Federal Communications Commission

Washington, D.C. 20554

January 29, 1999

**Released: January 29, 1999**

BY FACSIMILE AND FIRST CLASS MAIL

Lloyd W. Coward, Esq.

Meyer, Faller, Weisman & Rosenberg, P.C.

4400 Jenifer Street, N.W.

Suite 380

Washington, D.C. 20015

Re: TE‑MCG Consortium

Dear Mr. Coward:

This letter is in response to a request for waiver of 47 C.F.R. § 90.812
filed on behalf

of TE‑MCG Consortium (TE‑MCG). On August 16, 1996, the Commission
granted TE‑

MCG two 900 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) licenses for which TE‑MCG
was the

winning bidder in the auction that concluded on April 15, 1996. Grant of
these licenses was

conditioned upon TE‑MCG paying its bids in quarterly installment
payments. At the time of

this grant, section 90.812 of the Commission\'s rules provided that
installment payments for

900 MHz SMR licenses were subject to 47 C.F.R. § 1.2110(e). This section
provided that an

entity that was more than 90 days delinquent in any installment payment
was in default;

however, upon default or in anticipation of default, licensees were
permitted to request a

grace period of three to six months. 47 C.F.R. § 1.2110(e)(4) (1997).

TE‑MCG\'s first installment payment of \$17,313.76 was due on November
30, 1996.

Shortly after the licensee received the loan documents, which included
amortization tables

reflecting the payment schedule, TE‑MCG contacted the Commission
regarding an error in the

interest rate. As stated in the exhibits to TE‑MCG\'s waiver request,
new amortization tables

were provided to the licensee in March 1997. On December 19, 1997,
TE‑MCG made a

payment of \$86,568.86. This payment was applied to installment payments
due on November

30, 1996; February 28, 1997; May 31, 1997; August 31, 1997; and November
30, 1997.

Thus, as of December 19, 1997, TE‑MCG was current in its payments.
TE‑MCG has timely

paid all subsequent installment payments under the Commission\'s rules.

Lloyd W. Coward, Esq.

Page 2

The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) appreciates TE‑MCG
bringing the

administrative error in the amortization tables to its attention. The
Bureau also acknowledges

that TE‑MCG did not have correct amortization schedules in order to
submit the payments

due on November 30, 1996, and February 28, 1997. However, once the
amortization tables

were corrected in March 1997, TE‑MCG did not make a payment until
December 1997, over

eight months later. Under the Commission\'s rules in effect at the time,
both of TE‑MCG\'s

900 MHz licenses should have automatically cancelled when it failed to
submit its installment

payment due on May 31, 1997, within 90 days of the deadline and also
failed to submit a

timely grace period request.

The Bureau recognizes that the acceptance of TE‑MCG\'s December 1997
payment

could have been construed as a waiver of the missed payment deadlines.
The Bureau also

acknowledges that TE‑MCG\'s record of timely payments over the past year
is indicative of a

commitment on the part of TE‑MCG to meet its payment obligations. The
Bureau therefore

grants TE‑MCG a waiver of sections 90.812 and 1.2110(e)(4) with respect
to its late

payments. Nevertheless, TE‑MCG should not receive a complete waiver of
the payment

deadline, because it possessed corrected loan documents for over eight
months prior to

making a payment. In light of this finding, we assess TE‑MCG a late
payment fee of 5

percent of the total amount due in one quarterly installment payment.

Accordingly, TE‑MCG will not be deemed in default on its two 900 MHz SMR

licenses if it makes a payment of \$865.69, which represents 5 percent
of one installment

payment for the two licenses conditionally granted to TE‑MCG, no later
than 30 days from

the date of this letter. Failure to timely submit this amount in full by
March 1, 1999, will

result in the automatic cancellation of TE‑MCG\'s 900 MHz SMR licenses.
This action is

taken in accordance with delegated authority pursuant to 47 C.F.R. §
0.331.

Sincerely,

Thomas J. Sugrue

Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau