21350 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 73 / Friday, April 15, 2011 / Notices 

202–564–2057 or by e-mail at 

shallal.suhair@epa.gov. 

The SAB Ecological Processes and 

Effects Committee (EPEC) provides 

advice on technical issues related to the 

science and research to protect and 

restore the health of ecosystems. The 

SAB Staff Office is seeking nominations 

of experts to serve on EPEC with 

demonstrated expertise in the following 

disciplines: Aquatic ecology; 

ecotoxicology; and ecological risk 

assessment. For further information 

about the EPEC please contact Dr. 

Thomas Armitage, DFO, by telephone at 

202–564–2155 or by e-mail at 

armitage.thomas@epa.gov. 

The Radiation Advisory Committee 

(RAC) provides advice on radiation 

protection, radiation science, and 

radiation risk assessment. The SAB Staff 

Office is seeking nominations of experts 

to serve on RAC with demonstrated 

expertise in the following disciplines: 

Radiation biology; radiation biophysics; 

radiation dosimetry; radiation risk 

assessment; and cancer epidemiology. 

For further information about the RAC 

please contact Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, 

DFO, by telephone at 202–564–2064 or 

by e-mail at kooyoomjian.jack@epa.gov. 

Selection criteria include: 

—Demonstrated scientific credentials 

and expertise in their own fields. 

—Willingness to commit time on the 

committee and demonstrated ability 

to work constructively and effectively 

on committees. 

—Background and experiences that 

would help members contribute to the 

diversity of perspectives on the 

committee), e.g., geographic, 

economic, social, cultural, 

educational backgrounds, and 

professional affiliations. 

—Consideration of the collective 

breadth and depth of scientific 

expertise; a balance of scientific 

perspectives; and continuity of 

knowledge and understanding of EPA 

missions and environmental programs 

in the context of the committee as a 

whole. 

How To Submit Nominations: Any 

interested person or organization may 

nominate qualified persons to be 

considered for appointment to these 

chartered advisory committees. 

Individuals may self-nominate. 

Nominations should be submitted in 

electronic format (preferred) following 

the instructions for ‘‘Nominating Experts 

to a Chartered Advisory Committee’’ 

provided on the SAB Web site. The form 

can be accessed through the 

‘‘Nomination of Experts’’ link on the 

blue navigational bar on the SAB Web 

site at http://www.epa.gov/sab. To be 

considered, all nominations should 

include the information requested. EPA 

values and welcomes diversity. In an 

effort to obtain nominations of diverse 

candidates, EPA encourages 

nominations of women and men of all 

racial and ethnic groups. 

Nominators are asked to identify the 

specific committee(s) for which 

nominees would like to be considered. 

The Web site requests contact 

information about: The person making 

the nomination; contact information 

about the nominee; the disciplinary and 

specific areas of expertise of the 

nominee; the nominee’s curriculum 

vita; and a biographical sketch of the 

nominee indicating current position, 

educational background; research 

activities; and recent service on other 

national advisory committees or 

national professional organizations. 

Persons having questions about the 

nomination procedures, or who are 

unable to submit nominations through 

the SAB Web site, should contact the 

Designated Federal Officer for the 

committee, as identified above. Nonelectronic submissions must follow the 

same format and contain the same 

information as the electronic form. The 

SAB Staff Office will acknowledge 

receipt of nominations. 

Candidates invited to serve will be 

asked to submit the ‘‘Confidential 

Financial Disclosure Form for Special 

Government Employees Serving on 

Federal Advisory Committees at the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’’ 

(EPA Form 3110–48). This confidential 

form allows EPA to determine whether 

there is a statutory conflict between that 

person’s public responsibilities as a 

Special Government Employee and 

private interests and activities, or the 

appearance of a lack of impartiality, as 

defined by Federal regulation. The form 

may be viewed and downloaded 

through the ‘‘Ethics Requirements for 

Advisors’’ link on the blue navigational 

bar on the SAB Web site at http:// 

www.epa.gov/sab. This form should not 

be submitted as part of a nomination. 

To help the Agency in evaluating the 

effectiveness of its outreach efforts, 

please tell us how you learned of this 

opportunity. 

Dated: April 6, 2011. 

Anthony Maciorowski, 

Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board 

Staff Office. 

[FR Doc. 2011–9212 Filed 4–14–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[AU Docket No. 10–248; DA 11–420] 

Auction of 700 MHz Band Licenses 

Scheduled for July 19, 2011; Notice 

and Filing Requirements, Minimum 

Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and 

Other Procedures for Auction 92 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This document announces the 

procedures and minimum opening bids 

for the upcoming auction of 16 licenses 

in the 698–806 MHz band (700 MHz 

band), designated as Auction 92, and is 

intended to familiarize prospective 

bidders with these procedures, 

minimum opening bid amounts, and 

deadlines for the auction. 

DATES: Applications to participate in 

Auction 92 and required upfront 

payments must be filed prior to 6:00 

p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on May 11, 

2011. Bidding for construction permits 

in Auction 92 is scheduled to begin on 

July 19, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, 

Auctions and Spectrum Access Division: 

For legal questions: Lynne Milne at 

(202) 418–0660. Mobility Division: For 

service rules and licensing issues: 

Michael Connelly (legal) or Keith 

Harper (technical) at (202) 418–0620. To 

request materials in accessible formats 

(Braille, large print, electronic files or 

audio format) for people with 

disabilities, send an e-mail to 

fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer 

and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 

(202) 418–0530 or (202) 418–0432 

(TTY). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Auction 92 Procedures 

Public Notice which was released on 

March 16, 2011. The complete text of 

the Auction 92 Procedures Public 

Notice, including attachments, as well 

as related Commission documents, are 

available for public inspection and 

copying from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET 

Monday through Thursday and from 8 

a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday in the 

FCC Reference Information Center, 445 

12th Street, SW., Room CY–A257, 

Washington, DC 20554. The Auction 92 

Procedures 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 


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Web site: http://www.BCPIWEB.com, 

using document number DA 11–420 for 

the Auction 92 Procedures Public 

Notice. The Auction 92 Procedures 

Public Notice and related documents are 

also available on the Internet at the 

Commission’s Web site: http:// 

wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/92/. 

I. General Information 

A. Introduction 

On December 15, 2010, the Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) 

released a public notice seeking 

comment on competitive bidding 

procedures to be used in Auction 92. A 

summary of this public notice was 

published in the Federal Register on 

January 7, 2011, 76 FR 1158. One party 

submitted comments in response to the 

Auction 92 Comment Public Notice, and 

three parties submitted filings by the 

reply comment deadline. 

i. Licenses To Be Offered in Auction 92 

The 16 licenses in Auction 92 were 

offered in Auction 73 and remained 

unsold or were licenses on which a 

winning bidder defaulted. A complete 

list of licenses offered in Auction 92 is 

available in Attachment A to the 

Auction 92 Procedures Public Notice. 

B. Rules and Disclaimers 

i. Relevant Authority 

Prospective applicants must 

familiarize themselves thoroughly with 

the Commission’s general competitive 

bidding rules, rules relating to the 700 

MHz band and emerging technologies, 

and rules relating to applications, 

environmental requirements, practice 

and procedure. Prospective applicants 

must also be thoroughly familiar with 

the procedures, terms and conditions 

contained in the Auctions 92 Procedures 

Public Notice and in the Commission’s 

decisions in proceedings regarding 

competitive bidding procedures, 

application requirements, and 

obligations of Commission licensees. 

The terms contained in the 

Commission’s rules, relevant orders, 

and public notices are not negotiable. 

The Commission may amend or 

supplement information contained in 

public notices at any time, and will 

issue public notices to convey any new 

or supplemental information. It is the 

responsibility of all applications to 

remain current with all Commission 

rules and with all public notices 

pertaining to this auction. 

ii. Prohibited Communications and 

Compliance With Antitrust Laws 

To ensure the competitiveness of the 

auction process, 47 CFR 1.2105(c) 

prohibits auction applicants for licenses 

in any of the same geographic license 

areas from communicating with each 

other about bids, bidding strategies, or 

settlements unless such applicants have 

identified each other on their short-form 

applications (FCC Form 175) as parties 

with whom they have entered into 

agreements pursuant to 47 CFR 

1.2105(a)(2)(viii). 

a. Entities Subject to Section 1.2105 

5. 47 CFR 1.2105(c)’s prohibition on 

certain communications will apply to 

any applicants that submit short-form 

applications seeking to participate in a 

Commission auction for licenses in the 

same or overlapping markets. Thus, 

unless they have identified each other 

on their short-form applications as 

parties with whom they have entered 

into agreements under 47 CFR 

1.2105(a)(2)(viii), applicants for any of 

the same or overlapping markets must 

affirmatively avoid all communications 

with or disclosures to each other that 

affect or have the potential to affect bids 

or bidding strategy. In some instances, 

this prohibition extends to 

communications regarding the postauction market structure. This 

prohibition applies to all applicants 

regardless of whether such applicants 

become qualified bidders or actually 

bid. In Auction 92, this rule would 

apply to applicants designating on the 

short-form application any of the same 

licenses. The rule would also prohibit, 

for example, an applicant bidding for a 

CMA license and another applicant 

bidding for an EA license that covers 

any of the same geographic area from 

communicating, absent a disclosed 

agreement. 

6. Applicants are also reminded that, 

for purposes of this prohibition on 

certain communications, 47 CFR 

1.2105(c)(7)(i) defines applicant as 

including all officers and directors of 

the entity submitting a short-form 

application to participate in the auction, 

all controlling interests of that entity, as 

well as all holders of partnership and 

other ownership interests and any stock 

interest amounting to 10 percent or 

more of the entity, or outstanding stock, 

or outstanding voting stock of the entity 

submitting a short-form application. For 

example, where an individual served as 

an officer for two or more applicants, 

the Bureau has found that the bids and 

bidding strategies of one applicant are 

necessarily conveyed to the other 

applicant, and, absent a disclosed 

bidding agreement, an apparent 

violation of 47 CFR 1.2105(c) occurs. 

7. Information concerning Auction 92 

applicants’ license selections will not be 

available to the public. Therefore, the 

Commission will inform each applicant 

by letter of the identity of each of the 

other applicants that has applied for 

licenses covering any of the same 

geographic areas as the licenses that it 

has selected in its short-form 

application. 

8. Individuals and entities subject to 

47 CFR 1.2105(c) should take special 

care in circumstances where their 

employees may receive information 

directly or indirectly from a competing 

applicant relating to any competing 

applicant’s bids or bidding strategies. 

An exception to the prohibition on 

certain communications allows noncontrolling interest holders to obtain 

interests in more than one competing 

applicant without violating 47 CFR 

1.2105(c), provided specified conditions 

are met (including a certification that no 

prohibited communications have 

occurred or will occur), but that 

exception does not extend to controlling 

interest holders. 

9. Auction 92 applicants selecting 

licenses for any of the same geographic 

license areas are encouraged not to use 

the same individual as an authorized 

bidder. A violation of 47 CFR 1.2105(c) 

could occur if an individual acts as the 

authorized bidder for two or more 

competing applicants, and conveys 

information concerning the substance of 

bids or bidding strategies between such 

applicants. Also, if the authorized 

bidders are different individuals 

employed by the same organization 

(e.g., law firm or engineering firm or 

consulting firm), a violation similarly 

could occur. In such a case, at a 

minimum, applicants should certify on 

their applications that precautionary 

steps have been taken to prevent 

communication between authorized 

bidders and that applicants and their 

bidding agents will comply with 47 CFR 

1.2105(c). 

b. Prohibition Applies Until Down 

Payment Deadline 

10. 47 CFR 1.2105(c)’s prohibition on 

certain communications begins at the 

short-form application filing deadline 

and ends at the down payment deadline 

after the auction, which will be 

announced in a future public notice. 

c. Prohibited Communications 

11. Applicants should note that they 

must not communicate directly or 

indirectly about bids or bidding strategy 

to other applicants in this auction. 47 

CFR 1.2105(c) prohibits not only a 

communication about an applicant’s 

own bids or bidding strategy, but also a 

communication of another applicant’s 

bids or bidding strategy. While 47 CFR 

1.2105(c) does not prohibit non-auctionVerDate Mar<15>2010 16:58 Apr 14, 2011 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\15APN1.SGM 15APN1

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related business negotiations among 

auction applicants, applicants must 

remain vigilant so as not to 

communicate directly or indirectly 

information that affects, or could affect, 

bids or bidding strategy, or the 

negotiation of settlement agreements. 

12. Applicants are cautioned that the 

Commission remains vigilant about 

prohibited communications taking place 

in other situations. For example, the 

Commission has warned that prohibited 

communications concerning bids and 

bidding strategies may include 

communications regarding capital calls 

or requests for additional funds in 

support of bids or bidding strategies to 

the extent such communications convey 

information concerning bids and 

bidding strategies directly or indirectly. 

Moreover, the Commission has found a 

violation of 47 CFR 1.2105(c) where a 

bidder used the Commission’s bidding 

system to disclose its bidding strategy in 

a manner that explicitly invited other 

auction participants to cooperate and 

collaborate in specific markets, and has 

placed auction participants on notice 

that the use of its bidding system to 

disclose market information to 

competitors will not be tolerated and 

will subject bidders to sanctions. 

