**PUBLIC NOTICE**![](media/image1.png){width="0.7388888888888889in"
height="0.7458333333333333in"}

**FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION** News Media Information: (202)
418-0500

**445 12th STREET, S.W.** Fax-On-Demand: (202) 418-2830

# WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 Internet: [http://www.fcc.gov](http://www.fcc.gov/)

# ftp.fcc.gov

#######  DA 00-2614

####### November 17, 2000

#### AUCTION OF LICENSES FOR

**C AND F BLOCK BROADBAND PCS SPECTRUM**

#### 

###### Status of FCC Form 175 Applications to Participate in the Auction

**Report No. AUC-35-F (Auction No. 35)**

The Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") has received 112 FCC Form
175 applications to participate in Auction No. 35 scheduled to begin on
Tuesday, December 12, 2000, for 422 licenses in the C and F block
Broadband PCS spectrum. The applications have been reviewed for
completeness and compliance with the Commission\'s rules, and have been
classified into the following categories:

**ACCEPTED FOR
FILING\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\.... 44
Applications**

**INCOMPLETE\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...
66 Applications**

**REJECTED
\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\...\....
\...... 2 Applications**

**Accepted:** Applications accepted for filing are listed alphabetically
in Attachment A. **These applicants will become qualified bidders upon
receipt of the required upfront payment due by 6:00 p.m. ET on Monday,
November 27, 2000.**[^1] With respect to the FCC Form 175 applications,
these applicants need take no further action except as may be necessary
to maintain the accuracy of their applications.[^2] Also, applicants are
advised that Attachment A includes FCC account numbers that were
automatically created by the FCC software system for each applicant, and
which are applicable for bidding only.

**Incomplete:** Applications found to be incomplete are listed
alphabetically in Attachment B. Applicants whose FCC Form 175
applications have been deemed incomplete will receive overnight
correspondence indicating what information is required to make the
applications acceptable for filing. **These applicants may become
qualified bidders only if they: (1) make the required upfront payments
by 6:00 p.m. ET on Monday, November 27, 2000; and (2) resubmit their
applications by 6:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 28, 2000, to correct
the minor deficiencies indicated.** Applicants must also maintain the
accuracy of their FCC Form 175 applications as required by the
Commission's rules.[^3] In addition, applicants are advised that
Attachment B includes FCC account numbers that were automatically
created by the FCC software system for each applicant. These account
numbers are applicable for bidding purposes only, should the applicant
become eligible to participate in Auction No. 35.

The filing window for resubmitting FCC Form 175 applications is now
open. Corrected applications must be filed no later than **6:00 p.m. ET
on Tuesday, November 28, 2000.** This will be the only opportunity to
cure FCC Form 175 defects; late resubmissions will not be accepted. In
addition, if an application remains incomplete or otherwise deficient
after the resubmission deadline has passed, the application will be
rejected.

**Rejected:** The application(s) classified as rejected are listed in
Attachment C. Applicants whose applications have been rejected are
disqualified from participation in Auction No. 35.

### UPFRONT PAYMENT DEADLINE

Upfront payments and accompanying FCC Remittance Advice (FCC Form 159)
for Auction No. 35 are due at Mellon Bank, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
**no later than 6:00 p.m. ET on Monday, November 27, 2000.** Payments
must be made by wire transfer and applicants must include their Taxpayer
Identification Numbers (TIN). No other payment method is acceptable for
this auction. **Applicants are reminded to use their TIN and not their
FCC Account Numbers on the FCC Remittance Advice (FCC Form 159).**

**Applicants that have filed applications deemed to be incomplete, as
noted in this public notice, must submit timely and sufficient upfront
payments by the November 27, 2000 deadline for such payments, which is
prior to the November 28, 2000 deadline for the resubmitted
applications.** If such an application remains incomplete following its
resubmission, the application will be dismissed. If the applicant has
provided its Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and wire transfer
instructions, the upfront payment will be refunded automatically.

**We remind applicants that to avoid untimely upfront payments they
should discuss arrangements (including bank closing schedules) with
their banker several days before making the wire transfer, and allow
sufficient time for the transfer to be initiated and completed before
the deadline.** Detailed information regarding upfront payments
including additional requirements for "former defaulters" can be found
in the *Auction No. 35 Procedures Public Notice*[^4] under Section
III.D.

### OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

**Qualified Bidders:** Approximately one week after the upfront payment
deadline, following Commission review of resubmitted FCC Form 175
applications, and correlation of payments and applications, a public
notice listing all applicants qualified to bid in the auction will be
released. The same public notice will also include instructions on how
to access the auction tracking tool software, a bidding schedule for the
Mock Auction, and the bidding schedule for the first day of the auction.

**Due Diligence:** Potential bidders and interested parties should be
aware that various proceedings that may relate to the licenses available
in Auction No. 35 may be pending or subject to further administrative
review before the Commission, including, for example, waiver requests,
petitions for reconsideration, and applications for review. In addition,
certain judicial proceedings that may relate to the licenses available
in Auction No. 35 are pending or may be subject to further review.
Resolution of these matters could have an effect on the availability of
spectrum included in Auction No. 35 and the auction is subject to such
matters. Some of these matters (whether before the Commission or the
courts) may not be resolved by the time of the auction. The Commission
will continue to act on matters before it, but it makes no
representations as to the resolution of judicial proceedings.
**Potential bidders are solely responsible for identifying associated
risks, and investigating and evaluating the degree to which such matters
may affect their ability to bid on or otherwise acquire licenses in
Auction No. 35.** For further information on due diligence refer to the
*Auction No. 35 Procedures Public Notice.*[^5]

**Clarification of Payment Issue Relating to Licenses Subject to Pending
Proceedings:** Potential bidders should be aware that certain of the
licenses included in Auction No. 35 are or may become the subject of
Commission or judicial proceedings initiated by parties claiming to have
continuing interests in the licenses, despite their failure to meet
payment obligations. This public notice clarifies that the Commission
will return the payments made by winning bidders of licenses in Auction
No. 35 in the event that such bidders are subsequently required to
surrender licenses won to prior applicants or license holders as a
result of final determinations reached in pending proceedings.[^6] The
Commission, however, will not pay interest on the returned payments, as
it lacks legal authority to do so.

Including contested licenses in the auction helps to fulfill the
Commission's statutory mandate to hasten the development and deployment
of new technologies and services and to promote competition for the
benefit of the public.[^7] Returning payments to winning bidders if
licenses won are later determined to be unavailable due to subsequent
resolution of other proceedings furthers these vital public interest
goals by reducing uncertainty in the licensing process and encouraging
auction participants to bid on licenses regardless of whether they are
subject to pending proceedings. Retaining payments under the
circumstances could have a chilling effect on participation in Auction
No. 35 and would therefore undermine our efforts to encourage more
efficient use of the spectrum. We note that winning bidders of licenses
subject to pending proceedings are still required to meet the normal
payment and construction schedules established by the Commission.[^8]

**Prohibition of Collusion:** Bidders are reminded that Section
1.2105(c) of the Commission\'s Rules prohibits applicants for the same
geographic license area from communicating with each other during the
auction about bids, bidding strategies, or settlements unless they have
identified each other as parties with whom they have entered into
agreements under Section 1.2105(a)(2)(viii). For Auction No. 35, this
prohibition became effective at the filing deadline of short-form
applications on Monday, November 6, 2000, and will end on the
post-auction down payment deadline. The post-auction down payment
deadline will be announced in a future public notice. If parties had
agreed in principle on all material terms, those parties must have been
identified on the short-form application under Section 1.2105(c), even
if the agreement had not been reduced to writing. If parties had not
agreed in principle by the filing deadline, an applicant should not have
included the names of those parties on its application, and must not
have continued negotiations with other applicants for licenses in the
same geographic area.[^9] For further details regarding the prohibition
against collusion refer to the *Auction No. 35 Procedures Public
Notice*.[^10]

