[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47546-47549]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-18181]



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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Report No. AUC 02-44-G (Auction No. 44); DA 02-1491]


Auction No. 44 Revised Schedule, License Inventory, and 
Procedures

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This document revises the schedule, license inventory, and 
procedures for Auction No. 44 in order to comply with the recently 
enacted Auction Reform Act of 2002. Auction No. 44 will start on August 
27, 2002 and offer licenses for the C and D block in the Lower 700 MHZ 
band. This document identifies the qualified bidders eligible to 
participate in the rescheduled Auction No. 44 and procedures for the 
qualified bidders to follow.

DATES: Auction No. 44 is scheduled to begin on August 27, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Auctions and Industry Analysis 
Division: Howard Davenport, Legal Branch, or Lyle Ishida, Auctions 
Operations Branch, at (202) 418-0660; Linda Sanderson, Auctions 
Operations Branch, at (717) 338-2888. Auctions Accounting Group: Gail 
Glasser at (202) 418-0578 or Tim Dates at (202) 418-0496. Media 
Contact: Meribeth McCarrick at (202) 418-0654.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Auction No. 44 
Revised Procedures Public Notice released June 26, 2002. The complete 
text of the Auction No. 44 Revised Procedures Public Notice, including 
attachment, is available for public inspection and copying during 
regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals 
II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. The 
Auction No. 44 Revised Procedures Public Notice may also be purchased 
from the Commission's duplicating contractor, Qualex International, 
Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554, 
telephone 202-863-2893, facsimile 202-863-2898, or via e-mail 
[email protected].
    1. By the Auction No. 44 Revised Procedures Public Notice, the 
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (``Bureau'') revises the schedule, 
license inventory, and procedures for Auction No. 44 in order to comply 
with the recently enacted Auction Reform Act of 2002, Public Law 107-
195. With the exception of the changes set forth in the Auction No. 44 
Revised Procedures Public Notice, the Commission's competitive bidding 
rules and the procedures, terms and conditions previously announced in 
the Auction No. 44 Procedures Public Notice, 67 FR 20773 (April 26, 
2002), will apply in Auction No. 44.
    2. Pursuant to the Auction Reform Act, the Commission will commence 
Auction No. 44 on August 27, 2002 with an inventory of 740 licenses in 
the Lower 700 MHz C and D blocks, or the 710-716/740-746 MHz and 716-
722 MHz bands. The Auction Reform Act provides that the Commission may 
not commence Auction No. 44 on June 19, 2002 as previously scheduled. 
The Auction Reform Act defines the entities that are eligible to bid in 
a rescheduled auction of the C and D block licenses. The Auction Reform 
Act also directs the Commission to return certain payments to certain 
bidders within one month of its enactment.

New Auction Start Date

    3. Auction No. 44 will begin on August 27, 2002. A complete list of 
all relevant dates appears at the end of the Auction No. 44 Revised 
Procedures Public Notice.

Eligible Bidders

    4. Pursuant to the Auction Reform Act, only those entities that 
were qualified bidders for Auction No. 44 are eligible to participate 
in the rescheduled Auction No. 44. Accordingly, only the 128 qualified 
bidders identified in the Auction No. 44 Qualified Bidders Public 
Notice, are eligible to participate in Auction No. 44.

Continuing Application of Anti-Collusion Rule

    5. All parties that submitted short-form applications to 
participate in Auction No. 44, including but not limited to qualified 
bidders, are reminded that they remain subject to the Commission's 
anti-collusion rule until the post-auction down payment deadline.

Revised Auction No. 44 License Inventory

    6. In compliance with the Auction Reform Act, rescheduled Auction 
No. 44 will offer 740 C and D block licenses in the Lower 700 MHZ 
bands. The C block is a 12-megahertz spectrum block, consisting of a 
pair of 6-megahertz segments, which is licensed over 734 Metropolitan 
Statistical Areas (``MSAs'') and Rural Service Areas (``RSAs'') 
(sometimes collectively referred to as Cellular Market Areas 
(``CMAs'')). The D block is a 6-megahertz unpaired spectrum block, 
which is licensed over six 700 MHz Economic Area Groupings (``700 MHz 
EAGs''). A complete revised list of licenses available in Auction No. 
44 and their descriptions is included in Attachment A of the Auction 
No. 44 Revised Procedures Public Notice.
    7. The following table contains the block/frequency cross-reference 
for the 710-716/740-746 MHz and 716-722 MHz Bands:

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                                  Frequencies       Bandwidth                       Geographic area   Number of
            Block                    (MHz)            (MHz)           Pairing            type          licenses
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C............................  710-716, 740-746          12 MHz  2 x 6 MHz.......  MSA/RSA.........          734
D............................  716-722.........           6 MHz  Unpaired........  700 MHz EAG.....            6
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Return of Upfront Payments for Qualified Bidders Eligible To Bid on 
A, B, or E Blocks

    8. In compliance with the Auction Reform Act, the Commission will 
honor timely requests for the return of upfront payments to payer(s) of 
record for qualified bidders eligible to bid on A, B or E block 
licenses, i.e., qualified bidders that selected licenses in the A, B or 
E blocks and have upfront payments that purchased sufficient 
eligibility to bid on at least one of the licenses in those blocks 
(i.e., an upfront payment of at least $3,069,000). Qualified bidders 
are reminded that, pursuant to the Auction No. 44 Procedures Public 
Notice, they only may bid on licenses when they have sufficient bidding 
units of eligibility. Full or partial return of upfront payments will 
reduce the qualified bidder's eligibility by one bidding unit for each 
dollar returned. No qualified bidder will be able to increase its 
eligibility after 6 p.m. ET, July 26, 2002, the deadline for selecting 
additional licenses (see Selecting Additional Licenses) and 
supplementing upfront payments (see Supplementing Upfront Payments). 
Qualified bidders should take all available precautions to assure that 
upfront payments held by the Commission provide sufficient eligibility 
to bid on all the licenses in

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which they have an interest. As discussed further in Auction 
Registration Information, after completing the procedures set forth in 
the Auction No. 44 Revised Procedures Public Notice, the Bureau will 
issue a public notice providing a final list of all qualified bidders, 
their license selections, upfront payments, and bidding eligibility.
    9. To obtain a full or partial return of upfront payment(s) to 
payer(s) of record for a qualified bidder eligible to bid on A, B or E 
block licenses, the qualified bidder's authorized representative or 
contact person identified on FCC Form 175 must send electronic mail 
containing the following information to [email protected], following 
the release of the Auction No. 44 Revised Procedures Public Notice but 
no later than 6 p.m. ET on July 3, 2002:
     A subject line indicating a request for Auction No. 44 
upfront payment return;
     The qualified bidder's name;
     The total amount of the upfront payment for the qualified 
bidder to be returned;
     The name, street address, and telephone number of the 
party sending the email; and
     For each payer of record to receive a return payment, the 
following wire transfer information: Amount of Wire Transfer, Name and 
Address of Bank, ABA Number, Contact and Phone Number, Account Number 
to Credit, Name of Account Holder, FCC Registration Number (FRN), 
Taxpayer Identification Number, Correspondent Bank (if applicable), ABA 
Number, and Account Number.
    10. All returns will be made by wire transfer. Absent other 
sufficient written instructions submitted by the payer(s) of record, 
upfront payment(s) will be returned to the payer(s) of record as 
identified on the FCC Form 159 that accompanied the upfront payment(s). 
Please call Gail Glasser at (202) 418-0578 or Tim Dates at (202) 418-
0496 with any questions regarding wire transfer procedures.
    11. The Commission will honor requests for returns of upfront 
payment from qualified bidders that comply with these procedures and 
that are received after the release of the Auction No. 44 Revised 
Procedures Public Notice but no later than 6 p.m. ET July 3, 2002. 
Qualified bidders intending to make use of these procedures are urged 
to do so promptly to avoid last minute errors. UNTIMELY REQUESTS WILL 
NOT BE HONORED.

