FCC 04-283

Released: December 15, 2004

**FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ANNOUNCES WAIVER RELIEF FOR UNTIMELY
NOTIFICATIONS OF CONSUMMATION OF WIRELESS\
LICENSE ASSIGNMENT AND TRANSFER OF CONTROL APPLICATIONS**

The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) hereby announces that
for a period of ninety (90) calendar days beginning with the release
date of this *Public Notice*, *i.e.*, from December 15, 2004, until
March 15, 2005, the Commission will waive Section 1.948(d) of its Rules,
47 C.F.R. § 1.948(d), so that parties to certain license assignment and
transfer of control applications previously consented to by the Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) may file untimely notifications of
the consummation of such transactions.[^1] Provided that the transaction
in question was consummated within the 180-day period specified in
Section 1.948(d), any such notification of consummation filed during the
waiver period will be processed without sanction. Subsequent to this
ninety-day period, the deadlines set forth in Section 1.948 will be
strictly enforced.

Section 1.948(d) of the Commission's Rules specifies in pertinent part:

> In all Wireless Radio Services, licensees are required to notify the
> Commission of consummation of an approved transfer or assignment using
> FCC Form 603. The assignee or transferee is responsible for providing
> this notification, including the date the transaction was consummated.
> For transfers and assignments that require prior Commission approval,
> the transaction must be consummated and notification provided to the
> Commission within 180 days of public notice of approval, and
> notification of consummation must occur no later than 30 days after
> actual consummation, unless a request for an extension of time to
> consummate is filed on FCC Form 603 prior to the expiration of this
> 180-day period.

Currently, the Bureau's Universal Licensing System (ULS) indicates that
there are hundreds of assignment and transfer of control applications
that have been consented to by the Bureau more than six months ago, but
for which the Bureau has received neither a timely notification of
consummation nor a timely request for an extension of time to
consummate. As a consequence, the status of a growing number of licenses
included on such applications remains uncertain. In this regard, for
example, we note that when the Bureau does not receive a notification of
consummation of an approved assignment application, the licensee of
record prior to the filing of the application remains the licensee of
record. We are concerned that, in many cases, the transaction may have
been consummated and the assignee listed in such an application may have
assumed the rights and responsibilities of the licensee. Unless we are
notified of this consummation, however, the ULS database will continue
to list the assignor as the licensee of record.

It is critical that the Commission be able to identify, and to contact
as needed, the entity authorized in fact to control a
Commission-licensed facility. Following the ninety-day period referenced
above, therefore, the Bureau will strictly enforce the requirements of
Section 1.948(d). Accordingly, any wireless license assignment or
transfer of control application for which the Bureau does not receive a
timely notification of consummation or request for an extension of time
to consummate pursuant to Section 1.948(d) will be subject to dismissal.
We believe this action is warranted as a measure for dealing with the
growing number of instances in which applicants fail to file a timely
notification of consummation of an approved assignment or transfer of
control, particularly since the problem has continued even after the
Commission amended Section 1.948(d) in 1999 to extend the period for
consummating a transaction, and filing a notification of such
consummation, from 60 days to 180 days.[^2]

For reasons of efficiency and equity, however, we also believe that it
would be beneficial to provide for a limited waiver of Section 1.948(d)
prior to the Bureau's strict enforcement of this rule. Accordingly, we
are establishing a ninety-day waiver period, beginning on the release
date of this *Public Notice*. During this ninety-day waiver period, any
entity that timely consummated an approved assignment or transfer of
control application, but failed to file a timely notification of
consummation of the transaction, should file such a notification of
consummation on FCC Form 603. During the waiver period, such
notifications of consummation will be accepted and processed by the
Bureau, even without an individualized waiver request, notwithstanding
that the notification would be considered late-filed under Section
1.948(d). Pursuant to this general waiver, the assignee/transferee
filing the notification may be assured that the notification will be
processed in due course and that it will be reflected in ULS. The waiver
will apply to notifications of consummation that are pending before the
Commission as of the date of this *Public Notice*, as well as to
notifications of consummation that are filed during the 90-day waiver
period. Following expiration of the 90-day period, however, approved
applications for which a notification of consummation remains unfiled
for more than 180 days will be subject to dismissal for failure to
comply with Section 1.948(d), and untimely notifications of consummation
will not be accepted unless accompanied by a request for waiver of that
rule.[^3] *In cases where the applicants no longer intend to consummate
an approved transaction, we encourage the applicants to withdraw the
underlying assignment or transfer of control application in order to
remove any uncertainty as to the status of the subject license(s).*

We emphasize that applicants may avail themselves of this waiver only if
the transaction proposed in the approved assignment or transfer of
control application was indeed consummated within the 180-day period
specified in Section 1.948(d). Applicants that do not qualify for the
waiver relief set forth in this *Public Notice* should submit late-filed
notifications of consummation (or, as appropriate, late-filed requests
for an extension of time to consummate) that are accompanied by an
individualized request for a waiver of Section 1.948(d).[^4] Such waiver
requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis in accordance with
the waiver criteria set forth in Section 1.925(b)(3) of the Commission's
Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.925(b)(3). We note that even if the waiver is
granted, the applicant may nonetheless be subject to sanctions,
including, without limitation, a Notice of Apparent Liability for a
Forfeiture, for the violation of Section 1.948(d). For additional
information or assistance regarding filing requests for waivers of
Section 1.948(d), requests for an extension of time to consummate and
related pleadings, you may visit the web at
[[http://esupport.fcc.gov]{.underline}](http://esupport.fcc.gov/),
e-mail questions to <ULSHELP@fcc.gov>, or call the FCC Support Center at
(877) 480-3201 (TTY 202-414-1255) and select from the options menu.
Support Center hours are from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday
through Friday (except Federal holidays). To provide quality service and
ensure security, all telephone calls are recorded.

Finally, we note that a proposed assignee/transferee's assumption of
control over licensed facilities may be deemed unauthorized operation if
the underlying assignment or transfer of control application is
dismissed for failure to file a timely notification of consummation.
Such unauthorized operation may subject the parties to additional
sanctions, and it may be necessary for the assignee/transferee to apply
for and receive Special Temporary Authority (STA) to operate the
facilities. The parties would then need to file a new application for
assignment or transfer of control of the license(s).

For further information, contact Jeff Tobias, Public Safety and Critical
Infrastructure Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at (202)
418-1617, Denise Walter, Mobility Division, Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau, at (202) 418-0359, or Elizabeth Fishel, Broadband Division,
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at (202) 418-2487.

Action Taken by the Commission on December 8, 2004: Chairman Michael K.
Powell, Commissioners Kathleen Q. Abernathy, Michael J. Copps, Kevin J.
Martin, Jonathan S. Adelstein.

\- FCC -

[^1]: This waiver applies to notifications of consummation of
    assignments or transfers of control of licenses in all Wireless
    Radio Services except the Instructional Television Fixed Service,
    the Multipoint Distribution Service, and the Multichannel Multipoint
    Distribution Service. The Bureau has undertaken a separate
    proceeding to confirm the accuracy and completeness of the licensing
    information for those services. *See*, *e.g.*, Wireless
    Telecommunications Bureau Announces Action on Responses to Public
    Notice Regarding ITFS, MDS, and MMDS Pending Applications, *Public
    Notice*, 18 FCC Rcd 12277 (WTB 2003).

[^2]: *See* Amendment of Section 1.948(d) of the Commission's Rules to
    Extend the Time for Consummation and Notification of Wireless
    Transfers and Assignments, *Order*, 14 FCC Rcd 18828 (1999).

[^3]: *See id*. at 18829 ¶ 3 (explaining that "\[i\]f parties fail to
    consummate and notify the Commission within 180 days, or fail to
    request an extension within the 180 day period, approval of the
    transfer or assignment will automatically be rescinded").

[^4]: A late-filed notification for a transaction that was not
    consummated within the 180-day period will be subject to dismissal
    if not accompanied by a waiver request. In such a case, the
    underlying application also may be subject to dismissal, and the
    applicants may be subject to sanction.