Winning bidders will be required to disclose in their long-form
applications the specific terms, conditions, and parties involved in all
bidding consortia, joint ventures, partnerships, and other arrangements
entered into relating to the competitive bidding process. Bidders found
to have violated the anti-collusion rule may be subject to
sanctions.[^11] In addition, applicants are reminded that they are
subject to the antitrust laws, which are designed to prevent
anti-competitive behavior in the marketplace. If a bidder is found to
have violated the antitrust laws in connection with its participation in
the competitive bidding process, it may be subject to forfeiture of its
upfront payment, down payment, or full bid amount and may be prohibited
from participating in future auctions.[^12]

## Auction Discount Voucher: On June 8, 2000, the Commission awarded Qualcomm, Inc. a transferable Auction Discount Voucher in the amount of \$125,273,878.00.[^13] This Auction Discount Voucher may be used by Qualcomm or its transferee, in whole or in part, to adjust a winning bid in any spectrum auction prior to June 8, 2003, subject to terms and conditions set forth in the Commission's Order.

**Ex Parte Rule:** Applicants should also be aware that the Commission
has generally exempted auction proceedings from the strict requirements
of the *ex parte* rule found in Section 1.1208[^14] of the Commission's
rules.[^15]

**Mock Auction:** All applicants found to be qualified bidders are
eligible to participate in a mock electronic auction on **Friday,
December 8, 2000**. In the *Qualified Bidders Public Notice*, the Bureau
will announce when software for the mock auction will be posted on the
World Wide Web.

**Remote Bidding Software:** Applicants are reminded that qualified
bidders are eligible to bid either electronically or telephonically. To
bid electronically, applicants must complete the software order form
included in the *Auction No. 35 Procedures Public Notice* or contact the
Auctions Hotline at (717) 338-2888. To ensure timely delivery of remote
bidding software before the auction begins, the Commission requests
receipt of software orders by **6:00 p.m. ET on** **Tuesday, November
28, 2000**. The minimum hardware and software specifications required
for the FCC remote bidding system are listed below:

-   CPU: Intel ® Pentium or above

-   RAM: 16 MB (more recommended if you have multiple applications open)

-   Hard Disk: 33 MB available disk space

-   1.44 MB Floppy Drive or CD-ROM Drive (to install the Remote Bidding
    System)

-   Modem: v.32bis 28.8 kbps Hayes© compatible modem (56.6 kbps
    recommended)

-   Monitor: VGA or above

-   Mouse or other pointing device

-   Microsoft® Windows™ 95™ or 98™

-   We recommend that you use Netscape® Communicator™ 4.73. However, you
    can also use Netscape Communicator 4.5, 4.51, 4.61, 4.7 or 4.72.

To download Netscape Communicator 4.73 free of charge, access the
Netscape download site at http://home.netscape.com/download/

**Note:** The FCC Remote Bidding System has not been tested in a
Macintosh, OS/2, or Windows NT™ environment. Therefore, the FCC will not
support operating systems other than Microsoft Windows 95 or 98. This
includes any other emulated Windows environment.

**Long-Form Applications:** All applicants should be aware that at the
long-form application stage, they will be subject to the more extensive
reporting requirements contained in the Commission\'s Part 1 ownership
disclosure rule.[^16]

**Bidder Alerts:** All applicants must certify on their FCC Form 175
applications under penalty of perjury that they are legally,
technically, financially and otherwise qualified to hold a license, and
not in default on any payment for Commission licenses (including down
payments) or delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to any Federal agency.
Prospective bidders are reminded that submission of a false
certification to the Commission is a serious matter that may result in
severe penalties, including monetary forfeitures, license revocations,
exclusion from participation in future auctions, and/or criminal
prosecution.

Information about deceptive telemarketing investment schemes is
available from the FTC at (202) 326-2222 and from the SEC at (202)
942-7040. Complaints about specific deceptive telemarketing investment
schemes should be directed to the FTC, the SEC, or the National Fraud
Information Center at (800) 876-7060. Consumers who have concerns about
specific proposals may also call the FCC Consumer Center at (888)
CALL-FCC ((888) 225-5322).

\* \* \* \* \*

For questions about payment or instructions for wiring upfront payments,
contact Gail Glasser or Tim Dates, Auctions Accounting Group, at (202)
418-1995.

For specific questions about an applicant\'s incomplete status, the
applicant should contact the staff attorney identified in the
correspondence sent to the applicant by overnight mail.

For additional information, contact: Rosemary Cabral or David Hu,
Auctions Legal Branch (regarding legal questions) or Craig Bomberger,
Analyst, Auctions Operations (regarding bidding and auction structure)
at (202) 418-0660; Lisa Stover, Auctions Operations (regarding bidding
and general filing status) at (717) 338-2888.

-   **FCC -**

[^1]: ^?^ *See* 47 C.F.R. § 1.2106.

[^2]: ^?^ *See* 47 C.F.R. § 1.65.

[^3]: *Id*.

[^4]: *See* C and F Block Broadband PCS Spectrum Auction Scheduled for
    December 12, 2000; Auction Notice and Filing Requirements for 422
    Licenses in the C and F Block Broadband PCS Spectrum Auction;
    Minimum Opening Bids and Other *Procedures* Issues For Final Auction
    Inventory, *Public Notice*, DA 00-2259 (rel. October 5, 2000)
    ("*Auction No. 35 Procedures Public Notice*").

[^5]: *Id*. at 5-6.

[^6]: *See* Implementation of Section 309(j) of the Communications Act
    --- Competitive Bidding for Commercial Broadcast and Instructional
    Television Fixed Service Licenses, MM Docket No. 97-234,
    Reexamination of the Policy Statement on Comparative Broadcast
    Hearings, GC Docket No. 92-52, Proposals to Reform Comparative
    Hearing Process to Expedite the Resolution of Cases, GEN Docket No.
    90-264, *Order*, FCC 99-157, n.15 (rel. July 2, 1999) (Commission
    order denying petitions for stay of Auction No. 25 pending judicial
    review and noting that the Commission will return payments made by
    winning bidders if licenses bid for are later determined to be
    unavailable due to a subsequent court action). *See also* "Auction
    of C, D, E, and F Block Broadband PCS Licenses; Status of
    Applications to Participate in the Auction; Clarification of Payment
    Issue Relating to Licenses Subject to Pending Proceedings," *Public
    Notice*, 14 FCC Rcd 5467, 5470-71 (1999).

[^7]: ^?^ 47 U.S.C. § 309(j)(3).

[^8]: ^?^ *See* "Auction of C, D, E, and F Block Broadband PCS Licenses;
    Notice and Filing Requirements for Auction of C, D, E, and F Block
    Broadband Personal Communications Services Licenses Scheduled for
    March 23, 1999; Minimum Opening Bids and Other *Procedures* Issues,"
    Public Notice, 13 FCC Rcd 24,540, 24,545 (1998).

[^9]: "Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Clarifies Spectrum Auction
    Anti-Collusion Rules," *Public Notice*, DA 95-2244 (rel. October 26,
    1995), 11 FCC Rcd 9645 (1995).

[^10]: *See* C and F Block Broadband PCS Spectrum Auction Scheduled for
    December 12, 2000; Auction Notice and Filing Requirements for 422
    Licenses in the C and F Block Broadband PCS Spectrum Auction;
    Minimum Opening Bids and Other *Procedures* Issues For Final Auction
    Inventory, *Public Notice*, DA 00-2259 (rel. October 5, 2000)
    ("*Auction No. 35 Procedures Public Notice*").

[^11]: *See* 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.2105(c), 1.2107(d), and 1.2109(d).

[^12]: 47 C.F.R. §1.2109 (d).

[^13]: *See* Qualcomm Incorporated Petition for Declaratory Ruling
    Giving Effect to the Mandate of the District of Columbia Circuit
    Court of Appeals, *Order*, FCC 00-189 (rel. June 8, 2000).

[^14]: 47 C.F.R. §1.1208.

[^15]: *See* 47 C.F.R. §1.1200(a) note (1); *see also* "Commission
    Announces that Mutually Exclusive 'Short-Form' Applications (Form
    175) to Participate in Competitive Bidding Process ('Auctions') Are
    Treated as Exempt for Ex Parte Purposes," *Public Notice*, 9 FCC Rcd
    6760 (1994).

[^16]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 1.2112(b).