[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 15742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4606]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Report No. AUC-06-65-D (Auction No. 65); DA 06-588]


Auction of 800 MHz Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service Licenses 
Scheduled for May 10, 2006; Additional Default Payment of 20 Percent 
Will Apply to Auction No. 65

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document announces the additional payment component of 
default payments for the upcoming auction of Air-Ground Radiotelephone 
Service licenses in the 800 MHz band.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For legal questions: Howard Davenport 
at (202) 418-0660.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Auction No. 65 
Supplemental Public Notice released on March 20, 2006. The complete 
text of the Auction No. 65 Supplemental Public Notice, including 
attachments and related Commission documents is available for public 
inspection and copying from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday 
or from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Friday at the FCC Reference Information 
Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 
20554. The Auction No. 65 Supplemental Public Notice and related 
Commission documents may also be purchased from the Commission's 
duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), Portals 
II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC, 20554, 
telephone 202-488-5300, facsimile 202-488-5563, or you may contact BCPI 
at its Web site: http://www.BCPIWEB. com. When ordering documents from 
BCPI please provide the appropriate FCC document number, for example, 
DA 06-588. The Auction No. 65 Supplemental Public Notice and related 
documents are also available on the Internet at the Commission's Web 
site: http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/65/.

I. Additional Default Payments of Twenty Percent Will Apply in Auction 
No. 65

    1. 47 CFR 1.2104(g)(2) of the Commission's rules provides that if, 
after the close of an auction, a winning bidder defaults on a down 
payment or final payment obligation or is disqualified (e.g., fails to 
submit a timely long-form application), the bidder is liable for a 
default payment. This payment consists of a deficiency payment, equal 
to the difference between the amount of the bidder's bid and the amount 
of the winning bid the next time a license covering the same spectrum 
is won in an auction, plus an additional payment equal to a percentage 
of the defaulter's bid or of the subsequent winning bid, whichever is 
less.
    2. In the CSEA/Part 1 Report and Order, 71 FR 6214, February 7, 
2006, the Commission modified 47 CFR 1.2104(g)(2) by increasing the 
limit on the additional default payment for non-combinatorial auctions 
from three to twenty percent. The Commission further indicated that 
prior to each non-combinatorial auction it will establish an additional 
default payment of three to twenty percent for that auction and that 
the specific level of this payment in each case will be based on the 
nature of the service and the inventory of the licenses being offered.
    3. In the Auction No. 65 Second Comment Public Notice, 71 FR 10034, 
February 28, 2006, the Bureau proposed an additional default payment of 
twenty percent for Auction No. 65. The Bureau received no comments on 
its proposal.
    4. In Auction No. 65, licenses in three band plans will be 
available, but the only licenses that will be awarded will be those 
that comprise the band plan that receives the highest aggregate bid. A 
bid on a single license therefore may determine not only the winner of 
that license but also the winning band plan, and thus affect the 
ability of other bidders to win other licenses in the auction. By 
contrast, a bid on a license in an auction using the Commission's 
standard simultaneous multiple round auction format (SMR) may determine 
only the winner of that license.
    5. The Bureau continues to believe, as explained in the Auction No. 
65 Second Comment Public Notice, that, because of the particular 
interdependence among bids in Auction No. 65 and the potential effects 
of one winning bidder's default on bidders for other licenses, the 
detrimental effects of a default may be significantly greater than in a 
standard SMR auction. The Bureau therefore adopts its proposal and will 
apply an additional default payment of twenty percent to any defaults 
after the close of Auction No. 65.

Federal Communications Commission.
Gary D. Michaels,
Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, WTB.
[FR Doc. E6-4606 Filed 3-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P