Accordingly, applicants should use 

caution in their dealings with other 

parties, such as members of the press, 

financial analysts, or others who might 

become conduits for the communication 

of prohibited bidding information. For 

example, where limited information 

disclosure procedures are in place, as is 

the case for Auction 92, a qualified 

bidder’s statement to the press that it 

has lost bidding eligibility and stopped 

bidding in the auction could give rise to 

a finding of a 47 CFR 1.2105(c) 

violation. Similarly, an applicant’s 

public statement of intent not to 

participate in Auction 92 bidding could 

also violate the rule. 

13. Applicants are also hereby placed 

on notice that disclosure of information 

relating to bidder interests and bidder 

identities that has not yet been made 

public by the Commission at the time of 

disclosure may violate the provisions of 

47 CFR 1.2105(c) that prohibit certain 

communications. This is so even though 

similar types of information were 

revealed prior to and during other 

Commission auctions subject to 

different information procedures. Thus, 

communication by an applicant of its 

license selections to another applicant 

for one or more of the same licenses, or 

communication of the fact that an 

applicant does nor does not hold 

provisionally winning bids on particular 

licenses, may well violate 47 CFR 

1.2105(c). 

14. In addition, when completing 

short-form applications, applicants 

should avoid any statements or 

disclosures that may violate 47 CFR 

1.2105(c), particularly in light of the 

limited information procedures in effect 

for Auction 92. Specifically, applicants 

should avoid including any information 

in their short-form applications that 

might convey information regarding 

their license selection, such as using 

applicant names that refer to licenses 

being offered, referring to certain 

licenses or markets in describing 

bidding agreements, or including any 

information in attachments that may 

otherwise disclose applicants’ license 

selections. 

d. Disclosure of Bidding Agreements 

and Arrangements 

15. The Commission’s rules do not 

prohibit applicants from entering into 

otherwise lawful bidding agreements 

before filing their short-form 

applications, as long as they disclose the 

existence of the agreement(s) in their 

short-form applications. If parties agree 

in principle on all material terms prior 

to the short-form application filing 

deadline, each party to the agreement 

must identify the other party or parties 

to the agreement on its short-form 

application under 47 CFR 1.2105(c), 

even if the agreement has not been 

reduced to writing. If the parties have 

not agreed in principle by the shortform filing deadline, they should not 

include the names of parties to 

discussions on their applications, and 

they may not continue negotiation, 

discussion, or communication with any 

other applicants for licenses covering 

any of the same or overlapping 

geographic areas after the short-form 

application filing deadline. 

e. Section 1.2105(c) Certification 

16. By electronically submitting a 

short-form application, each applicant 

in Auction 92 certifies its compliance 

with 47 CFR 1.2105(c). However, the 

Bureau cautions that merely filing a 

certifying statement as part of an 

application will not outweigh specific 

evidence that a prohibited 

communication has occurred, nor will it 

preclude the initiation of an 

investigation when warranted. The 

Commission has stated that it intends to 

scrutinize carefully any instances in 

which bidding patterns suggest that 

collusion may be occurring. Any 

applicant found to have violated 47 CFR 

1.2105(c) may be subject to sanctions. 

f. Duty To Report Prohibited 

Communications: Reporting Procedure 

17. 47 CFR 1.2105(c)(6) provides that 

any applicant that makes or receives a 

communication that appears to violate 

47 CFR 1.2105(c) must report such 

communication in writing to the 

Commission immediately, and in no 

case later than five business days after 

the communication occurs. The 

Commission has clarified that each 

applicant’s obligation to report any such 

communication continues beyond the 

five-day period after the communication 

is made, even if the report is not made 

within the five day period. 

18. 47 CFR 1.65 requires an applicant 

to maintain the accuracy and 

completeness of information furnished 

in its pending application and to notify 

the Commission of any substantial 

change that may be of decisional 

significance to that application. Thus, 

47 CFR 1.65 requires an auction 

applicant to notify the Commission of 

any substantial change to the 

information or certifications included in 

its pending short-form application. An 

applicant is therefore required by 47 

CFR 1.65 to report to the Commission 

any communication the applicant has 

made to or received from another 

applicant after the short-form 

application filing deadline that affects 

or has the potential to affect bids or 

bidding strategy, unless such 

communication is made to or received 

from a party to an agreement identified 

under 47 CFR 1.2105(a)(2)(viii). 

19. 47 CFR 1.65(a) and 1.2105(c) 

requires applicants in competitive 

bidding proceedings to furnish 

additional or corrected information 

within five days of a significant 

occurrence, or to amend their short-form 

applications no more than five days 

after the applicant becomes aware of the 

need for amendment. These rules are 

intended to facilitate the auction 

process by making the information 

available promptly to all participants 

and to enable the Bureau to act 

expeditiously on those changes when 

such action is necessary. 

20. A party reporting any 

communication pursuant to 47 CFR 

1.65, 1.2105(a)(2), or 1.2105(c)(6) must 

take care to ensure that any report of a 

prohibited communication does not 

itself give rise to a violation of 47 CFR 

1.2105(c). For example, a party’s report 

of a prohibited communication could 

violate the rule by communicating 

prohibited information to other 

applicants through the use of 

Commission filing procedures that 

would allow such materials to be made 

available for public inspection. 


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21. 47 CFR 1.2105(c) requires parties 

to file only a single report concerning 

such communications and to file that 

report with Commission personnel 

expressly charged with administering 

the Commission’s auctions. This rule is 

designed to minimize the risk of 

inadvertent dissemination of 

information in such reports. Pursuant to 

the amended rule, any reports required 

by 47 CFR 1.2105(c) must be filed 

consistent with the instructions set forth 

in the Auction 92 Procedures Public 

Notice. For Auction 92, such reports 

must be filed with the Chief of the 

Auctions and Spectrum Access 

Division, Wireless Telecommunications 

Bureau, by the most expeditious means 

available. Specifically, any such report 

must be submitted by e-mail to 

auction92@fcc.gov or delivered to the 

following address: Margaret W. Wiener, 

Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access 

Division, Wireless Telecommunications 

Bureau, Federal Communications 

Commission, 445 12th Street SW., Room 

6423, Washington, DC 20554. 

22. A party seeking to report such a 

prohibited communication should 

consider submitting its report with a 

request that the report or portions of the 

submission be withheld from public 

inspection pursuant to 47 CFR 0.459. If 

requesting that a report be withheld 

from public inspection, the cover page 

of the filing must prominently display 

that the report seeks confidential 

treatment, and cover all of the material 

to which the request applies. Such 

parties also are encouraged to 

coordinate with the Auctions and 

Spectrum Access Division staff if they 

have any questions about the 

procedures for submitting such reports. 

The Auction 92 Procedures Public 

Notice provides additional guidance on 

procedures for submitting applicationrelated information. 

g. Winning Bidders Must Disclose 

Terms of Agreements 

23. Applicants that are winning 

bidders will be required to disclose in 

their long-form applications the specific 

terms, conditions, and parties involved 

in any bidding consortia, joint venture, 

partnership, or agreement, 

understanding, or other arrangement 

entered into relating to the competitive 

bidding process, including any 

agreement relating to the post-auction 

market structure. Applicants must be 

aware that failure to comply with the 

Commission’s rules can result in 

enforcement action. 

h. Antitrust Laws 

24. Applicants are also reminded that, 

regardless of compliance with the 

Commission’s rules, they remain subject 

to the antitrust laws, which are designed 

to prevent anticompetitive behavior in 

the marketplace. Compliance with the 

disclosure requirements of 47 CFR 

1.2105(c) will not insulate a party from 

enforcement of the antitrust laws. For 

instance, a violation of the antitrust 

laws could arise out of actions taking 

place well before any party submitted a 

short-form application. The Commission 

has cited a number of examples of 

potentially anticompetitive actions that 

would be prohibited under antitrust 

laws: For example, actual or potential 

competitors may not agree to divide 

territories in order to minimize 

competition, regardless of whether they 

split a market in which they both do 

business, or whether they merely 

reserve one market for one and another 

market for the other. Similarly, the 

Bureau previously reminded potential 

applicants and others that even where 

the applicant discloses parties with 

whom it has reached an agreement on 

the short-form application, thereby 

permitting discussions with those 

parties, the applicant is nevertheless 

subject to existing antitrust laws. 

25. To the extent the Commission 

becomes aware of specific allegations 

that suggest that violations of the federal 

antitrust laws may have occurred, the 

Commission may refer such allegations 

to the United States Department of 

Justice for investigation. If an applicant 

is found to have violated the antitrust 

laws or the Commission’s rules 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, among 

other sanctions. 

iii. Protection of Incumbent Operations 

26. 700 MHz Band licensees must 

operate in accordance with Commission 

rules to reduce the potential for 

interference to public reception of the 

signals of digital television (DTV) 

broadcast stations transmitting on DTV 

Channel 51. These limitations may 

restrict the ability of such geographic 

area licensees to use certain portions of 

the electromagnetic spectrum or provide 

service to some parts of their geographic 

license areas. 

a. International Coordination 

27. Potential bidders seeking licenses 

for geographic areas that are near the 

Canadian or Mexican borders are subject 

to international agreements with Canada 

and Mexico. Pursuant to these 

agreements, the U.S. must protect the 

signals of Canadian and Mexican 

television broadcast stations located in 

the border area. Unless otherwise 

modified by international treaty, 

licensees must not cause interference to, 

and must accept harmful interference 

from, television broadcast operations in 

Mexico and Canada. Further, until such 

time as existing agreements are replaced 

or modified to reflect the new uses, 

licensees in the band will be subject to 

existing agreements. 

b. Quiet Zones 

28. 700 MHz band licensees must 

protect the radio quiet zones specified at 

47 CFR 1.924. Licensees are cautioned 

that they must receive the appropriate 

approvals directly from the relevant 

quiet zone entity prior to operating 

within the areas described in 47 CFR 

1.924. 

iv. Spectrum Holdings Subject to 

Competition Analysis 

29. To avoid anti-competitive 

spectrum aggregation, the Commission 

in 2008 announced its intention to 

apply prospectively a competitive 

analysis to spectrum acquired through 

auctions, just as the Commission has 

done previously to spectrum acquired 

through transactions. Accordingly, the 

Bureau will apply a competitive 

analysis to spectrum acquired through 

this auction when evaluating the 

winning bidder’s long-form application. 

The Commission’s competitive analysis 

includes an examination of the 

appropriate market definitions 

including a determination of the 

product market, geographic markets, 

market participants, and the input 

market for spectrum available for the 

provision of mobile telephony/ 

broadband services. 

v. Due Diligence 

30. Each applicant must take seriously 

its duties and responsibilities and 

carefully determine before filing an 

application that the applicant has the 

legal, technical and financial resources 

to participate in Auction 92, as well as 

construct and operate a 700 MHz facility 

if the auction applicant becomes a 

licensee as a result of its participation 

in this auction. 

31. The Bureau cautions potential 

applicants formulating their bidding 

strategies to investigate and consider the 

extent to which these frequencies are 

occupied, and how such occupancy may 

affect their business plans. For example, 

there are incumbent operations already 

licensed and operating in these bands 

that must be protected. These 

limitations may restrict the ability of 

licensees to use certain portions of the 

electromagnetic spectrum or provide 


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service to certain areas in their 

geographic license areas. Applicants 

should become familiar with the status 

of any such operations and applicable 

Commission rules, orders and any 

pending proceedings related to the 

service, in order to make reasoned, 

appropriate decisions about their 

participation in this auction and their 

bidding strategy. 

32. Potential applicants are reminded 

that they are solely responsible for 

investigating and evaluating all 

technical and marketplace factors that 

may have a bearing on the value of the 

licenses being offered in this auction. 

Bidders are responsible for assuring 

themselves that, if they win a license, 

they will be able to build and operate 

facilities in accordance with the 

Commission’s rules. The Commission 

makes no representations or warranties 

about the use of this spectrum for 

particular services. Applicants should 

be aware that an FCC auction represents 

an opportunity to become a licensee 

subject to certain conditions and 

regulations. An FCC auction does not 

constitute an endorsement by the FCC of 

any particular service, technology, or 

product, nor does an FCC license 

constitute a guarantee of business 

success. 

33. Applicants should perform their 

individual due diligence before 

proceeding, as they would with any new 

business venture. In particular, potential 

applicants are strongly encouraged to 

conduct their own research prior to the 

beginning of bidding in Auction 92 in 

order to determine the existence of any 

pending legislative, administrative, or 

judicial proceedings that might affect 

their decisions regarding participation 

in the auction. Participants in Auction 

92 are strongly encouraged to continue 

such research throughout the auction. In 

addition, potential bidders should 

perform technical analyses sufficient to 

assure themselves that, should they be 

a winning bidder in competitive bidding 

for a specific license, they will be able 

to build and operate facilities that will 

fully comply with the Commission’s 

technical and legal requirements as well 

as other applicable Federal, state, and 

local laws. 

34. Applicants should also be aware 

that certain pending and future 

proceedings, including rulemaking 

proceedings or petitions for rulemaking, 

applications (including those for 

modification), requests for special 

temporary authority, waiver requests, 

petitions to deny, petitions for 

reconsideration, informal oppositions, 

and applications for review, before the 

Commission may relate to particular 

applicants or incumbent licensees or the 

licenses available in Auction 92. In 

addition, pending and future judicial 

proceedings may also relate to particular 

applicants or incumbent licensees, or to 

the licenses available in Auction 92. 