Early Departure From Auction No. 44 and Upfront Payment Refunds

    12. Due to the changes made to Auction No. 44 by the Auction Reform 
Act, the Bureau will permit any qualified bidder not eligible to bid on 
A, B or E block licenses to forgo further participation and depart from 
Auction No. 44 following the release of the Auction No. 44 Revised 
Procedures Public Notice but no later than 6 p.m. ET July 3, 2002. The 
Bureau provides this procedure because qualified bidders could not have 
anticipated the statutorily mandated changes in Auction No. 44 at the 
time they submitted their applications to participate. The upfront 
payments of any qualified bidders departing from Auction No. 44 will be 
refunded in full to the payer(s) of record. Qualified bidders not 
eligible to bid on A, B or E block licenses that depart using this 
procedure may obtain only full--NOT partial--refunds of upfront 
payments. Qualified bidders departing from Auction No. 44 may NOT 
supplement their upfront payments (see Supplementing Upfront Payments). 
Consequently, qualified bidders departing from Auction No. 44 and 
having upfront payments refunded will have zero bidding units of 
eligibility and no longer be eligible to bid on any licenses in Auction 
No. 44. Any qualified bidders departing from Auction No. 44 remain 
subject to the Commission's anti-collusion rule until the post-auction 
down payment deadline.
    13. To forgo further participation and have the upfront payment 
refunded, a qualified bidder's authorized representative or contact 
person identified on FCC Form 175 must send electronic mail containing 
the following information to [email protected] following the release of 
the Auction No. 44 Revised Procedures Public Notice but no later than 6 
p.m. ET on July 3, 2002:
     A subject line indicating departure from Auction No. 44;
     The qualified bidder's name;
     The name, street address, and telephone number of the 
party sending the email; and
     For each payer of record, the following wire transfer 
information: Name and Address of Bank, ABA Number, Contact and Phone 
Number, Account Number to Credit, Name of Account Holder, FCC 
Registration Number (FRN), Taxpayer Identification Number, 
Correspondent Bank (if applicable), ABA Number, Account Number.
    14. All refunds will be made by wire transfer. Absent other 
sufficient written instructions submitted by the payer(s) of record, 
upfront payment(s) will be returned to the payer(s) of record as 
identified on the FCC Form 159 that accompanied the upfront payment(s). 
Please call Gail Glasser at (202) 418-0578 or Tim Dates at (202) 418-
0496 with any questions regarding wire transfer procedures.
    15. The Commission will honor requests for early departure and will 
refund full upfront payments that comply with these procedures and that 
are received after the release of the Auction No. 44 Revised Procedures 
Public Notice but no later than 6 p.m. ET July 3, 2002. Qualified 
bidders intending to make use of the procedures are urged to do so 
promptly to avoid last minute errors. UNTIMELY REQUESTS WILL NOT BE 
HONORED.

Selecting Additional Licenses

    16. Due to the changes made to Auction No. 44 by the Auction Reform 
Act, the Bureau will permit qualified bidders not departing from the 
auction to select additional licenses. The Bureau provides this 
procedure because qualified bidders could not have anticipated the 
statutorily mandated changes in Auction No. 44 at the time they 
submitted their original license selections. Accordingly, for purposes 
of allowing qualified bidders to make additional license selections in 
compliance with the Auction No. 44 Revised Procedures Public Notice, 
the Bureau waives on its own motion the prohibition against changes in 
the license service areas identified on the qualified bidder's short-
form application as licenses on which the qualified bidder intends to 
bid. Qualified bidders are not authorized to de-select any licenses 
already selected, but, pursuant to the Commission's usual procedures, 
need not bid on every license selected. In addition, the Commission's 
prohibition against any other major amendments, e.g., changes in 
ownership that would constitute an assignment or transfer of control, 
also remains in effect. Any application of the Commission's anti-
collusion rule will take into account a qualified bidder's selection of 
any additional licenses.
    17. To select additional licenses, the qualified bidder's 
authorized representative or contact person must send an electronic 
mail to [email protected] no earlier than July 22, 2002 but no later 
than 6 p.m. ET on July 26, 2002 with the following information:
     A subject line indicating Auction No. 44 additional 
license selection;
     In the text of the message, the bidder must:

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    (i) List the Qualified Bidder's FRN number; and
    (ii) List the additional licenses on which it wishes to bid in 
Auction No. 44. The licenses must be listed one per line and must 
correspond precisely to the ``License Number'' column found in 
Attachment A to the Auction No. 44 Revised Procedures Public Notice. 
Failure to list valid license numbers as provided in Attachment A will 
prevent the license from being added to the Form 175. The licenses may 
be listed in any order, and are not to be preceded by any labels or 
titles. Only additional licenses should be listed; do not list the 
licenses previously submitted on the Form 175 that were reported in the 
Auction No. 44 Qualified Bidders Public Notice.
    18. For example, the following message would correctly request the 
addition of three licenses to the bidder with the specified FRN:

Subject Line: Auction No. 44 Additional License Selection
FRN: 0123456789
WZ-CMA003-C
WZ-EAG706-D
WZ-EAG701-D

    19. To be effective, additional license selections must comply with 
these procedures and be received no earlier than July 22, 2002 but no 
later than 6 p.m. ET July 26, 2002. Parties that intend to make use of 
these procedures are urged to do so early in the period to avoid last 
minute errors. UNTIMELY ADDITIONAL LICENSE SELECTIONS WILL NOT BE 
EFFECTIVE.

Supplementing Upfront Payments

    20. In addition, due to changes made to Auction No. 44 by the 
Auction Reform Act, the Bureau will permit qualified bidders not 
departing from Auction No. 44 to supplement their existing upfront 
payments to purchase additional bidding eligibility. The Bureau 
provides this procedure because qualified bidders could not have 
anticipated the statutorily mandated changes in Auction No. 44 at the 
time they submitted their original upfront payments. Accordingly, for 
purposes of allowing qualified bidders that do not depart from Auction 
No. 44 to make supplemental upfront payments in compliance with the 
Auction No. 44 Revised Procedures Public Notice, the Bureau waives on 
its own motion the prior deadline for upfront payments. To exercise 
this option, qualified bidders must submit the additional upfront 
payment accompanied by an FCC Remittance Advice Form (FCC Form 159 
(Revised 2/00)). All supplemental upfront payments must be received at 
Mellon Bank no earlier than July 22, 2002, but no later than 6 p.m. ET 
on July 26, 2002. The FCC Form 159 is available on-line via a link from 
www.fcc.gov/formpage.html. The FCC Form 159 must be filed with Mellon 
Bank via facsimile at (412) 209-6045. A completed FCC Form 159 must be 
faxed to Mellon Bank at least one hour before placing the order for the 
wire transfer (but on the same business day). On the cover sheet of the 
fax, write ``Wire Transfer--Auction Payment for Auction Event No. 44.''
    21. Please note that:
     All payments must be made in U.S. dollars.
     All payments must be made by wire transfer.
     Supplemental upfront payments for Auction No. 44 will go 
to the same lockbox number used for the initial Auction No. 44 upfront 
payment, as listed.
     Failure to deliver the supplemental upfront payment by the 
July 26, 2002, deadline will result in the bidder not receiving the 
corresponding additional eligibility.

Making Supplemental Upfront Payments by Wire Transfer

    22. Wire transfer payments must be received no later than 6:00 p.m. 
ET on July 26, 2002. To avoid untimely payments, applicants should 
discuss arrangements (including bank closing schedules) with their 
banker several days before they plan to make the wire transfer, and 
allow sufficient time for the transfer to be initiated and completed 
before the deadline. Applicants will need the following information:

ABA Routing Number: 043000261.
Receiving Bank: Mellon Pittsburgh.
Beneficiary: FCC/Account # 910-1182.
OBI Field: (Skip one space between each information item).
``AUCTIONPAY''.
FCC Registration Number (FRN): (same as FCC Form 159, block 11 and/or 
21).
Payment Type Code: (same as FCC Form 159, block 24A: A44U).
FCC Code 1: (same as FCC Form 159, block 28A: ``44'').
Payer Name: (same as FCC Form 159, block 2).
Lockbox No.: # 358415.

    Note: The BNF and Lockbox number are specific to the upfront 
payments for this auction; do not use BNF or Lockbox numbers from 
previous auctions.

