. In 
the NPRM, we seek comment on amending Sec. 1.2105(c) to require anyone 
who makes or receives a communication of bids or bidding strategies 
prohibited under Sec. 1.2105(c)(1) to report promptly such a 
communication to the Commission. This amendment is intended to deter 
parties from engaging in prohibited conduct and thereby enhance the 
competitiveness and fairness of our spectrum auctions. The information 
reported to the FCC would facilitate the Commission's monitoring and 
investigation of unlawful activity during Commission spectrum auctions.

Federal Communications Commission.
Magalie Roman Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-2766 Filed 2-7-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P