Prospective applicants are responsible 

for assessing the likelihood of the 

various possible outcomes and for 

considering their potential impact on 

spectrum licenses available in this 

auction. 

35. Applicants should perform due 

diligence to identify and consider all 

proceedings that may affect the 

spectrum licenses being auctioned and 

that could have an impact on the 

availability of spectrum for Auction 92. 

In addition, although the Commission 

may continue to act on various pending 

applications, informal objections, 

petitions, and other requests for 

Commission relief, some of these 

matters may not be resolved by the 

beginning of bidding in the auction. 

Applicants are solely responsible for 

identifying associated risks and for 

investigating and evaluating the degree 

to which such matters may affect their 

ability to bid on, otherwise acquire, or 

make use of licenses being offered in 

this auction. 

36. Applicants may research the 

Bureau’s licensing database on the 

Internet in order to determine which 

frequencies are already licensed to 

incumbent licensees. Applicants may 

obtain information about licenses 

available in Auction 92 through the 

Bureau’s online licensing databases at 

http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls. Additional 

guidance on searching these databases is 

provided in the Auction 92 Procedures 

Public Notice. 

37. The Commission makes no 

representations or guarantees regarding 

the accuracy or completeness of 

information in its databases or any third 

party databases, including, for example, 

court docketing systems. To the extent 

the Commission’s databases may not 

include all information deemed 

necessary or desirable by an applicant, 

applicants may obtain or verify such 

information from independent sources 

or assume the risk of any 

incompleteness or inaccuracy in said 

databases. Furthermore, the 

Commission makes no representations 

or guarantees regarding the accuracy or 

completeness of information that has 

been provided by incumbent licensees 

and incorporated into its databases. 

38. Potential applicants are strongly 

encouraged to physically inspect any 

prospective sites located in, or near, the 

geographic area for which they plan to 

bid, and also to familiarize themselves 

with the relevant environmental review 

obligations. 

vi. Use of Integrated Spectrum Auction 

System 

39. The Commission will make 

available a browser-based bidding 

system to allow bidders to participate in 

Auction 92 over the Internet using the 

Commission’s Integrated Spectrum 

Auction System (ISAS or FCC Auction 

System). The Commission makes no 

warranty whatsoever with respect to the 

FCC Auction System. In no event shall 

the Commission, or any of its officers, 

employees, or agents, be liable for any 

damages whatsoever (including, but not 

limited to, loss of business profits, 

business interruption, loss of business 

information, or any other loss) arising 

out of or relating to the existence, 

furnishing, functioning, or use of the 

FCC Auction System that is accessible 

to qualified bidders in connection with 

this auction. Moreover, no obligation or 

liability will arise out of the 

Commission’s technical, programming, 

or other advice or service provided in 

connection with the FCC Auction 

System. 

vii. Environmental Review 

Requirements 

40. Licensees must comply with the 

Commission’s rules regarding 

implementation of the National 

Environmental Policy Act and other 

federal environmental statutes. The 

construction of a wireless antenna 

facility is a federal action and the 

licensee must comply with the 

Commission’s environmental rules for 

each such facility. Further information 

about such environmental review 

requirements is provided in the Auction 

92 Procedures Public Notice. 

C. Auction Specifics 

i. Auction Start Date 

41. Bidding in Auction 92 will begin 

on Tuesday, July 19, 2011. The initial 

schedule for bidding will be announced 

by public notice at least one week before 

the start of the auction. Unless 

otherwise announced, bidding on all 

licenses will be conducted on each 

business day until bidding has stopped 

on all licenses. 

ii. Bidding Methodology 

42. As discussed in more detail in the 

Auction 92 Procedures Public Notice, 

the bidding methodology for Auction 92 

will be simultaneous multiple round 

(SMR) bidding. The Commission will 

conduct this auction over the Internet 

using the FCC Auction System, and 

telephonic bidding will be available as 

well. Qualified bidders are permitted to 

bid electronically via the Internet or by 


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telephone. All telephone calls are 

recorded. 

iii. Pre-Auction Dates and Deadlines 

43. The following dates and deadlines 

apply: 

Auction Tutorial Available (via Internet) ................................................................................................. May 2, 2011. 

Short-Form Application (FCC Form 175) 

Filing Window Opens May 2, 2011; .................................................................................................. 12 noon ET. 

Short-Form Application (FCC Form 175) 

Filing Window Deadline ..................................................................................................................... May 11, 2011; prior to 6:00 p.m. ET. 

Upfront Payments (via wire transfer) ................................................................................................. June 17, 2011; 6:00 p.m. ET. 

Mock Auction ...................................................................................................................................... July 15, 2011. 

Auction Begins .................................................................................................................................... July 19, 2011. 

iv. Requirements for Participation 

44. Those wishing to participate in 

this auction must: (1) submit a shortform application (FCC Form 175) 

electronically prior to 6:00 p.m. ET, May 

11, 2011, following the electronic filing 

procedures set forth in Attachment C to 

the Auction 92 Procedures Public 

Notice; (2) submit a sufficient upfront 

payment and an FCC Remittance Advice 

Form (FCC Form 159) by 6:00 p.m. ET, 

June 17, 2011, following the procedures 

and instructions set forth in Attachment 

D to the Auction 92 Procedures Public 

Notice; and (3) comply with all 

provisions outlined in the Auction 92 

Procedures Public Notice and applicable 

Commission rules. 

II. Short-Form Application (FCC Form 

175) Requirements 

A. General Information Regarding 

Short-Form Applications 

45. An application to participate in an 

FCC auction, referred to as a short-form 

application or FCC Form 175, provides 

information used in determining 

whether the applicant is legally, 

technically, and financially qualified to 

participate in Commission auctions for 

licenses or permits. The short-form 

application is the first part of the 

Commission’s two-phased auction 

application process. In the first phase of 

this process, parties desiring to 

participate in the auction must file 

streamlined, short-form applications in 

which they certify under penalty of 

perjury as to their qualifications. 

Eligibility to participate in bidding is 

based on the applicants’ short-form 

applications and certifications as well as 

their upfront payments. In the second 

phase of the process, winning bidders 

must file a more comprehensive longform application (FCC Form 601) and 

have a complete and accurate 

ownership disclosure information report 

(FCC Form 602) on file with the 

Commission. 

46. Entities and individuals seeking 

licenses available in Auction 92 must 

file a short-form application 

electronically via the FCC Auction 

System prior to 6 p.m. ET on May 11, 

2011, following the procedures 

prescribed in Attachment C to the 

Auction 92 Procedures Public Notice. If 

an applicant claims eligibility for a 

bidding credit, the information provided 

in its FCC Form 175 will be used in 

determining whether the applicant is 

eligible for the claimed bidding credit. 

Applicants filing a short-form 

application are subject to the 

Commission’s rule prohibiting certain 

communications beginning on the 

deadline for filing. 

47. Applicants bear full responsibility 

for submitting accurate, complete and 

timely short-form applications. All 

applicants must certify on their shortform applications under penalty of 

perjury that they are legally, technically, 

financially and otherwise qualified to 

hold a license. Applicants should read 

carefully the instructions set forth in 

Attachment C to the Auction 92 

Procedures Public Notice and should 

consult the Commission’s rules to 

ensure that, in addition to the materials 

described in that public notice, all the 

information that is required under the 

Commission’s rules is included within 

their short-form applications. 

48. An individual or entity may not 

submit more than one short-form 

application for a single auction. If a 

party submits multiple short-form 

applications, only one application may 

be accepted for filing. 

49. Applicants also should note that 

submission of a short-form application 

(and any amendments thereto) 

constitutes a representation by the 

certifying official that he or she is an 

authorized representative of the 

applicant, that he or she has read the 

form’s instructions and certifications, 

and that the contents of the application, 

its certifications, and any attachments 

are true and correct. Applicants are not 

permitted to make major modifications 

to their applications; such 

impermissible changes include a change 

of the certifying official to the 

application. Submission of a false 

certification to the Commission may 

result in penalties, including monetary 

forfeitures, license forfeitures, 

ineligibility to participate in future 

auctions, and/or criminal prosecution. 

B. License Selection 

50. An applicant must select the 

licenses on which it wants to bid from 

the Eligible Licenses list on its shortform application. Applicants interested 

in participating in Auction 92 must 

have selected license(s) available in this 

auction by the short-form application 

filing deadline. Applicants must review 

and verify their license selections before 

the deadline for submitting short-form 

applications. Applicants will not be able 

to change their license selections after 

the short-form application filing 

deadline. The FCC Auction System will 

not accept bids from an applicant on 

licenses that the applicant has not 

selected on its short-form application. 

C. Disclosure of Bidding Arrangements 

51. Applicants will be required to 

identify in their short-form application 

all parties with whom they have entered 

into any agreements, arrangements, or 

understandings of any kind relating to 

the licenses being auctioned, including 

any agreements relating to post-auction 

market structure. 

52. After the filing of short-form 

applications, the Commission’s rules do 

not prohibit a party holding a noncontrolling, attributable interest in one 

applicant from acquiring an ownership 

interest in or entering into a joint 

bidding arrangement with other 

applicants, provided that: (1) The 

attributable interest holder certifies that 

it has not and will not communicate 

with any party concerning the bids or 

bidding strategies of more than one of 

the applicants in which it holds an 

attributable interest, or with which it 

has entered into a joint bidding 

arrangement; and (2) the arrangements 

do not result in a change in control of 

any of the applicants. 

D. Ownership Disclosure Requirements 

53. All applicants must comply with 

the uniform Part 1 ownership disclosure 

standards and provide information 


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required by 47 CFR 1.2105 and 1.2112. 

Specifically, in completing the shortform application, applicants will be 

required to fully disclose information on 

the real party- or parties-in-interest and 

ownership structure of the applicant, 

including both direct and indirect 

ownership interests of 10 percent or 

more. The ownership disclosure 

standards for the short-form application 

are prescribed in 47 CFR 1.2105 and 

1.2112. Each applicant is responsible for 

information submitted in its short-form 

application being complete and 

accurate. 

54. In certain circumstances, an 

applicant’s most current ownership 

information on file with the 

Commission, if in an electronic format 

compatible with the short-form 

application (such as information 

submitted in an on-line FCC Form 602 

or in an FCC Form 175 filed for a 

previous auction using ISAS) will 

automatically be entered into the 

applicant’s short-form application. Each 

applicant is responsible for ensuring 

that the information submitted in their 

short-form application for Auction 92 is 

complete and accurate. Accordingly, 

applicants should carefully review any 

information automatically entered to 

confirm that it is complete and accurate 

as of the deadline for filing the shortform application. Applicants can update 

directly in the short-form application 

any information that was entered 

automatically and needs to be changed. 

E. Designated Entity Provisions 

55. Eligible applicants in Auction 92 

may claim small business bidding 

credits. In addition to the information 

provided below, applicants should 

review carefully the Commission’s 

decisions regarding the designated 

entity provisions. 

i. Bidding Credits for Small Businesses 

56. A bidding credit represents an 

amount by which a bidder’s winning 

bid will be discounted. For Auction 92, 

bidding credits will be available to 

small businesses and very small 

businesses, and consortia thereof. 

a. Bidding Credit Eligibility Criteria 

57. The level of bidding credit is 

determined as follows: (1) A bidder with 

attributed average annual gross revenues 

that exceed $15 million and do not 

exceed $40 million for the preceding 

three years (small business) will receive 

a 15 percent discount on its winning 

bid; and (2) a bidder with attributed 

average annual gross revenues that do 

not exceed $15 million for the preceding 

three years (very small business) will 

receive a 25 percent discount on its 

winning bid. 

58. Bidding credits are not 

cumulative. A qualifying applicant may 

claim either a 15 percent or 25 percent 

bidding credit on its winning bid. 

b. Revenue Disclosure on Short-Form 

Application 

59. An entity applying as a small or 

very small business must provide gross 

revenues for the preceding three years of 

each of the following: (1) The applicant, 

(2) its affiliates, (3) its controlling 

interests, (4) the affiliates of its 

controlling interests, and (5) the entities 

with which it has an attributable 

material relationship. Certification that 

the average annual gross revenues of 

such entities and individuals for the 

preceding three years do not exceed the 

applicable limit is not sufficient. 

Additionally, if an applicant is applying 

as a consortium of small businesses or 

very small businesses, this information 

must be provided for each consortium 

member. 

ii. Attributable Interests 

a. Controlling Interests 

60. Controlling interests of an 

applicant include individuals and 

entities with either de facto or de jure 

control of the applicant. Typically, 

ownership of greater than 50 percent of 

an entity’s voting stock evidences de 

jure control. De facto control is 

determined on a case-by-case basis. The 

following are some common indicia of 

de facto control: (1) The entity 

constitutes or appoints more than 50 

percent of the board of directors or 

management committee; (2) the entity 

has authority to appoint, promote, 

demote, and fire senior executives that 

control the day-to-day activities of the 

licensee; and (3) the entity plays an 

integral role in management decisions. 

61. Applicants should refer to 47 CFR 

1.2110(c)(2) and Attachment C of the 

Auction 92 Procedures Public Notice to 

understand how certain interests are 

calculated in determining control. For 

example, pursuant to 47 CFR 

1.2110(c)(2)(ii)(F), officers and directors 

of an applicant are considered to have 

controlling interest in the applicant. 

b. Affiliates 

62. Affiliates of an applicant or 

controlling interest include an 

individual or entity that: (1) Directly or 

indirectly controls or has the power to 

control the applicant; (2) is directly or 

indirectly controlled by the applicant; 

(3) is directly or indirectly controlled by 

a third party that also controls or has the 

power to control the applicant; or (4) 

has an ‘‘identity of interest’’ with the 

applicant. The Commission’s definition 

of an affiliate of the applicant 

encompasses both controlling interests 

of the applicant and affiliates of 

controlling interests of the applicant. 

For more information regarding 

affiliates, applicants should refer to 47 

CFR 1.2110(c)(5) and Attachment C to 

the Auction 92 Procedures Public 

Notice. 

c. Material Relationships 

63. The Commission requires the 

consideration of certain leasing and 

resale (including wholesale) 

relationships—referred to as attributable 

material relationships—in determining 

designated entity eligibility for bidding 

credits. An applicant or licensee has an 

attributable material relationship when 

it has one or more agreements with any 

individual entity for the lease or resale 

(including under a wholesale 

agreement) of, on a cumulative basis, 

more than 25 percent of the spectrum 

capacity of any individual license held 

by the applicant or licensee. The 

attributable material relationship will 

cause the gross revenues of that entity 

and its attributable interest holders to be 

attributed to the applicant or licensee 

for the purposes of determining the 

applicant’s or licensee’s (i) eligibility for 

designated entity benefits and (ii) 

liability for unjust enrichment on a 

license-by-license basis. 

64. The Commission grandfathered 

material relationships in existence 

before the release of the Designated 

Entity Second Report and Order, 

meaning that those preexisting 

relationships alone would not cause the 

Commission to examine a designated 

entity’s ongoing eligibility for existing 

benefits or its liability for unjust 

enrichment. The Commission did not, 

however, grandfather preexisting 

material relationships for 

determinations of an applicant’s or 

licensee’s designated entity eligibility 

for future auctions or in the context of 

future assignments, transfers of control, 

spectrum leases, or other reportable 

eligibility events. Rather, in such 

circumstances, the Commission 

reexamines the applicant’s or licensee’s 

designated entity eligibility, taking into 

account all existing material 

relationships, including those 

previously grandfathered. 

d. Gross Revenue Exceptions 

65. The Commission has clarified 

that, in calculating an applicant’s gross 

revenues under the controlling interest 

standard, it will not attribute to the 

applicant the personal net worth, 

including personal income, of its 

officers and directors. However, to the 


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extent that an officer or director of the 

applicant is a controlling interest holder 

of other entities, the gross revenues of 

those entities will be attributed to the 

applicant. Moreover, if an officer or 

director operates a separate business, 

the gross revenues derived from that 

separate business would be attributed to 

the applicant, although income from 

such separate business which is only 

personal income would not be 

attributed. 

66. The Commission has also 

exempted from attribution to the 

applicant the gross revenues of the 

affiliates of a rural telephone 

cooperative’s officers and directors, if 

certain conditions specified in 47 CFR 

1.2110(b)(3)(iii) are met. An applicant 

claiming this exemption must provide, 

in an attachment, an affirmative 

statement that the applicant, affiliate 

and/or controlling interest is an eligible 

rural telephone cooperative within the 

meaning of 47 CFR 1.2110(b)(3)(iii), and 

the applicant must supply any 

additional information as may be 

required to demonstrate eligibility for 

the exemption from the attribution rule. 

Applicants seeking to claim this 

exemption must meet all of the 

conditions. Additional guidance on 

claiming this exemption may be found 

in Attachment C to the Auction 92 

Procedures Public Notice. 

e. Bidding Consortia 

67. A consortium of small businesses 

or very small businesses is a 

conglomerate organization composed of 

two or more entities, each of which 

individually satisfies the definition of a 

small business or very small business. 

Thus, each member of a consortium of 

small businesses or very small 

businesses that applies to participate in 

Auction 92 must individually meet the 

criteria for small businesses or very 

small businesses. Each consortium 

member must disclose its gross revenues 

along with those of its affiliates, its 

controlling interests, the affiliates of its 

controlling interests, and any entities 

having an attributable material 

relationship with the member. Although 

the gross revenues of the consortium 

members will not be aggregated for 

purposes of determining the 

consortium’s eligibility as a small 

business or very small business, this 

information must be provided to ensure 

that each individual consortium 

member qualifies for any bidding credit 

awarded to the consortium. 

F. Tribal Lands Bidding Credit 

68. Applicants do not provide 

information regarding tribal lands 

bidding credits on their short-form 

applications. Instead, winning bidders 

may apply for the tribal lands bidding 

credit after the auction when they file 

their more detailed, long-form 

applications. 

G. Provisions Regarding Former and 

Current Defaulters 

69. Current defaulters or delinquents 

are not eligible to participate in Auction 

92, but former defaulters can participate 

so long as they are otherwise qualified 

and make upfront payments that are 

fifty percent more than the normal 

upfront payment amounts. An applicant 

is considered a current defaulter or a 

current delinquent when it, any of its 

affiliates, any of its controlling interests, 

or any of the affiliates of its controlling 

interests, is in default on any payment 

for any Commission license (including a 

down payment) or is delinquent on any 

non-tax debt owed to any Federal 

agency as of the filing deadline for 

short-form applications. An applicant is 

considered a former defaulter or a 

former delinquent when it, any of its 

affiliates, any of its controlling interests, 

or any of the affiliates of its controlling 

interests, have defaulted on any 

Commission license or been delinquent 

on any non-tax debt owed to any 

Federal agency, but have since remedied 

all such defaults and cured all of the 

outstanding non-tax delinquencies. 

70. On the short-form application, an 

applicant must certify under penalty of 

perjury that it, its affiliates, its 

controlling interests, and the affiliates of 

its controlling interests, as defined by 47 

CFR 1.2110, are not in default on any 

payment for a Commission license 

(including down payments) and that it 

is not delinquent on any non-tax debt 

owed to any Federal agency. Each 

applicant must also state under penalty 

of perjury whether it, its affiliates, its 

controlling interests, and the affiliates of 

its controlling interests, have ever been 

in default on any Commission license or 

have ever been delinquent on any nontax debt owed to any Federal agency. 

Prospective applicants 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. These statements 

and certifications are prerequisites to 

submitting an application to participate 

in an FCC auction. 

71. Applicants are encouraged to 

review the Bureau’s previous guidance 

on default and delinquency disclosure 

requirements in the context of the shortform application process. For example, 

to the extent that Commission rules 

permit late payment of regulatory or 

application fees accompanied by late 

fees, such debts will become delinquent 

for purposes of 47 CFR 1.2105(a) and 

1.2106(a) only after the expiration of a 

final payment deadline. Therefore, with 

respect to regulatory or application fees, 

the provisions of 47 CFR 1.2105(a) and 

1.2106(a) regarding default and 

delinquency in connection with 

competitive bidding are limited to 

circumstances in which the relevant 

party has not complied with a final 

Commission payment deadline. Parties 

are also encouraged to consult with the 

Bureau’s Auctions and Spectrum Access 

Division staff if they have any questions 

about default and delinquency 

disclosure requirements. 

72. The Commission considers 

outstanding debts owed to the United 

States Government, in any amount, to be 

a serious matter. The Commission 

adopted rules, including a provision 

referred to as the red light rule, that 

implement the Commission’s 

obligations under the Debt Collection 

Improvement Act of 1996, which 

governs the collection of claims owed to 

the United States. Under the red light 

rule, the Commission will not process 

applications and other requests for 

benefits filed by parties that have 

outstanding debts owed to the 

Commission. In the same rulemaking 

order, the Commission explicitly 

declared, however, that the 

Commission’s competitive bidding rules 

are not affected by the red light rule. As 

a consequence, the Commission’s 

adoption of the red light rule does not 

alter the applicability of any of the 

Commission’s competitive bidding 

rules, including the provisions and 

certifications of 47 CFR 1.2105 and 

1.2106, with regard to current and 

former defaults or delinquencies. 

73. Applicants are reminded, 

however, that the Commission’s Red 

Light Display System, which provides 

information regarding debts currently 

owed to the Commission, may not be 

determinative of an auction applicant’s 

ability to comply with the default and 

delinquency disclosure requirements of 

47 CFR 1.2105. Thus, while the red light 

rule ultimately may prevent the 

processing of long-form applications by 

auction winners, an auction applicant’s 

lack of current red light status is not 

necessarily determinative of its 

eligibility to participate in an auction or 

of its upfront payment obligation. 

74. Moreover, prospective applicants 

in Auction 92 should note that any longform applications filed after the close of 

bidding will be reviewed for compliance 

with the Commission’s red light rule, 

and such review may result in the 


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dismissal of a winning bidder’s longform application. Applicants that have 

their long-form application dismissed 

will be deemed to have default and will 

be subject to default payments under 47 

CFR 1.2104(f) and 1.2109(c). 

H. Optional Applicant Status 

Identification 

75. Applicants owned by members of 

minority groups and/or women, as 

defined in 47 CFR 1.2110(c)(3), and 

rural telephone companies, as defined 

in 47 CFR 1.2110(c)(4), may identify 

themselves regarding this status in 

filling out their short-form applications. 

This applicant status information is 

collected for statistical purposes only 

and assists the Commission in 

monitoring the participation of 

designated entities in its auctions. 

I. Minor Modifications to Short-Form 

Applications 

76. After the deadline for filing initial 

applications, an Auction 92 applicant is 

permitted to make only minor changes 

to its application. Permissible minor 

changes include, among other things, 

deletion and addition of authorized 

bidders (to a maximum of three) and 

revision of addresses and telephone 

numbers of the applicant and its contact 

person. An applicant is not permitted to 

make a major modification to its 

application (e.g., change of license 

selection, change control of the 

applicant, change the certifying official, 

or claim eligibility for a higher 

percentage of bidding credit) after the 

initial application filing deadline. Thus, 

any change in control of an applicant, 

resulting from a merger, for example, 

will be considered a major modification 

to the applicant’s application, which 

will consequently be dismissed. Even if 

an applicant’s short-form application is 

dismissed, the applicant would remain 

subject to the prohibition of certain 

communications pursuant to 47 CFR 

1.2105(c) until the down payment 

deadline, which will be established after 

the auction closes. 

77. If an applicant wishes to make 

permissible minor changes to its shortform application, such changes should 

be made electronically to its short-form 

application using the FCC Auction 

System whenever possible. Applicants 

are reminded to click on the SUBMIT 

button in the FCC Auction System for 

the change to be submitted and 

considered by the Commission. After 

the revised application has been 

submitted, a confirmation page will be 

displayed that states the submission 

time, submission date and a unique file 

number. The Bureau advises applicant 

to print and retain a copy of this 

confirmation page. 

78. An applicant cannot use the FCC 

Auction System outside of the initial 

and resubmission filing windows to 

make changes to its short-form 

application other than administrative 

changes (e.g. changing certain contact 

information or the name of an 

authorized bidder). If these or other 

permissible minor changes need to be 

made outside of these windows, the 

applicant must submit a letter briefly 

summarizing the changes and 

subsequently update its short-form 

application in ISAS once the system is 

available. Moreover, after the filing 

window has closed, ISAS will not 

permit applicants to make certain 

changes, such as the applicant’s legal 

classification and bidding credit. 

79. Any letter describing changes to 

an applicant’s short-form application 

should be submitted by e-mail to 

auction92@fcc.gov. The e-mail 

summarizing the changes must include 

a subject or caption referring to Auction 

92 and the name of the applicant, for 

example, RE: Changes to Auction 92 

Short-Form Application of ABC Corp. 

The Bureau requests that parties format 

any attachments to e-mail as Adobe®

Acrobat® (pdf) or Microsoft® Word 

documents. Questions about short-form 

application amendments should be 

directed to the Auctions and Spectrum 

Access Division at (202) 418–0660. 

80. Any application amendment and 

related statements of fact must be 

certified by (1) the applicant, if the 

applicant is an individual; (2) one of the 

partners if the applicant is a 

partnership; (3) an officer, director, or 

duly authorized employee, if the 

applicant is a corporation; (4) a member 

who is an officer, if the applicant is an 

unincorporated association; (5) the 

trustee, if the applicant is an amateur 

radio service club; or (6) a duly elected 

or appointed official who is authorized 

to make such certifications under the 

laws of the applicable jurisdiction, if the 

applicant is a governmental entity. 

81. Applicants must not submit 

application-specific material through 

the Commission’s Electronic Comment 

Filing System (ECFS), which was used 

for submitting comments regarding 

Auction 92. Parties submitting 

information related to their applications 

should use caution to ensure that their 

submissions do not contain confidential 

information or communicate 

information that would violate 47 CFR 

1.2105(c) or the limited information 

procedures adopted for Auction 92. A 

party seeking to submit information that 

might reflect non-public information, 

such as an applicant’s license 

selections, upfront payment amount, or 

bidding eligibility, should consider 

submitting any such information along 

with a request that the filing or portions 

of the filing be withheld from public 

inspection until the end of the 

prohibition of certain communications 

pursuant to 47 CFR 1.2105(c). 

J. Maintaining Current Information in 

Short-Form Applications 

82. 47 CFR 1.65 and 1.2105(b) require 

an applicant to maintain the accuracy 

and completeness of information 

furnished in its pending application and 

in competitive bidding proceedings to 

furnish additional or corrected 

information to the Commission within 

five days of a significant occurrence, or 

to amend a short form application no 

more than five days after the applicant 

becomes aware of the need for the 

amendment. Changes that cause a loss 

of or reduction in the percentage of 

bidding credit specified on the 

originally submitted application must 

be reported immediately, and no later 

than five business days after the change 

occurs. If an amendment reporting 

substantial changes is a major 

amendment, as defined by 47 CFR 

1.2105, the major amendment will not 

be accepted and may result in the 

dismissal of the application. As 

explained previously, after the 

application filing deadline, applicants 

may make only minor changes to their 

applications. Applicants must click on 

the SUBMIT button in the FCC Auction 

System for the changes to be submitted 

and considered by the Commission. In 

addition, an applicant cannot update its 

short-form application using the FCC 

Auction System after the initial and 

resubmission filing windows close. If 47 

CFR 1.65 submissions are needed after 

these windows close, applicants must 

submit a letter, briefly summarizing the 

changes, by e-mail to 

auction92@fcc.gov. The e-mail 

summarizing the changes must include 

a subject or caption referring to Auction 

92 and the name of the applicant. The 

Bureau requests that parties format any 

attachments to e-mail as Adobe®

Acrobat® (pdf) or Microsoft® Word 

documents. Applicants must not submit 

application-specific material through 

ECFS. A party seeking to submit 

information that might reflect nonpublic information, such as an 

applicant’s license selections, upfront 

payment amount, or bidding eligibility, 

should consider submitting any such 

information along with a request that 

the filing or portions of the filing be 

withheld from public inspection until 

the end of the prohibition of certain 


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communications pursuant to 47 CFR 

1.2105(c). 

III. Pre-Auction Procedures 

A. Online Auction Tutorial—Available 

May 2, 2011 

83. No later than Monday, May 2, 

2011, the Commission will post an 

educational auction tutorial on the 

Auction 92 web page for prospective 

bidders to familiarize themselves with 

the auction process. This online tutorial 

will provide information about preauction procedures, completing shortform applications, auction conduct, the 

FCC Auction Bidding System, auction 

rules, and 700 MHz Band service rules. 

The tutorial will also provide an avenue 

to ask FCC staff questions about the 

auction, auction procedures, filing 

requirements, and other matters related 

to this auction. 

84. The auction tutorial will be 

accessible through a web browser from 

the FCC’s Auction 92 web page at 

http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/92/ 

through an Auction Tutorial link. Once 

posted, this tutorial will remain 

available for reference in connection 

with the procedures outlined in the 

Auction 92 Procedures Public Notice 

and accessible anytime. 

B. Short-Form Applications—Due Prior 

to 6 p.m. ET on May 11, 2011 

85. In order to be eligible to bid in this 

auction, applicants must first follow the 

procedures set forth in Attachment C to 

the Auction 92 Procedures Public Notice 

to submit a short-form application (FCC 

Form 175) electronically via the FCC 

Auction System. This short-form 

application must be submitted through 

the FCC Auction System prior to 6 p.m. 

ET on May 11, 2011. Late applications 

will not be accepted. There is no 

application fee required when filing an 

FCC Form 175, but an applicant must 

submit a timely upfront payment to be 

eligible to bid. 

86. Applications may generally be 

filed at any time beginning at noon ET 

on May 2, 2011, until the filing window 

closes at 6 p.m. ET on May 11, 2011. 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to 

file early and are responsible for 

allowing adequate time for filing their 

applications. Applicants may update or 

amend their applications multiple times 

until the filing deadline on May 11, 

2011. 

87. An applicant must always click on 

the SUBMIT button on the Certify & 

Submit screen to successfully submit its 

FCC Form 175 and any modifications; 

otherwise the application or changes to 

the application will not be received or 

reviewed. Additional information about 

accessing, completing, and viewing the 

FCC Form 175 is included in 

Attachment C of the Auction 92 

Procedures Public Notice. 

C. Application Processing and Minor 

Corrections 

88. After the deadline for filing FCC 

Form 175 applications, the Commission 

will process all timely submitted 

applications to determine which are 

complete, and subsequently will issue a 

public notice identifying (1) those 

applications that are complete; (2) those 

applications that are rejected; and (3) 

those applications that are incomplete 

because of minor defects that may be 

corrected. The public notice will 

include the deadline for resubmitting 

corrected applications. 

89. After the application filing 

deadline on May 11, 2011, applicants 

continue to be able to make only minor 

corrections to their applications. 

Applicants will not be permitted to 

make major modifications to their 

applications (e.g., change license 

selection, change control of the 

applicant, change the certifying official, 

or claim eligibility for a higher 

percentage of bidding credit). 

90. Commission staff will 

communicate only with an applicant’s 

contact person or certifying official, as 

designated on the applicant’s short-form 

application, unless the applicant’s 

certifying official or contact person 

notifies the Commission in writing that 

applicant’s counsel or other 

representative is authorized to speak on 

its behalf. Authorizations may be sent 

by e-mail to auction92@fcc.gov. 

D. Upfront Payments—Due June 17, 

2011 

91. In order to be eligible to bid in this 

auction, applicants must submit an 

upfront payment accompanied by an 

FCC Remittance Advice Form (FCC 

Form 159). After completing its shortform application, an applicant will have 

access to an electronic version of the 

FCC Form 159 that can be printed and 

sent by fax to U.S. Bank in St. Louis, 

Missouri. All upfront payments must be 

made as instructed in the Auction 92 

Procedures Public Notice and must be 

received in the proper account at U.S. 

Bank before 6 p.m. ET on June 17, 2011. 

i. Making Upfront Payments by Wire 

Transfer 

92. Wire transfer payments must be 

received before 6 p.m. ET on June 17, 

2011. No other payment method is 

acceptable. The Commission will not 

accept checks, credit cards, or 

automated clearing house (ACH) 

payments to satisfy this upfront 

payment requirement. To avoid 

untimely payments, applicants should 

discuss arrangements (including bank 

closing schedules) with their bankers 

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. 

Information required for this wire 

transfer is specified in the Auction 92 

Procedures Public Notice. 

93. At least one hour before placing 

the order for the wire transfer (but on 

the same business day), applicants must 

fax a completed FCC Form 159 (Revised 

2/03) to U.S. Bank at (314) 418–4232. 

On the fax cover sheet, applicants 

should write Wire Transfer—Auction 

Payment for Auction 92. In order to 

meet the Commission’s upfront payment 

deadline, an applicant’s payment must 

be credited to the Commission’s account 

for Auction 92 before the deadline. 

94. Each applicant is responsible for 

ensuring timely submission of its 

upfront payment and for timely filing of 

an accurate and complete FCC 

Remittance Advice Form (FCC Form 

159). An applicant should coordinate 

with its financial institution well ahead 

of the due date regarding its wire 

transfer and allow sufficient time for the 

wire transfer to be initiated and 

completed prior to the deadline. The 

Commission repeatedly has cautioned 

auction participants about the 

importance of planning ahead to 

prepare for unforeseen last-minute 

difficulties in making payments by wire 

transfer. Each applicant also is 

responsible for obtaining confirmation 

from its financial institution that its 

wire transfer to U.S. Bank was 

successful and from Commission staff 

that the Commission has timely 

received the applicant’s upfront 

payment and deposited it into the 

proper account. For confirmation that 

the Commission has timely received the 

applicant’s upfront payment and 

deposited it into the proper account, an 

applicant may contact Gail Glasser of 

the Office of Managing Director’s 

Auctions Accounting Group at (202) 

418–0578, or alternatively, Theresa 

Meeks at (202) 418–2945. 

95. Please note the following 

information regarding upfront 

payments: (1) All payments must be 

made in U.S. dollars; (2) all payments 

must be made by wire transfer; (3) 

upfront payments for Auction 92 go to 

a lockbox number different from the 

lockboxes used in previous FCC 

auctions, and (4) failure to deliver a 

sufficient upfront payment as instructed 

by the June 17, 2011, deadline will 

result in dismissal of the short-form 


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application and disqualification from 

participation in the auction. 

ii. FCC Form 159 

96. A completed FCC Remittance 

Advice Form (FCC Form 159, Revised 

2/03) must be faxed to U.S. Bank to 

accompany each upfront payment. 

Proper completion of FCC Form 159 is 

critical to ensuring correct crediting of 

upfront payments. Detailed instructions 

for completion of FCC Form 159 are 

included in Attachment D to the 

Auction 92 Procedures Public Notice. 

An electronic pre-filled version of the 

FCC Form 159 is available after 

submitting the FCC Form 175. Payers 

using the pre-filled FCC Form 159 are 

responsible for ensuring that all of the 

information on the form, including 

payment amounts, is accurate. The FCC 

Form 159 can be completed 

electronically, but must be filed with 

U.S. Bank by fax. 

iii. Upfront Payments and Bidding 

Eligibility 

97. Applicants that are former 

defaulters, as described above, must pay 

upfront payments 50 percent greater 

than non-former defaulters. For 

purposes of this calculation, the 

applicant includes the applicant itself, 

its affiliates, its controlling interests, 

and affiliates of its controlling interests, 

as defined by 47 CFR 1.2110. 

98. Applicants must make upfront 

payments sufficient to obtain bidding 

eligibility on the licenses on which they 

will bid. The amount of the upfront 

payment determines a bidder’s initial 

bidding eligibility, the maximum 

number of bidding units on which a 

bidder may place bids. In order to bid 

on a particular license, a qualified 

bidder must have selected the license on 

its FCC Form 175 and must have a 

current eligibility level that meets or 

exceeds the number of bidding units 

assigned to that license. At a minimum, 

therefore, an applicant’s total upfront 

payment must be enough to establish 

eligibility to bid on at least one of the 

licenses selected on its FCC Form 175, 

or else the applicant will not be eligible 

to participate in the auction. A bidder’s 

total upfront payment does not affect 

the total dollar amount the bidder may 

bid on any given license. An applicant 

does not have to make an upfront 

payment to cover all licenses the 

applicant selected on its FCC Form 175, 

but only enough to cover the maximum 

number of bidding units that are 

associated with licenses on which the 

bidder wishes to place bids and hold 

provisionally winning bids in any given 

round. Provisionally winning bids are 

bids that would become final winning 

bids if the auction were to close after the 

given round. 

99. Each license in Auction 92 is 

assigned a specific number of bidding 

units equal to the upfront payment 

listed for the license, on a bidding unit 

for dollar basis. The bidding unit level 

for each license will remain constant 

throughout the auction. 

100. The upfront payment amount 

submitted by each applicant determines 

a bidder’s initial bidding eligibility. The 

upfront payments and bidding units for 

each license in Auction 92 are set forth 

in Attachment A of the Auction 92 

Procedures Public Notice. 

101. In calculating its upfront 

payment amount, an applicant should 

determine the maximum number of 

bidding units on which it may wish to 

be active (bid on or hold provisionally 

winning bids on) in any single round, 

and submit an upfront payment amount 

covering that number of bidding units. 

In order to make this calculation, an 

applicant should add together the 

bidding units for all licenses on which 

it seeks to be active in any given round. 

Applicants should check their 

calculations carefully, as there is no 

provision for increasing a bidder’s 

eligibility after the upfront payment 

deadline. 

102. If an applicant is a former 

defaulter, it must calculate its upfront 

payment for all of its identified licenses 

by multiplying the number of bidding 

units on which it wishes to be active by 

1.5. In order to calculate the number of 

bidding units to assign to former 

defaulters, the Commission will divide 

the upfront payment received by 1.5 and 

round the result up to the nearest 

bidding unit. If a former defaulter fails 

to submit a sufficient upfront payment 

to establish eligibility to bid on at least 

one of the licenses selected on its FCC 

Form 175, the applicant will not be 

eligible to participate in the auction. 

iv. Applicant’s Wire Transfer 

Information for Purposes of Refunds of 

Upfront Payments 

103. To ensure that refunds of upfront 

payments are processed in an 

expeditious manner, the Commission is 

requesting that all pertinent refund 

information specified in the Auction 92 

Procedures Public Notice be supplied. 

Applicants can provide the information 

electronically during the initial shortform application filing window after the 

form has been submitted. (Applicants 

are reminded that information 

submitted as part of an FCC Form 175 

will be available to the public; for that 

reason, wire transfer information must 

not be included in an FCC Form 175.) 

Wire Transfer Instructions can also be 

manually faxed to the FCC, Financial 

Operations, Auctions Accounting 

Group, Attn: Gail Glasser, at (202) 418– 

2843 (fax). All refunds will be returned 

to the payer of record as identified on 

the FCC Form 159 unless the payer 

submits written authorization 

instructing otherwise. For additional 

information, please call Gail Glasser at 

(202) 418–0578. 

E. Auction Registration 

104. Approximately ten days before 

the auction, the Bureau will issue a 

public notice announcing all qualified 

bidders for the auction. Qualified 

bidders are those applicants with 

submitted FCC Form 175 applications 

that are deemed timely-filed, accurate, 

and complete, provided that such 

applicants have timely submitted an 

upfront payment that is sufficient to 

qualify them to bid. 

105. All qualified bidders are 

automatically registered for the auction. 

Registration materials will be 

distributed prior to the auction by 

overnight mail. The mailing will be sent 

only to the contact person at the contact 

address listed in the FCC Form 175 and 

will include the SecurID® tokens that 

will be required to place bids, the 

Integrated Spectrum Auction System 

(ISAS) Bidder’s Guide, and the Auction 

Bidder Line phone number. 

106. Qualified bidders that do not 

receive this registration mailing will not 

be able to submit bids. Therefore, any 

qualified bidder that has not received 

this mailing by noon on Wednesday, 

July 13, 2011, should call (717) 338– 

2868. Receipt of this registration mailing 

is critical to participating in the auction, 

and each applicant is responsible for 

ensuring it has received all of the 

registration material. 

107. In the event that SecurID® tokens 

are lost or damaged, only a person who 

has been designated as an authorized 

bidder, the contact person, or the 

certifying official on the applicant’s 

short-form application may request 

replacements. Qualified bidders 

requiring the replacement of these items 

must call Technical Support at (877) 

480–3201, option nine; (202) 414–1250; 

or (202) 414–1255 (TTY). 

F. Remote Electronic Bidding 

108. The Commission will conduct 

this auction over the Internet, and 

telephonic bidding will be available as 

well. Only qualified bidders are 

permitted to bid. Each applicant should 

indicate its bidding preference— 

electronic or telephonic—on its FCC 

Form 175. In either case, each 

authorized bidder must have its own 

SecurID® token, which the Commission 


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will provide at no charge. Each 

applicant with one authorized bidder 

will be issued two SecurID® tokens, 

while applicants with two or three 

authorized bidders will be issued three 

tokens. For security purposes, the 

SecurID® tokens, the telephonic bidding 

telephone number, and the Integrated 

Spectrum Auction System (ISAS) 

Bidder’s Guide are only mailed to the 

contact person at the contact address 

listed on the FCC Form 175. Each 

SecurID® token is tailored to a specific 

auction. SecurID® tokens issued for 

other auctions or obtained from a source 

other than the FCC will not work for 

Auction 92. 

109. Please note that the SecurID®

tokens can be recycled, and the Bureau 

encourages bidders to return the tokens 

to the FCC. The Bureau will provide 

pre-addressed envelopes that bidders 

may use to return the tokens once the 

auction has ended. 

G. Mock Auction—July 15, 2011 

110. All qualified bidders will be 

eligible to participate in a mock auction 

on Friday, July 15, 2011. The mock 

auction will enable qualified bidders to 

become familiar with the FCC Auction 

System prior to the auction. 

Participation by all bidders is strongly 

recommended. Details will be 

announced by public notice. 

IV. Auction Event 

111. The first round of bidding for 

Auction 92 will begin on Tuesday, July 

19, 2011. The initial bidding schedule 

will be announced in a public notice 

listing the qualified bidders, which is to 

be released approximately 10 days 

before the start of the auction. 

A. Auction Structure 

i. Simultaneous Multiple Round 

Auction 

112. All licenses in Auction 92 will be 

offered in a single auction using the 

Commission’s standard simultaneous 

multiple-round (SMR) auction format. 

This type of auction offers every license 

for bid at the same time and consists of 

successive bidding rounds in which 

eligible bidders may place bids on 

individual licenses. A bidder may bid 

on, and potentially win, any number of 

licenses. Unless otherwise announced, 

bids will be accepted on all licenses in 

each round of the auction until bidding 

stops on every license. 

ii. Information Available to Bidders 

Before and During the Auction 

113. After consideration of the 

comments submitted on this issue, the 

Bureau decided to restrict the 

information available to bidders in this 

auction. Pursuant to the anonymous 

bidding procedures adopted for Auction 

92, the Bureau will withhold, until after 

the close of bidding, public release of 

(1) bidders’ license selections on their 

short-form applications (FCC Form 175), 

(2) the amounts of bidders’ upfront 

payments and bidding eligibility, and 

(3) information that may reveal the 

identities of bidders placing bids and 

taking other bidding-related actions. 

114. After the conclusion of each 

round, the Bureau will disclose all 

relevant information about the bids 

placed and/or withdrawn except the 

identities of the bidders performing the 

actions and the net amounts of the bids 

placed or withdrawn. As in past 

auctions conducted with limited 

information procedures, the Bureau will 

indicate, for each license, the minimum 

acceptable bid amount for the next 

round and whether the license has a 

provisionally winning bid. After each 

round, the Bureau will also release, for 

each license, the number of bidders that 

placed a bid on the license. 

Furthermore, the Bureau will indicate 

whether any proactive waivers were 

submitted in each round, and the 

Bureau will release the stage transition 

percentage—the percentages of licenses 

(as measured in bidding units) on which 

there were new bids—for the round. In 

addition, bidders can log in to the FCC 

Auction System to see, after each round, 

whether their own bids are 

provisionally winning. The Bureau will 

provide descriptions and/or samples of 

publicly-available and bidder-specific 

(non-public) results files prior to the 

start of the auction. 

115. The Bureau, however, retains the 

discretion not to use limited 

information procedures if the Bureau, 

after examining the level of potential 

competition as expressed in the license 

selection on the short-form applications 

filed for Auction 92, determines that the 

circumstances indicate that limited 

information procedures would not be an 

effective tool for deterring anticompetitive behavior. For example, if 

only two applicants become qualified to 

participate in the bidding, limited 

information procedures would be 

ineffective in preventing bidders from 

knowing the identity of the competing 

bidder and, therefore, limited 

information procedures would not serve 

to deter attempts at signaling and 

retaliatory bidding behavior. 

116. Other Issues. Information 

disclosure procedures established for 

this auction will not interfere with the 

administration of or compliance with 

the Commission’s prohibition of certain 

communications. 47 CFR 1.2105(c)(1) 

provides that, after the short-form 

application filing deadline, all 

applicants for licenses in any of the 

same geographic license areas are 

prohibited from disclosing to each other 

in any manner the substance of bids or 

bidding strategies until after the down 

payment deadline, subject to specified 

exceptions. 

117. In Auction 92, the Commission 

will not disclose information regarding 

license selection or the amounts of 

bidders’ upfront payments and bidding 

eligibility. As in the past, the 

Commission will disclose the other 

portions of applicants’ short-form 

applications through its online database, 

and certain application-based 

information through public notices. 

118. To assist applicants in 

identifying other parties subject to 47 

CFR 1.2105(c), the Bureau will notify 

separately each applicant in Auction 92 

whether applicants with short-form 

applications to participate in pending 

auctions, including but not limited to 

Auction 92, have applied for licenses in 

any of the same geographic areas as that 

applicant. Specifically, after the Bureau 

conducts its initial review of 

applications to participate in Auction 

92, it will send to each applicant in 

Auction 92 a letter that lists the other 

applicants that have pending short-form 

applications for licenses in any of the 

same geographic areas. The list will 

identify the other applicants by name 

but will not list their license selections. 

As in past auctions, additional 

information regarding other applicants 

that is needed to comply with 47 CFR 

1.2105(c)—such as the identities of 

other applicants’ controlling interests 

and entities with a greater than ten 

percent ownership interest—will be 

available through the publicly 

accessible online short-form application 

database. For purposes of 47 CFR 

1.2105(c), the term applicant includes 

all officers and directors of the applicant 

and all other controlling interests, as 

well as all parties with ownership 

interests greater than ten percent. 

119. When completing short-form 

applications, applicants should avoid 

any statements or disclosures that may 

violate the prohibition of certain 

communications pursuant to 47 CFR 

1.2105(c), particularly in light of the 

Commission’s procedures regarding the 

availability of certain information in 

Auction 92. While applicants’ license 

selections will not be disclosed until 

after Auction 92 closes, the Commission 

will disclose other portions of shortform applications through its online 

database and public notices. 

Accordingly, applicants must avoid 

including any information in their 

short-form applications that might 


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convey information regarding license 

selections. For example, applicants 

should avoid using applicant names that 

refer to licenses being offered, referring 

to certain licenses or markets in 

describing bidding agreements, or 

including any information in 

attachments that may otherwise disclose 

applicants’ license selections. 

120. If an applicant is found to have 

violated the Commission’s rules or 

antitrust laws in connection with its 

participation in the competitive bidding 

process, the applicant may be subject to 

various sanctions, including forfeiture 

of its upfront payment, down payment, 

or full bid amount and prohibition from 

participating in future auctions. 

121. Direct or indirect communication 

to other applicants or the public 

disclosure of non-public information 

(e.g., bid withdrawals, proactive waivers 

submitted, reductions in eligibility) 

could violate the Commission’s 

anonymous bidding procedures and 47 

CFR 1.2105(c). To the extent an 

applicant believes that such a disclosure 

is required by law or regulation, 

including regulations issued by the 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

the Bureau strongly urges that the 

applicant consult with the Commission 

staff in the Auctions and Spectrum 

Access Division before making such 

disclosure. 

iii. Eligibility and Activity Rules 

122. The Bureau will use upfront 

payments to determine initial 

(maximum) eligibility (as measured in 

bidding units) for Auction 92. The 

amount of the upfront payment 

submitted by a bidder determines initial 

bidding eligibility, the maximum 

number of bidding units on which a 

bidder may be active. Each license is 

assigned the specific number of bidding 

units listed in Attachment A of the 

Auction 92 Procedures Public Notice. 

Bidding units for a given license do not 

change as prices rise during the auction. 

A bidder’s upfront payment is not 

attributed to specific licenses. Rather, a 

bidder may place bids on any of the 

licenses selected on its FCC Form 175 

as long as the total number of bidding 

units associated with those licenses 

does not exceed its current eligibility. 

Eligibility cannot be increased during 

the auction; it can only remain the same 

or decrease. Thus, in calculating its 

upfront payment amount, an applicant 

must determine the maximum number 

of bidding units it may wish to bid on 

or hold provisionally winning bids on 

in any single round, and submit an 

upfront payment amount covering that 

total number of bidding units. At a 

minimum, an applicant’s upfront 

payment must cover the bidding units 

for at least one of the licenses it selected 

on its FCC Form 175. The total upfront 

payment does not affect the total dollar 

amount a bidder may bid on any given 

license. 

123. In order to ensure that an auction 

closes within a reasonable period of 

time, an activity rule requires bidders to 

bid actively throughout the auction, 

rather than wait until late in the auction 

before participating. Bidders are 

required to be active on a specific 

percentage of their current bidding 

eligibility during each round of the 

auction. 

124. A bidder’s activity level in a 

round is the sum of the bidding units 

associated with any licenses covered by 

new and provisionally winning bids. A 

bidder is considered active on a license 

in the current round if it is either the 

provisionally winning bidder at the end 

of the previous bidding round and does 

not withdraw the provisionally winning 

bid in the current round, or if it submits 

a bid in the current round. 

125. The minimum required activity 

is expressed as a percentage of the 

bidder’s current eligibility, and 

increases by stage as the auction 

progresses. Failure to maintain the 

requisite activity level will result in the 

use of an activity rule waiver, if any 

remain, or a reduction in the bidder’s 

eligibility, possibly curtailing or 

eliminating the bidder’s ability to place 

additional bids in the auction. 

iv. Auction Stages 

126. For now, the Bureau will 

conduct the auction in two stages and 

employ an activity rule. A bidder 

desiring to maintain its current bidding 

eligibility would be required to be active 

on licenses representing at least 80 

percent of its current bidding eligibility, 

during each round of Stage One, and at 

least 95 percent of its current bidding 

eligibility in Stage Two. 

127. Stage One: During the first stage 

of the auction, a bidder desiring to 

maintain its current bidding eligibility 

will be required to be active on licenses 

representing at least 80 percent of its 

current bidding eligibility in each 

bidding round. Failure to maintain the 

required activity level will result in the 

use of an activity rule waiver or, if the 

bidder has no activity rule waivers 

remaining, a reduction in the bidder’s 

bidding eligibility in the next round. 

During Stage One, reduced eligibility for 

the next round will be calculated by 

multiplying the bidder’s current round 

activity (the sum of bidding units of the 

bidder’s provisionally winning bids and 

bids during the current round) by fivefourths (5⁄4). 

128. Stage Two: During the second 

stage of the auction, a bidder desiring to 

maintain its current bidding eligibility 

is required to be active on 95 percent of 

its current bidding eligibility. Failure to 

maintain the required activity level will 

result in the use of an activity rule 

waiver or, if the bidder has no activity 

rule waivers remaining, a reduction in 

the bidder’s bidding eligibility in the 

next round. During Stage Two, reduced 

eligibility for the next round will be 

calculated by multiplying the bidder’s 

current round activity (the sum of 

bidding units of the bidder’s 

provisionally winning bids and bids 

during the current round) by twentynineteenths (20/19). 

129. CAUTION: Since activity 

requirements increase in Stage Two, 

bidders must carefully check their 

activity during the first round following 

a stage transition to ensure that they are 

meeting the increased activity 

requirement. This is especially critical 

for bidders that have provisionally 

winning bids and do not plan to submit 

new bids. In past auctions, some bidders 

have inadvertently lost bidding 

eligibility or used an activity rule 

waiver because they did not re-verify 

their activity status at stage transitions. 

Bidders may check their activity against 

the required activity level by logging 

into the FCC Auction System. 