    23. Bidders should confirm the receipt and the amount of their 
upfront payment at Mellon Bank by contacting their sending financial 
institution. All supplemental upfront payments must be received at 
Mellon Bank no earlier than July 22, 2002, but no later than 6:00 p.m. 
ET on July 26, 2002. Parties that intend to make use of the procedures 
are urged to do so early in the period to avoid last minute errors. 
UNTIMELY SUPPLEMENTAL UPFRONT PAYMENTS WILL NOT INCREASE A QUALIFIED 
BIDDER'S ELIGIBILITY.

Auction Registration Information

    24. Approximately ten days before the auction, the Commission will 
issue a public notice providing a final list of all qualified bidders, 
their license selections, and upfront payments received for this 
auction.
    25. Qualified bidders planning to participate in Auction No. 44 
should retain ALL materials previously sent by overnight delivery in 
two separate mailings on June 11, 2002. These materials WILL NOT be re-
sent (e.g., Bidder Identification Numbers, SecurID cards, FCC Auctions 
Bidding System User Manual).

Bidder Identification Number

    26. Qualified bidders should keep the letter sent by overnight 
delivery on June 11, 2002 that includes their Bidder Identification 
Number (``BIN'') stored in a safe and secure location. Each qualified 
bidder's BIN remains the same and will not be changed for the 
rescheduled Auction No. 44.

SecurID Cards

    27. Qualified bidders should keep the SecurID Card sent by 
overnight delivery on June 11, 2002 stored in a safe and secure 
location. These same cards will be used for the rescheduled Auction No. 
44. SecurID cards will be re-set to ``new PIN'' mode prior to the Mock 
Auction scheduled for August 22, 2002. Qualified bidders should refer 
to their ``FCC Auctions Bidding System User Manual (Auction 44)'' for 
complete details on how to Access the FCC Bidding System.
    28. After participation in Auction No. 44 is completed, qualified 
bidders are encouraged to return their SecurID cards to the Commission 
for recycling. Qualified bidders will receive a pre-addressed, stamped 
envelope for use in returning SecurID cards together with their copy of 
the Auction No. 44 Revised Procedures Public Notice. Qualified bidders 
that forgo further participation in Auction No. 44 are encouraged to 
return their SecurID cards now. Qualified bidders participating in 
Auction No. 44 may return their SecurID cards after the close of the 
auction. Please note that each SecurID card is tailored to a specific 
auction; therefore, the SecurID cards issued for

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Auction No. 44 will not work for future auctions.

Maintaining the Accuracy of FCC Form 175 Information

    29. Parties are responsible for maintaining the accuracy and 
completeness of information furnished in their FCC Form 175 and 
exhibits. Parties should amend their applications within ten business 
days from the occurrence of a reportable change. Filers should make 
modifications to their FCC Form 175 electronically and submit a letter, 
briefly summarizing the changes, by electronic mail to the attention of 
Margaret Wiener, Chief, Auctions and Industry Analysis Division, at the 
following address: [email protected]. A separate copy of the letter 
should be faxed to the attention of Kathryn Garland, Chief, Auctions 
Operations Branch, (717) 338-2850. Questions about other changes should 
be directed to Howard Davenport at (202) 418-0660.
    30. Any parties that must file amendments are advised that they 
will be unable to make modifications to their FCC Form 175 
electronically from 6 p.m. ET July 22, 2002, until the release of the 
public notice containing the final list of qualified bidders. Parties 
nevertheless must make timely amendments by submitting a letter 
regarding any changes as described.

Revised Auction Schedule

    31. Pursuant to the Auction No. 44 Revised Procedures Public 
Notice, the following deadlines now apply in Auction No. 44:

Deadline for requesting return of upfront payments by qualified bidders 
eligible to bid on A, B, or E block licenses--6 p.m. ET July 3, 2002.
Deadline for early departure from Auction No. 44--6 p.m. ET July 3, 
2002.
Deadline for selecting additional licenses--6 p.m. ET July 26, 2002.
Deadline for supplementing upfront payments--6 p.m. ET July 26, 2002.
Mock Auction--August 22, 2002.
Auction Start--August 27, 2002.

    Federal Communications Commission.
Magaret Wiener,
Chief, Auctions and Industry Analysis Division, WTB.
[FR Doc. 02-18181 Filed 7-18-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P