130. The Bureau has the discretion to 

further alter the activity requirements 

before and/or during the auction as 

circumstances warrant, and also has 

other mechanisms by which it may 

influence the speed of an auction. 

v. Stage Transitions 

131. The auction will start in Stage 

One. The Bureau will regulate the pace 

of the auction by announcement. The 

Bureau retains the discretion to change 

the activity requirements during the 

auction. For example, the Bureau could 

transition the auction to Stage Two, to 

add an additional stage with a higher 

activity requirement, not to transition to 

Stage Two, and to transition to Stage 

Two with an activity requirement that is 

higher or lower than 95 percent. This 

determination will be based on a variety 

of measures of auction activity, 

including, but not limited to, the 

number of new bids and the percentages 

of licenses (as measured in bidding 

units) on which there are new bids. 

Potential bidders should note that the 

stage of the auction does not affect the 

auction stopping rules. The auction may 

conclude in Stage One. 

vi. Activity Rule Waivers 

132. Each bidder in the auction will 

be provided with three activity rule 


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waivers. Bidders may use an activity 

rule waiver in any round during the 

course of the auction. Use of an activity 

rule waiver preserves the bidder’s 

eligibility despite the bidder’s activity 

in the current round being below the 

required minimum activity level. An 

activity rule waiver applies to an entire 

round of bidding and not to a particular 

license. Activity rule waivers can be 

either proactive or automatic and are 

principally a mechanism for auction 

participants to avoid the loss of bidding 

eligibility in the event that exigent 

circumstances prevent them from 

placing a bid in a particular round. 

133. The FCC Auction System 

assumes that bidders with insufficient 

activity would prefer to apply an 

activity rule waiver (if available) rather 

than lose bidding eligibility. Therefore, 

the system will automatically apply a 

waiver at the end of any bidding round 

where a bidder’s activity level is below 

the minimum required unless (1) there 

are no activity rule waivers available or 

(2) the bidder overrides the automatic 

application of a waiver by reducing 

eligibility. If a bidder has no waivers 

remaining and does not satisfy the 

activity requirement, the FCC Auction 

System will permanently reduce the 

bidder’s eligibility, possibly curtailing 

or eliminating the bidder’s ability to 

place additional bids in the auction. 

134. A bidder with insufficient 

activity that wants to reduce its bidding 

eligibility rather than use an activity 

rule waiver must affirmatively override 

the automatic waiver mechanism during 

the bidding round by using the reduce 

eligibility function in the FCC Auction 

System. In this case, the bidder’s 

eligibility is permanently reduced to 

bring the bidder into compliance with 

the activity rule. Once eligibility has 

been reduced, a bidder will not be 

permitted to regain its lost bidding 

eligibility even if the round has not yet 

ended. 

135. Finally, a bidder may apply an 

activity rule waiver proactively as a 

means to keep the auction open without 

placing a bid. If a bidder proactively 

applies an activity waiver (using the 

apply waiver function in the FCC 

Auction System) during a bidding round 

in which no bids are placed or 

withdrawn, the auction will remain 

open and the bidder’s eligibility will be 

preserved. However, an automatic 

waiver applied by the FCC Auction 

System in a round in which there are no 

new bids, withdrawals, or proactive 

waivers will not keep the auction open. 

A bidder cannot submit a proactive 

waiver after submitting a bid in a round, 

and submitting a proactive waiver will 

preclude a bidder from placing any bids 

in that round. It is important for bidders 

to understand that applying a waiver is 

irreversible. Once a bidder submits a 

proactive waiver, the bidder cannot 

unsubmit the waiver even if the round 

has not yet ended. 

vii. Auction Stopping Rules 

136. For Auction 92, the Bureau will 

employ a simultaneous stopping rule 

approach. A simultaneous stopping rule 

means that all licenses remain available 

for bidding until bidding closes 

simultaneously on all licenses. More 

specifically, bidding will close 

simultaneously on all licenses after the 

first round in which no bidder submits 

any new bids, applies a proactive 

waiver, or withdraws any provisionally 

winning bids. 

137. As explained in the Auction 92 

Procedures Public Notice, the Bureau 

retains the discretion to exercise 

alternative stopping rules, with or 

without prior announcement in the 

auction. For example, under Option 1, 

the auction would close for all licenses 

after the first round in which no bidder 

applies a waiver, withdraws a 

provisionally winning bid, or places any 

new bids on any license on which it is 

not the provisionally winning bidder. 

Thus, absent any other bidding activity, 

a bidder placing a new bid on a license 

for which it is the provisionally winning 

bidder would not keep the auction open 

under this modified stopping rule. 

Under Option 2, the auction would 

close for all licenses after the first round 

in which no bidder applies a waiver, 

withdraws a provisionally winning bid, 

or places any new bids on any license 

that is not FCC held. Thus, absent any 

other bidding activity, a bidder placing 

a new bid on a license that does not 

already have a provisionally winning 

bid (an FCC-held license) would not 

keep the auction open under this 

modified stopping rule. Under Option 3, 

the auction would close using a 

modified version of the simultaneous 

stopping rule that combines Option 1 

and Option 2. Under Option 4, the 

auction would end after a specified 

number of additional rounds. If the 

Bureau invokes this special stopping 

rule, it will accept bids in the specified 

final round(s) and the auction will 

close. Under Option 5, the auction 

would remain open even if no bidder 

places any new bids, applies a waiver, 

or withdraws any provisionally winning 

bids. In this event, the effect will be the 

same as if a bidder had applied a 

waiver. Thus, the activity rule will 

apply as usual, and a bidder with 

insufficient activity will either lose 

bidding eligibility or use a waiver. 

viii. Auction Delay, Suspension, or 

Cancellation 

138. By public notice or by 

announcement during the auction, the 

Bureau may delay, suspend, or cancel 

the auction in the event of natural 

disaster, technical obstacle, 

administrative or weather necessity, 

evidence of an auction security breach 

or unlawful bidding activity, or for any 

other reason that affects the fair and 

efficient conduct of competitive 

bidding. In such cases, the Bureau, in its 

sole discretion, may elect to resume the 

auction starting from the beginning of 

the current round, resume the auction 

starting from some previous round, or 

cancel the auction in its entirety. 

Network interruption may cause the 

Bureau to delay or suspend the auction. 

The Bureau emphasizes that exercise of 

this authority is solely within the 

discretion of the Bureau, and its use is 

not intended to be a substitute for 

situations in which bidders may wish to 

apply their activity rule waivers. 

B. Bidding Procedures 

i. Round Structure 

139. The initial schedule of bidding 

rounds will be announced in the public 

notice listing the qualified bidders, 

which is released approximately 10 

days before the start of the auction. Each 

bidding round is followed by the release 

of round results. Multiple bidding 

rounds may be conducted in a given 

day. Details regarding round results 

formats and locations will also be 

included in the qualified bidders public 

notice. 

140. The Bureau has the discretion to 

change the bidding schedule in order to 

foster an auction pace that reasonably 

balances speed with the bidders’ need to 

study round results and adjust their 

bidding strategies. The Bureau may 

increase or decrease the amount of time 

for the bidding rounds, the amount of 

time between rounds, or the number of 

rounds per day, depending upon 

bidding activity and other factors. 

ii. Reserve Price and Minimum Opening 

Bids 

141. There will be no reserve prices 

for the licenses to be offered in Auction 

92. After consideration of comments 

submitted, the Bureau adopted the 

specific minimum opening bid amounts 

for each license available in Auction 92 

listed in Attachment A of the Auctions 

92 Procedures Public Notice. 

iii. Bid Amounts 

142. In each round, eligible bidders 

will be able to place a bid on a given 

license using one or more pre-defined 


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21364 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 73 / Friday, April 15, 2011 / Notices 

bid amounts, if the bidder has sufficient 

eligibility to place a bid on the 

particular license. The FCC Auction 

System interface will list the acceptable 

bid amounts for each license. In the 

event of duplicate bid amounts due to 

rounding, the FCC Auction System will 

omit the duplicates and will list fewer 

acceptable bid amounts for the license. 

a. Minimum Acceptable Bids 

143. The first of the acceptable bid 

amounts is called the minimum 

acceptable bid amount. The minimum 

acceptable bid amount for a license will 

be equal to its minimum opening bid 

amount until there is a provisionally 

winning bid on the license. After there 

is a provisionally winning bid for a 

license, the minimum acceptable bid 

amount for that license will be equal to 

the amount of the provisionally winning 

bid plus a percentage of that bid amount 

calculated using the formula specified 

in the Auction 92 Procedures Public 

Notice. In general, the percentage will 

be higher for a license receiving many 

bids than for a license receiving few 

bids. In the case of a license for which 

the provisionally winning bid has been 

withdrawn, the minimum acceptable 

bid amount will equal the second 

highest bid received for the license. 

144. The percentage of the 

provisionally winning bid used to 

establish the minimum acceptable bid 

amount (the additional percentage) is 

calculated at the end of each round, 

based on an activity index. The activity 

index is a weighted average of (a) the 

number of distinct bidders placing a bid 

on the license, and (b) the activity index 

from the prior round. Specifically, the 

activity index is equal to a weighting 

factor times the number of bidders 

placing a bid covering the license in the 

most recent bidding round plus one 

minus the weighting factor times the 

activity index from the prior round. The 

additional percentage is determined as 

one plus the activity index times a 

minimum percentage amount, with the 

result not to exceed a given maximum. 

The additional percentage is then 

multiplied by the provisionally winning 

bid amount to obtain the minimum 

acceptable bid for the next round. For 

round 1 calculations, however, the 

index from the prior round is set at 0, 

because there is no prior round (i.e. no 

round 0). 

145. The weighting factor is set at 0.5, 

the minimum percentage (floor) at 0.1 

(10%), and the maximum percentage 

(ceiling) at 0.3 (30%). At these initial 

settings, the minimum acceptable bid 

for a license will generally be between 

ten percent and thirty percent higher 

than the provisionally winning bid, 

depending upon the bidding activity for 

the license. Equations and examples 

were provided in Attachment B of the 

Auction 92 Procedures Public Notice. 

b. Additional Bid Amounts 

146. Any additional bid amounts are 

calculated using the minimum 

acceptable bid amount and a bid 

increment percentage, which need not 

be the same as the percentage used to 

calculate the minimum acceptable bid 

amount. The first additional acceptable 

bid amount equals the minimum 

acceptable bid amount times one plus 

the bid increment percentage. The 

Bureau will begin the auction with eight 

additional bid amounts per license. The 

Bureau will use a bid increment 

percentage of 5 percent. With a bid 

increment percentage of 5 percent, the 

calculation is (minimum acceptable bid 

amount) * (1 + 0.05), or (minimum 

acceptable bid amount) * 1.05; the 

second additional acceptable bid 

amount equals the minimum acceptable 

bid amount times one plus two times 

the bid increment percentage, or 

(minimum acceptable bid amount) * 1.1, 

etc. The Bureau will start the auction 

without a limit on the dollar amount by 

which minimum acceptable bids and 

additional bid amounts may increase. 

The Bureau retains the discretion to 

change the minimum acceptable bid 

amounts, the additional bid amounts, 

the number of acceptable bid amounts, 

and the parameters of the formulas used 

to calculate minimum acceptable bid 

amounts and additional bid amounts, 

and impose a limit on bid amounts if it 

determines that circumstances so 

dictate. Further, the Bureau retains the 

discretion to do so on a license-bylicense basis. If the Bureau exercises 

this discretion, it will alert bidders by 

announcement in the FCC Auction 

System during the auction. 

iv. Provisionally Winning Bids 

147. At the end of each bidding 

round, a provisionally winning bid will 

be determined based on the highest bid 

amount received for each license. A 

provisionally winning bid will remain 

the provisionally winning bid until 

there is a higher bid on the same license 

at the close of a subsequent round. 

Provisionally winning bids at the end of 

the auction become the winning bids. 

Bidders are reminded that provisionally 

winning bids count toward activity for 

purposes of the activity rule. 

148. The Bureau will use a random 

number generator to select a single 

provisionally winning bid in the event 

of identical high bid amounts being 

submitted on a license in a given round 

(i.e., tied bids). The FCC Auction 

System will assign a random number to 

each bid upon submission. The tied bid 

with the highest random number wins 

the tiebreaker and becomes the 

provisionally winning bid. Bidders, 

regardless of whether they hold a 

provisionally winning bid, can submit 

higher bids in subsequent rounds. 

However, if the auction were to end 

with no other bids being placed, the 

winning bidder would be the one that 

placed the provisionally winning bid. 

v. Bidding 

149. All bidding will take place 

remotely either through the FCC 

Auction System or by telephonic 

bidding. There will be no on-site 

bidding during Auction 92. Please note 

that telephonic bid assistants are 

required to use a script when entering 

bids placed by telephone. Telephonic 

bidders are therefore reminded to allow 

sufficient time to bid by placing their 

calls well in advance of the close of a 

round. The length of a call to place a 

telephonic bid may vary; please allow a 

minimum of ten minutes. 

150. A bidder’s ability to bid on 

specific licenses is determined by two 

factors: (1) The licenses selected on the 

bidder’s FCC Form 175 and (2) the 

bidder’s eligibility. The bid submission 

screens will allow bidders to submit 

bids on only those licenses the bidder 

selected on its FCC Form 175. 

151. In order to access the bidding 

function of the FCC Auction System, 

bidders must be logged in during the 

bidding round using the passcode 

generated by the SecurID® token and a 

personal identification number (PIN) 

created by the bidder. Bidders are 

strongly encouraged to print a round 

summary for each round after they have 

completed all of their activity for that 

round. 

152. In each round, an eligible bidder 

will be able to place bids on a given 

license in any of up to nine pre-defined 

bid amounts, if the bidder has sufficient 

eligibility to place a bid on a particular 

license. For each license, the FCC 

Auction System will list the acceptable 

bid amounts in a drop-down box. 

Bidders use the drop-down box to select 

from among the acceptable bid amounts. 

The FCC Auction System also includes 

an upload function that allows bidders 

to upload text files containing bid 

information. 

153. Until a bid has been placed on 

a license, the minimum acceptable bid 

amount for that license will be equal to 

its minimum opening bid amount. Once 

there are bids on a license, minimum 

acceptable bids for a license for the 

following round will be determined. 


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154. During a round, an eligible 

bidder may submit bids for as many 

licenses as it wishes (provided that it is 

eligible to bid), remove bids placed in 

the current bidding round, withdraw 

provisionally winning bids from 

previous rounds, or permanently reduce 

eligibility. If a bidder submits multiple 

bids for the exact same license in the 

same round, the system takes the last 

bid entered as that bidder’s bid for the 

round. Bidders should note that the 

bidding units associated with licenses 

for which the bidder has removed or 

withdrawn bids do not count towards 

the bidder’s current activity. 

155. Finally, bidders are cautioned to 

select their bid amounts carefully 

because bidders that withdraw a 

provisionally winning bid from a 

previous round, even if the bid was 

mistakenly or erroneously made, are 

subject to bid withdrawal payments. 

vi. Bid Removal and Bid Withdrawal 

156. Bid Removal. Before the close of 

a bidding round, a bidder has the option 

of removing any bids placed in that 

round. By using the remove bids 

function in the FCC Auction System, a 

bidder may effectively unsubmit any bid 

placed within that round. A bidder 

removing a bid placed in the same 

round is not subject to withdrawal 

payments. If a bid is placed on a license 

during a round, it will count towards 

the activity for that round, but when 

that bid is then removed during the 

same round it was placed, the activity 

associated with it is also removed, i.e., 

a bid that is removed does not count 

toward bidding activity. 

157. Bid Withdrawal. Once a round 

closes, a bidder may no longer remove 

a bid. However, in a later round, a 

bidder may withdraw provisionally 

winning bids from previous rounds for 

licenses using the withdraw bids 

function in the FCC Auction System. A 

provisionally winning bidder that 

withdraws its provisionally winning bid 

from a previous round during the 

auction is subject to the bid withdrawal 

payments specified in 47 CFR 1.2104(g). 

Once a bid withdrawal is submitted 

during a round, that withdrawal cannot 

be unsubmitted even if the round has 

not yet ended. 

158. If a provisionally winning bid is 

withdrawn, the minimum acceptable 

bid amount will equal the amount of the 

second highest bid received for the 

license, which may be less than, or in 

the case of tied bids, equal to, the 

amount of the withdrawn bid. The 

Commission will serve as a placeholder 

provisionally winning bidder on the 

license until a new bid is submitted on 

that license. The Bureau retains the 

discretion to lower the minimum 

acceptable bid on such licenses in the 

next round or in later rounds. 

159. Calculation of Bid Withdrawal 

Payment. Generally, the Commission 

imposes payments on bidders that 

withdraw provisionally winning bids 

during the course of an auction. If a 

bidder withdraws its bid and there is no 

higher bid in the same or subsequent 

auction(s), the bidder that withdrew its 

bid is responsible for the difference 

between its withdrawn bid and the 

winning bid in the same or subsequent 

auction(s). If there are multiple bid 

withdrawals on a single license and no 

subsequent higher bid is placed and/or 

the license is not won in the same 

auction, the payment for each bid 

withdrawal will be calculated based on 

the sequence of bid withdrawals and the 

amounts withdrawn. No withdrawal 

payment will be assessed for a 

withdrawn bid if either the subsequent 

winning bid or any subsequent 

intervening withdrawn bid, in either the 

same or subsequent auction(s), equals or 

exceeds that withdrawn bid. Thus, a 

bidder that withdraws a bid will not be 

responsible for any final withdrawal 

payment if there is a subsequent higher 

bid in the same or subsequent 

auction(s). 

160. 47 CFR 1.2104(g)(1) sets forth the 

payment obligations of a bidder that 

withdraws a provisionally winning bid 

on a license during the course of an 

auction, and provides for the assessment 

of interim bid withdrawal payments. 

The Commission will assess an interim 

withdrawal payment equal to fifteen 

percent of the amount of the withdrawn 

bid. The fifteen percent interim 

payment will be applied toward any 

final bid withdrawal payment that will 

be assessed after subsequent auction of 

the license. Assessing an interim bid 

withdrawal payment ensures that the 

Commission receives a minimal 

withdrawal payment pending 

assessment of any final withdrawal 

payment. 47 CFR 1.2104(g) provides 

specific examples showing application 

of the bid withdrawal payment rule. 

vii. Round Results 

161. Limited information about the 

results of a round will be made public 

after the conclusion of the round. 

Specifically, after a round closes, the 

Bureau will make available for each 

license, its current provisionally 

winning bid amount, the minimum 

acceptable bid amount for the following 

round, the amounts of all bids placed on 

the license during the round, and 

whether the license is FCC held. The 

system will also provide an entire 

license history detailing all activity that 

has taken place on a license with the 

ability to sort by round number. The 

reports will be publicly accessible. 

Moreover, after the auction closes, the 

Bureau will make available complete 

reports of all bids placed during each 

round of the auction, including bidder 

identities. 

viii. Auction Announcements 

162. The Commission will use auction 

announcements to report necessary 

information such as schedule changes 

and stage transitions. All auction 

announcements will be available by 

clicking a link in the FCC Auction 

System. 

V. Post-Auction Procedures 

163. Shortly after bidding has ended, 

the Commission will issue a public 

notice declaring the auction closed, 

identifying the winning bidders, and 

establishing the deadlines for 

submitting down payments, long-form 

applications, final payments, and 

ownership disclosure information 

reports. 

A. Down Payments and Final Payments 

164. Within ten business days after 

release of the auction closing public 

notice, each winning bidder must 

submit sufficient funds (in addition to 

its upfront payment) to bring its total 

amount of money on deposit with the 

Commission for Auction 92 to 20 

percent of the net amount of its winning 

bids (gross bids less any applicable 

small business bidding credit). 

165. Each winning bidder will be 

required to submit the balance of the net 

amount of its winning bids within ten 

business days after the applicable 

deadline for submitting down payments. 

B. Long-Form Application (FCC Form 

601) 

166. Within ten business days after 

release of the auction closing notice, 

winning bidders must electronically 

submit a properly completed long-form 

application (FCC Form 601) for the 

license(s) they won through Auction 92. 

Winning bidders claiming eligibility for 

a small business or very small business 

bidding credit must demonstrate their 

eligibility for the bidding credit. Further 

instructions on these and other filing 

requirements will be provided to 

winning bidders in the auction closing 

public notice. 

167. Winning bidders organized as 

bidding consortia must comply with 

applicable long-form application 

procedures as described in the Auction 

92 Procedures Public Notice. 

Specifically, each member (or group of 

members) of a winning consortium 


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seeking separate licenses will be 

required to file a separate long-form 

application for its respective license(s). 

If the license is to be partitioned or 

disaggregated, the member (or group) 

filing the long-form application must 

provide the relevant partitioning or 

disaggregation agreement in its longform application. In addition, if two or 

more consortium members wish to be 

licensed together, they must first form a 

legal business entity, and any such 

entity must meet the applicable 

designated entity criteria. 

C. Ownership Disclosure Information 

Report (FCC Form 602) 

168. Within ten business days after 

release of the auction closing public 

notice, each winning bidder must also 

comply with the ownership reporting 

requirements in 47 CFR 1.913, 1.919, 

and 1.2112 by submitting an ownership 

disclosure information report for 

wireless telecommunications services 

(FCC Form 602) with its long-form 

application. 

169. If an applicant already has a 

complete and accurate FCC Form 602 on 

file in ULS, it is not necessary to file a 

new report, but applicants must verify 

that the information on file with the 

Commission is complete and accurate. If 

the applicant does not have an FCC 

Form 602 on file, or if it is not complete 

and accurate, the applicant must submit 

one. 

170. When an applicant submits a 

short-form application, ULS 

automatically creates an ownership 

record. This record is not an FCC Form 

602, but may be used to pre-fill the FCC 

Form 602 with the ownership 

information submitted on the 

applicant’s short-form application. 

Applicants must review the pre-filled 

information and confirm that it is 

complete and accurate as of the filing 

date of the long-form application before 

certifying and submitting the FCC Form 

602. Further instructions will be 

provided to winning bidders in the 

auction closing public notice. 

D. Tribal Lands Bidding Credit 

171. A winning bidder that intends to 

use its license(s) to deploy facilities and 

provide services to federally recognized 

tribal lands that are unserved by any 

telecommunications carrier or that have 

a wireline penetration rate equal to or 

below 85 percent is eligible to receive a 

tribal lands bidding credit as set forth in 

47 CFR 1.2107 and 1.2110(f). A tribal 

lands bidding credit is in addition to, 

and separate from, any other bidding 

credit for which a winning bidder may 

qualify. 

172. Unlike other bidding credits that 

are requested prior to the auction, a 

winning bidder applies for the tribal 

lands bidding credit after the auction 

when it files its long-form application 

(FCC Form 601). When initially filing 

the long-form application, the winning 

bidder will be required to advise the 

Commission whether it intends to seek 

a tribal lands bidding credit, for each 

license won in the auction, by checking 

the designated box(es). After stating its 

intent to seek a tribal lands bidding 

credit, the applicant will have 180 days 

from the close of the long-form 

application filing window to amend its 

application to select the specific tribal 

lands to be served and provide the 

required tribal government 

certifications. Licensees receiving a 

tribal lands bidding credit are subject to 

performance criteria as set forth in 47 

CFR 1.2110(f)(3)(vii). 

173. For additional information on the 

tribal lands bidding credit, including 

how the amount of the credit is 

calculated, applicants should review the 

Commission’s rulemaking proceeding 

regarding tribal lands bidding credits 

and related public notices. Relevant 

documents can be viewed on the 

Commission’s Web site by going to 

http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/ and 

clicking on the Tribal Lands Credits 

link. 

E. Default and Disqualification 

174. Any winning bidder that defaults 

or is disqualified after the close of the 

auction (i.e., fails to remit the required 

down payment within the prescribed 

period of time, fails to submit a timely 

long-form application, fails to make full 

payment, or is otherwise disqualified) 

will be subject to the payments 

described in 47 CFR 1.2104(g)(2). The 

payments include both 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. The Bureau set the additional 

default payment for this auction at 

fifteen percent of the applicable bid. 

175. Finally, in the event of a default, 

the Commission has the discretion to reauction the license or offer it to the next 

highest bidder (in descending order) at 

its final bid amount. In addition, if a 

default or disqualification involves 

gross misconduct, misrepresentation, or 

bad faith by an applicant, the 

Commission may declare the applicant 

and its principals ineligible to bid in 

future auctions, and may take any other 

action that it deems necessary, 

including institution of proceedings to 

revoke any existing authorizations held 

by the applicant. 

F. Refund of Remaining Upfront 

Payment Balance 

176. After the auction, applicants that 

are not winning bidders or are winning 

bidders whose upfront payment 

exceeded the total net amount of their 

winning bids may be entitled to a 

refund of some or all of their upfront 

payment. All refunds will be returned to 

the payer of record, as identified on the 

FCC Form 159, unless the payer submits 

written authorization instructing 

otherwise. Bidders should not request a 

refund of their upfront payments before 

the Commission releases a public notice 

declaring the auction closed, identifying 

the winning bidders, and establishing 

the deadlines for submitting down 

payments, long-form applications, and 

final payments. Bidders must comply 

with the specific instructions provided 

in the Auction 92 Procedures Public 

Notice for such refunds. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Gary D. Michaels, 

Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access 

Division, WTB. 

[FR Doc. 2011–9200 Filed 4–14–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

CORPORATION 

Notice to All Interested Parties of the 

Termination of the Receivership of 

1299, Oaktree Federal Savings, New 

Orleans, LA and 7804, Oaktree Savings 

Bank, SSB 

Notice is hereby given that the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Corporation (‘‘FDIC’’) 

as Receiver for Oaktree Federal Savings, 

New Orleans, Louisiana and for Oaktree 

Savings Bank, SSB (‘‘Receiver’’) intends 

to terminate its receiverships for said 

institutions. The Resolution Trust 

Corporation (‘‘RTC’’) was appointed 

Receiver for Oaktree Federal Savings 

and Oaktree Savings Bank, SSB and 

pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 1441a(m)(1) FDIC 

succeeded RTC as Receiver. The 

liquidation of receivership assets has 

been completed. To the extent permitted 

by available funds and in accordance 

with law, the Receiver will be making 

a final dividend payment to proven 

creditors. 

Based on the foregoing, the Receiver 

has determined that the continued 

existence of the receiverships will serve 

no useful purpose. Consequently, notice 

is given that the receiverships shall be 

terminated, to be effective no sooner 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES