62884 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 

(b) Part 1 of the Commission’s Rules—

Further Competitive Bidding 

Procedures, WT Docket No. 03–67. 

(c) Amendment of Parts 21 and 74 to 

Enable Multipoint Distribution Service 

and the Instructional Television Fixed 

Service Amendment of Parts 21 and 74 

to Engage in Fixed Two-Way 

Transmissions, MM Docket no. 97–217. 

(d) Amendment of Parts 21 and 74 of 

the Commission’s Rules with Regard to 

Licensing in the Multipoint Distribution 

Service and in the Instructional 

Television Fixed Service for the Gulf of 

Mexico, WT Docket No. 02–68, RM–

9718. 

(e) Promoting Efficient Use of 

Spectrum through Elimination of 

Barriers to the Development of 

Secondary Markets, WT Docket No. 00–

230. 

(2) FCC 04–168—Adopted 7/8/2004—

Released 8/6/2004. 

(a) Improving Public Safety 

Communications in the 800 MHz Band, 

WT Docket 02–55. 

(b) Consolidating the 800 and 900 

MHz Industrial/Land Transportation 

and Business Pool Channels, ET Docket 

No. 00–258. 

(c) Amendment of Part 2 of the 

Commission’s Rules to Allocate 

Spectrum Below 3 GHz for Mobile and 

Fixed Services to Support the 

Introduction of New Advanced Wireless 

Services, including Third Generation 

Wireless Systems, RM–9498. 

(d) Petition for Rule Making of the 

Wireless Information Networks Forum 

Concerning the Unlicensed Personal 

Communications Service, RM–10024. 

(e) Petition for Rule Making of UT 

Starcom, Inc., concerning the 

Unlicensed Personal Communications 

Service, ET Docket No. 95–18. 

(f) Amendment of Section 2.106 of the 

Commission’s Rules to Allocate 

Spectrum at 2 GHz for use by the Mobile 

Satellite Service, ET Docket No. 95–18. 

(3) FCC 04–23—Adopted 2/4/2004—

Released 2/12/2004. 

(a) Review of Quiet Zones Application 

Procedures, WT Docket No. 01–319. 

There is no change to the estimated 

average burden and number of 

respondents at this time as it is 

unknown as to how many additional 

respondents may partake in the changes 

required due to the adoptions of the 

above noted Report & Orders.

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–24122 Filed 10–27–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[Report No. AUC–04–58–C; DA 04–3005; 

Report No. AUC–04–58–D; DA 04–3270 

(Auction No. 58)] 

Broadband PCS Spectrum Auction 

Start Date Re-Scheduled for January 

26, 2005; New Pre-Auction Dates and 

Deadlines Established; Notice and 

Filing Requirements, Minimum 

Opening Bids, Upfront Payment and 

Other Auction Procedures

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This document announces the 

procedures and minimum opening bids 

for the upcoming auction of 242 

Broadband Personal Communications 

Service (PCS) licenses and announces 

that the auction initially scheduled to 

commence on January 12, 2005 is 

rescheduled to begin on January 26, 

2005. In addition, this document 

announces the rescheduling of certain 

pre-auction events and deadlines. This 

document is intended to familiarize 

prospective bidders with the procedures 

and minimum opening bids for this 

auction.

DATES: Auction No. 58 is scheduled to 

begin on January 26, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Auctions and Spectrum Access Division 

(WTB): For legal questions: Audrey 

Bashkin or Scott Mackoul at (202) 418–

0660. For general auction questions: Jeff 

Crooks at (202) 418–0660 or Lisa Stover 

at (717) 338–2888. For service rule 

questions: Mobility Division, WTB, 

Kathy Harris or Erin McGrath at (202) 

418–0620. For technical questions: 

Chris Miller or JoAnn Epps at (202) 

418–0620. 

Media Contact: Lauren Patrich at 

(202) 418–7944.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Auction No. 58 

Procedures Public Notice released on 

September 16, 2004, and the public 

notice released October 15, 2004, 

rescheduling the upcoming auction and 

certain pre-auction events and 

deadlines. In light of the Commission’s 

decision in the Memorandum Opinion 

and Order, FCC 04–249, released 

October 15, 2004, the Bureau 

rescheduled the start date and the preauction dates and deadlines for Auction 

No. 58 in order to provide additional 

time for bidder preparation and 

planning. The Bureau originally 

provided more than six months for 

bidders to prepare for Auction No. 58, 

which normally should provide more 

than sufficient time for planning 

purposes. Requests to amend or waive 

the Commission’s eligibility rules for 

certain broadband PCS licenses, 

however, created some uncertainty 

regarding whether such licenses would 

be available in open or closed bidding. 

Now that a final decision has been made 

on those matters, the Commission 

therefore believes a slight modification 

to its auction schedule is warranted. 

The complete text of the Auction No. 58 

Procedures Public Notice, including 

attachments, as well as related 

Commission documents, are available 

for public inspection and copying 

during regular business hours at the 

FCC Reference Information Center, 

Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room 

CY–A257, Washington, DC 20554. The 

Auction No. 58 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 you may 

contact BCPI at its Web site: http://

www.BCPIWEB.com. The Auction No. 

58 Procedures Public Notice and related 

documents are also available on the 

Internet at the Commission’s Web site: 

http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/58/. 

I. General Information 

A. Introduction 

1. The Auction No. 58 Procedures 

Public Notice, announces the 

procedures and minimum opening bids 

for the upcoming auction of licenses in 

the broadband personal communication 

services (‘‘PCS’’) scheduled for January 

26, 2005 (Auction No. 58). On June 18, 

2004, in accordance with the Balanced 

Budget Act of 1997, the Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau (‘‘WTB’’) 

released a public notice seeking 

comment on reserve prices or minimum 

opening bids and the procedures to be 

used for the auction of broadband PCS 

licenses in Auction No. 58. The Bureau 

released a second public notice on 

August 3, 2004, revising the list of 

licenses available and seeking comment 

on procedures for the auction of those 

licenses. The Bureau received 19 

comments and five reply comments in 

response to the Auction No. 35 

Comment Public Notice, 65 FR 55243, 

September 13, 2000, and no comments 

in response to the Auction No. 58 

Revised Inventory Public Notice, 69 FR 

49897, August 12, 2004. 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 62885

i. Background of Proceeding 

2. Auction No. 58 includes licenses 

for A, C, D, E, and F blocks of 

broadband PCS spectrum. This auction 

will be the fifth auction of C block 

broadband PCS spectrum and the fourth 

auction of F block broadband PCS 

spectrum. The Commission initially 

designated the C and F block licenses to 

be held only by those entities that 

qualified as ‘‘entrepreneurs’’ under the 

Commission’s rules. Specifically, only 

those entities that qualified as 

entrepreneurs could bid on the C and F 

block licenses and hold the licenses for 

the first five years following the date of 

the initial license grant. The initial C 

block licenses were awarded through 

two auctions, Auction No. 5, which 

ended on May 6, 1996, and Auction No. 

10, which concluded on July 16, 1996. 

Auction No. 11, the initial F block 

auction, ended on January 14, 1997, and 

also included D and E block licenses. 

Auction No. 22, which concluded on 

April 15, 1999, made available C, E and 

F block licenses that had been returned 

to, or reclaimed by, the Commission. 

3. In 2000, the Commission revised 

certain service and auction rules for the 

C and F block licenses. Among the 

modifications to the Commission’s 

rules, the C/F Block Sixth Report and 

Order, 65 FR 53624, September 5, 2000, 

reconfigured the size of 30 megahertz C 

block licenses available for auction, 

creating three 10 megahertz licenses. 

The Commission also removed the 

entrepreneur eligibility restrictions for 

some C block licenses. It did so by first 

establishing two categories for licenses: 

Tier 1 being comprised of those Basic 

Trading Areas (BTAs) with populations 

that, according to the 1990 census, are 

equal to or greater than 2.5 million and 

Tier 2 being comprised of the remaining 

BTAs. The Commission then established 

‘‘open bidding’’ (i.e., bidding without 

entrepreneur eligibility restrictions) for 

two of the three newly reconfigured 10 

megahertz C block licenses in Tier 1 and 

for one of the three newly reconfigured 

10 megahertz C block licenses in Tier 2. 

The remaining 10 megahertz C block 

licenses in Tier 1 and 2 were reserved 

for entrepreneurs. Finally, with respect 

to available 15 megahertz C block 

licenses, the Commission eliminated 

eligibility restrictions for such licenses 

in Tier 1, but maintained the eligibility 

requirements in Tier 2. 

4. Following the adoption of the C/F 

Block Sixth Report and Order, the 

Commission held Auction No. 35, 

which included 422 C and F block 

broadband PCS licenses. Certain of the 

licenses won at auction, however, were 

not granted because the spectrum was 

the subject of litigation and/or 

bankruptcy proceedings. Recent 

settlement in a number of those matters 

has made C and F block spectrum 

available again for licensing. This 

spectrum, along with spectrum 

associated with other licenses that 

cancelled or were otherwise returned to 

the Commission, is now included in the 

inventory for Auction No. 58. 

5. Additionally, following the 

announcement of Auction No. 58, 

CTIA—The Wireless Association TM

(‘‘CTIA’’) filed a petition for rulemaking, 

or in the alternative, a request for waiver 

of the eligibility restrictions placed on 

certain C block licenses (‘‘CTIA 

Petition’’). This petition was placed on 

public notice and will be addressed in 

a proceeding separate from the instant 

one which is intended to establish 

procedures for the conduct of Auction 

No. 58. The eligibility issue raised in the 

CTIA Petition was also addressed in 

nearly all of the comments filed 

pursuant to the Auction No. 58 

Comment Public Notice, as well as in 

the Verizon Wireless petition for 

reconsideration. As explained in more 

detail below, this issue is beyond the 

scope of that public notice and will be 

addressed separately. Accordingly, 

unless the Commission decides 

otherwise, the current eligibility 

structure for C block licenses (i.e., 

closed bidding for certain C block 

licenses by only those entities that 

qualify as entrepreneurs) will remain in 

effect for Auction No. 58. 

ii. Licenses To Be Auctioned 

6. Auction No. 58 will offer 242 

broadband PCS licenses. A complete list 

of the licenses available in Auction No. 

58 and their description is included in 

Attachment A of the Auction No. 58 

Procedures Public Notice. 

7. While most licenses are available to 

all bidders in open bidding, 119 C block 

licenses are available only to 

entrepreneurs in closed bidding. In 

order to qualify as an ‘‘entrepreneur,’’

an applicant, together with its affiliates 

and persons or entities that hold 

interests in the applicant and their 

affiliates, must have had gross revenues 

of less than $125 million in each of the 

last two years and must have less than 

$500 million in total assets. 

8. For C and F block licenses available 

in open bidding, bidding credits are 

available to small and very small 

businesses, or consortia thereof, as 

defined in the Commission’s rules. 

Specifically, an entity will be 

considered a small business if it, 

together with its affiliates, has less than 

$40 million in average annual gross 

revenues for the preceding three years. 

An entity will be considered a very 

small business if it, together with its 

affiliates, has less than $15 million in 

average annual gross revenues for the 

preceding three years. Small business 

and very small business bidding credits 

are not available for C block licenses 

won in closed bidding or for licenses in 

the A, D, or E blocks. 

9. The following table contains the 

block/eligibility status/frequency crossreference list for Auction No. 58:

Frequency block 

Eligibility status Bandwidth 

(MHz) (unless 

otherwise 

noted in Attachment A) 

Frequency (MHz)

(unless otherwise noted in AtTier 1 Tier 2 tachment A) 

A ............................................................................................ n/a ................ n/a ................ 30 1850–1865, 1930–1945 

C1 .......................................................................................... Open ............ Closed .......... 15 1902.5–1910, 1982.5–1990 

C2 .......................................................................................... Open ............ Closed .......... 15 1895–1902.5, 1975–1982.5 

C3 .......................................................................................... Closed .......... Closed .......... 10 1895–1900, 1975–1980 

C4 .......................................................................................... Open ............ Closed .......... 10 1900–1905, 1980–1985 

C5 .......................................................................................... Open ............ Open ............ 10 1905–1910, 1985–1990 

D ............................................................................................ n/a ................ n/a ................ 10 1865–1870, 1945–1950 

E ............................................................................................ n/a ................ n/a ................ 10 1885–1890, 1965–1970 

F ............................................................................................ Open ............ Open ............ 10 1890–1895, 1970–1975 

10. In some cases, licenses are 

available for only part of a market or 

may not include all of the spectrum 

associated with a particular frequency 

block in Auction No. 58. Dark gray 

boxes indicate that no license of the 

62886 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 

particular tier/frequency block 

combination will be available in 

Auction No. 58. See Attachment A of 

the Auction No. 58 Procedures Public 

Notice to determine which licenses will 

be offered. 

B. Rules and Disclaimers 

i. Relevant Authority 

11. Prospective applicants must 

familiarize themselves thoroughly with 

the Commission’s rules relating to 

broadband PCS, contained in Title 47, 

part 24, of the Code of Federal 

Regulations, and those relating to 

application and auction procedures, 

contained in Title 47, part 1, of the Code 

of Federal Regulations. Prospective 

applicants must also be thoroughly 

familiar with the procedures, terms and 

conditions (collectively, ‘‘terms’’) 

contained in the Auction No. 58 

Procedures Public Notice; the Auction 

No. 58 Comment Public Notice; the 

Auction No. 58 Revised Inventory Public 

Notice; the C/F Block Sixth Report and 

Order, (as well as any other prior and 

subsequent Commission proceedings 

regarding competitive bidding 

procedures). 

12. The terms contained in the 

Commission’s rules, relevant orders, 

and public notices are not negotiable. 

The Commission may amend or 

supplement the information contained 

in our public notices at any time, and 

will issue public notices to convey any 

new or supplemental information to 

applicants. It is the responsibility of all 

applicants to remain current with all 

Commission rules and with all public 

notices pertaining to this auction. 

ii. Prohibition of Collusion 

13. To ensure the competitiveness of 

the auction process, § 1.2105(c) of the 

Commission’s rules prohibits applicants 

for any of the same geographic license 

areas from communicating with each 

other during the auction about bids, 

bidding strategies, or settlements unless 

such applicants have identified each 

other on their FCC Form 175 

applications as parties with whom they 

have entered into agreements under 

§ 1.2105(a)(2)(viii). Thus, applicants for 

any of the same geographic license areas 

must affirmatively avoid all discussions 

with each other that affect, or in their 

reasonable assessment have the 

potential to affect, bidding or bidding 

strategy. This prohibition begins at the 

short-form application filing deadline 

and ends at the down payment deadline 

after the auction. This prohibition 

applies to all applicants regardless of 

whether such applicants become 

qualified bidders or actually bid. For 

purposes of this prohibition, 

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

including all controlling interests in the 

entity submitting a short-form 

application to participate in the auction, 

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, and 

all officers and directors of that entity. 

14. Applicants for licenses in any of 

the same geographic license areas are 

encouraged not to use the same 

individual as an authorized bidder. A 

violation of the anti-collusion rule 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 the 

applicants he or she is authorized to 

represent in the auction. A violation 

could similarly occur if the authorized 

bidders are different individuals 

employed by the same organization 

(e.g., law firm or consulting firm). 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 the anti-collusion rule. However, 

the Bureau cautions that merely filing a 

certifying statement as part of an 

application will not outweigh specific 

evidence that collusive behavior has 

occurred, nor will it preclude the 

initiation of an investigation when 

warranted. 

15. The Commission’s anti-collusion 

rules allow applicants to form certain 

agreements during the auction, provided 

the applicants have not applied for 

licenses covering the same geographic 

areas. In addition, applicants that apply 

to bid for all markets will be precluded 

from communicating with all other 

applicants until after the down payment 

deadline. However, all applicants may 

enter into bidding agreements before 

filing their FCC Form 175, as long as 

they disclose the existence of the 

agreement(s) in their Form 175. If 

parties agree in principle on all material 

terms prior to the short-form filing 

deadline, those parties must be 

identified on the short-form application 

pursuant to § 1.2105(c), even if the 

agreement has not been reduced to 

writing. If the parties have not agreed in 

principle by the filing deadline, an 

applicant would not include the names 

of those parties on its application, and 

may not continue negotiations. By 

signing their FCC Form 175 short-form 

applications, applicants are certifying 

their compliance with § 1.2105(c). 

16. Section 1.65 of the Commission’s 

rules requires an applicant to maintain 

the accuracy and completeness of 

information furnished in its pending 

application and to notify the 

Commission within 30 days of any 

substantial change that may be of 

decisional significance to that 

application. Thus, § 1.65 requires 

auction applicants that engage in 

communications of bids or bidding 

strategies that result in a bidding 

agreement, arrangement or 

understanding not already identified on 

their short-form applications to 

promptly disclose any such agreement, 

arrangement or understanding to the 

Commission by amending their pending 

applications. In addition, § 1.2105(c)(6) 

requires all auction applicants to report 

prohibited discussions or disclosures 

regarding bids or bidding strategy to the 

Commission in writing immediately but 

in no case later than five business days 

after the communication occurs, even if 

the communication does not result in an 

agreement or understanding regarding 

bids or bidding strategy that must be 

reported under § 1.65. 

17. A summary listing of documents 

issued by the Commission and the 

Bureau addressing the application of the 

anti-collusion rules may be found in 

Attachment G of the Auction No. 58 

Procedures Public Notice. 

iii Due Diligence 

18. The FCC 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 an FCC licensee in this service, 

subject to certain conditions and 

regulations. An FCC auction does not 

constitute an endorsement by the FCC of 

any particular services, technologies or 

products, nor does an FCC license 

constitute a guarantee of business 

success. Applicants should perform 

their individual due diligence before 

proceeding as they would with any new 

business venture.

19. Applicants are reminded that 

private and common carrier fixed 

microwave services (‘‘FMS’’) operating 

in the 1850–1990 MHz band (and other 

bands) are being relocated to available 

frequencies in higher bands or to other 

media. Applicants should become 

familiar with the status of FMS 

operation and relocation, and applicable 

Commission rules and orders, in order 

to make a reasoned, appropriate 

decision about their participation in 

Auction No. 58 and their bidding 

strategy. 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 62887

20. 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 available in 

Auction No. 58. 

21. Applicants should also be aware 

that certain pending and future 

applications (including those for 

modification), petitions for rulemaking, 

requests for special temporary authority 

(‘‘STA’’), 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 No. 58. In addition, 

pending and future judicial proceedings 

may relate to particular applicants or 

incumbent licensees, or the licenses 

available in Auction No. 58. Applicants 

are responsible for assessing the 

likelihood of the various possible 

outcomes, and considering their 

potential impact on spectrum licenses 

available in this auction. 

22. Applicants should perform due 

diligence to identify and consider all 

proceedings that may affect the 

spectrum licenses being auctioned. We 

note that resolution of such matters 

could have an impact on the availability 

of spectrum for Auction No. 58. 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 time 

of the auction or by the time of license 

grant. 

23. Applicants may obtain 

information about licenses available in 

Auction No. 58 through the Bureau’s 

licensing databases on the World Wide 

Web at http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls. 

Applicants may query the database 

online and download a copy of their 

search results if desired. Detailed 

instructions on using License Search 

(including frequency searches and the 

GeoSearch capability) and downloading 

query results are available online by 

selecting the ‘‘?’’ button at the upper 

right-hand corner of the License Search 

screen. Applicants should direct 

questions regarding the search 

capabilities to the FCC Technical 

Support hotline at (202) 414–1250 

(voice) or (202) 414–1255 (TTY), or via 

e-mail at ulscomm@fcc.gov. 

24. 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 the database. 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to 

physically inspect any sites located in, 

or near, the service area(s) for which 

they plan to bid. 

iv. Bidder Alerts 

25. As is the case with many business 

investment opportunities, some 

unscrupulous entrepreneurs may 

attempt to use Auction No. 58 to 

deceive and defraud unsuspecting 

investors. Information about deceptive 

telemarketing investment schemes is 

available from the FTC at (202) 326–

2222 and from the SEC at (202) 942–

7040. Complaints about specific 

deceptive telemarketing investment 

schemes should be directed to the FTC, 

the SEC, or the National Fraud 

Information Center at (800) 876–7060. 

Consumers who have concerns about 

specific proposals regarding Auction 

No. 58 may also call the FCC Consumer 

Center at (888) CALL-FCC ((888) 225–

5322). 

v. National Environmental Policy Act 

Requirements 

26. Licensees must comply with the 

Commission’s rules regarding the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(‘‘NEPA’’). The construction of a 

wireless antenna facility is a federal 

action and the licensee must comply 

with the Commission’s NEPA rules for 

each such facility. 

C. Auction Specifics 

i. Auction Date 

27. The auction will begin on 

Wednesday, January 26, 2005. 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. Auction Title 

28. Auction No. 58—Broadband PCS. 

iii. Bidding Methodology 

29. The bidding methodology for 

Auction No. 58 will be simultaneous 

multiple round bidding. The 

Commission will conduct this auction 

over the Internet, and telephonic 

bidding will be available as well. As a 

contingency plan, bidders may also dial 

in to the FCC Wide Area Network. 

Qualified bidders are permitted to bid 

telephonically or electronically. 

iv. Pre-Auction Dates and Deadlines 

30. Listed are important dates 

associated with Auction No. 58: 

Auction Seminar—November 1, 2004. 

Short-Form Application (FCC Form 

175) Filing Window Opens—November 

16, 2004; 9 a.m. ET. 

Short-Form Application (FCC Form 

175) Filing Window Deadline—

November 30, 2004; 6 p.m. ET. 

Upfront Payments (via wire 

transfer)—December 29, 2004; 6 p.m. 

ET. 

Mock Auction—January 21, 2005. 

Auction Begins—January 26, 2005. 

v. Requirements for Participation 

31. Those wishing to participate in 

the auction must: 

• Submit a short-form application 

(FCC Form 175) electronically by 6 p.m. 

ET, November 30, 2004. 

• Submit a sufficient upfront 

payment and an FCC Remittance Advice 

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

December 29, 2004. 

• Comply with all provisions 

outlined in the Auction No. 58 

Procedures Public Notice and applicable 

Commission rules.

vi. Any Filings Related to Auction No. 

58 

32. An electronic copy of any filings 

that are submitted to the Commission 

related to Auction No. 58, including 

filings made with the Commission’s 

Office of the Secretary, should also be 

submitted by electronic mail to the 

following address: auction58@fcc.gov.

vii. General Contact Information 

33. The following is a list of general 

contact information relating to Auction 

58.

General Auction Information: General 

Auction Questions, Seminar 

Registration 

FCC Auctions Hotline, (888) 225–

5322, Press Option #2, or direct 

(717) 338–2888, Hours of service: 8 

a.m.—5:30 p.m. ET, Monday 

through Friday. Auction Legal 

Information: 

Auction Rules, Policies, Regulations 

Auctions and Spectrum Access 

Division, (202) 418–0660. 

Licensing Information: Rules, Policies, 

Regulations, Licensing Issues, Due 

Diligence, Incumbency Issues 

Mobility Division, (202) 418–0620. 

62888 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 

Technical Support: Electronic Filing, 

FCC Automated Auction System 

FCC Auctions Technical Support 

Hotline, (202) 414–1250, (202) 414–

1255 (TTY), Hours of service: 8 

a.m.—6 p.m. ET, Monday through 

Friday. 

Payment Information: Wire Transfers, 

Refunds 

FCC Auctions Accounting Branch, 

(202) 418–0578, (202) 418–2843 

(Fax). 

Telephonic Bidding: 

Will be furnished only to qualified 

bidders. 

Press Information: 

Lauren Patrich (202) 418–7944. 

FCC Forms: 

(800) 418–3676 (outside Washington, 

DC), (202) 418–3676 (in the 

Washington Area), http://

www.fcc.gov/formpage.html.

FCC Internet Sites: 

http://www.fcc.gov, http://

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

wireless.fcc.gov/uls.

II. Short-Form (FCC Form 175) 

Application Requirements 

34. Guidelines for completion of the 

short-form (FCC Form 175) are set forth 

in Attachment D of the Auction No. 58 

Procedures Public Notice. All applicants 

must certify on their FCC Form 175 

applicants under penalty of perjury that 

they are legally, technically, financially 

and otherwise qualified to hold a 

license. 

A. Ownership Disclosure Requirements 

(FCC Form 175 Exhibit A) 

35. All applicants must comply with 

the uniform Part 1 ownership disclosure 

standards and provide information 

required by §§ 1.2105 and 1.2112 of the 

Commission’s rules. Specifically, in 

completing FCC Form 175, applicants 

will be required to file an ‘‘Exhibit A’’

providing a full and complete statement 

of the ownership of the bidding entity. 

The ownership disclosure standards for 

the short-form are set forth in § 1.2112 

of the Commission’s rules. 

B. Consortia and Joint Bidding 

Arrangements (FCC Form 175 Exhibit B) 

36. Applicants will be required to 

identify on their short-form applications 

any parties with whom they have 

entered into any consortium 

arrangements, joint ventures, 

partnerships or other agreements or 

understandings that relate in any way to 

the licenses being auctioned, including 

any agreements relating to post-auction 

market structure. Applicants will also 

be required to certify on their short-form 

applications that they have not entered 

into any explicit or implicit agreements, 

arrangements or understandings of any 

kind with any parties, other than those 

identified, regarding the amount of their 

bids, bidding strategies, or the particular 

licenses on which they will or will not 

bid. 

37. A party holding a non-controlling, 

attributable interest in one applicant 

will be permitted to acquire an 

ownership interest in, form a 

consortium with, or enter into a joint 

bidding arrangement with other 

applicants for licenses in the same 

geographic license area provided that (i) 

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 formed a consortium or 

entered into a joint bidding 

arrangement; and (ii) the arrangements 

do not result in a change in control of 

any of the applicants. While the anticollusion rules do not prohibit nonauction related business negotiations 

among auction applicants, applicants 

are reminded that certain discussions or 

exchanges could touch upon 

impermissible subject matters because 

they may convey pricing information 

and bidding strategies. 

C. Eligibility 

i. Eligibility for Closed Bidding (FCC 

Form 175 Exhibit C) 

38. In order to be eligible to bid for 

one or more closed C block licenses, an 

applicant must demonstrate that it 

meets the eligibility requirements of 

§ 24.709(a) of the Commission’s rules. 

47 CFR 24.709(a). Specifically, as of the 

FCC Form 175 filing deadline, the 

applicant, together with its affiliates and 

persons or entities that hold interests in 

the applicant and their affiliates, must 

have combined total assets of less than 

$500 million and must have had 

combined gross revenues of less than 

$125 million in each of the last two 

years. Id. Applicants should make this 

showing in ‘‘Exhibit C’’ to the FCC Form 

175. 

39. The majority of comments filed in 

response to the Auction No. 58 

Comment Public Notice address the 

eligibility restrictions placed on the C 

block licenses, referred to as set-aside 

licenses, reserved to only entities that 

qualify as entrepreneurs. Some parties 

advocate a change in the current rules 

to allow all entities to bid on the setaside licenses. On the other hand, a 

number of commenters oppose any 

change to the eligibility structure, and at 

least one party advocates a change in 

the current structure to increase the 

number of licenses limited to 

entrepreneurs. The requests made in 

comments filed to the Auction No. 58 

Comment Public Notice to change the 

eligibility rules are beyond the scope of 

this public notice regarding the 

procedures for Auction No. 58. As noted 

above, the eligibility issue was also 

raised in a petition for rulemaking and 

a request for waiver filed by CTIA, and 

in the Verizon Wireless petition for 

reconsideration. Those petitions have 

been addressed separately. 

40. Included in its Auction No. 58 

comments, another commenter also 

seeks a waiver of the Commission’s 

rules to extend the expired entrepreneur 

eligibility provisions of § 24.709(a)(5)(i) 

to allow it and other entities to 

participate in closed bidding in Auction 

No. 58. This matter has also been 

addressed separately. 

ii. Bidding Credit Eligibility (FCC Form 

175 Exhibit D) 

41. Bidding credits are available to 

small and very small businesses, or 

consortia thereof, (as defined in 47 CFR 

24.720(b)) that win C and F block 

licenses in open bidding. A bidding 

credit represents the amount by which 

a bidder’s winning bids are discounted. 

The size of the bidding credit depends 

on the average of the aggregated annual 

gross revenues for each of the preceding 

three years of the bidder, its affiliates, 

its controlling interests, and the 

affiliates of its controlling interests.

42. For Auction No. 58, bidding 

credits will be available to small 

businesses or consortia thereof, as 

follows: 

• A bidder with attributable average 

annual gross revenues of not more than 

$40 million for the preceding three 

years (‘‘small business’’) will receive a 

15 percent discount on its winning bids 

for C and F block licenses; 

• A bidder with attributable average 

annual gross revenues of not more than 

$15 million for the preceding three 

years (‘‘very small business’’) will 

receive a 25 percent discount on its 

winning bids for C and F block licenses. 

43. Small business bidding credits are 

not cumulative; a qualifying applicant 

receives the 15 percent or 25 percent 

bidding credit on its winning bid, but 

only one credit per license. No small 

and very small business bidding credits 

are provided for licenses in the A, E and 

D blocks or C block licenses available 

only to entrepreneurs in closed bidding. 

44. To encourage the growth of 

wireless services in federally recognized 

tribal lands the Commission has 

implemented a tribal land bidding 

credit. See section V.E. of the Auction 

No. 58 Procedures Public Notice.

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 62889

iii. Applicability of Part 1 Attribution 

Rules 

45. Controlling interest standard. On 

August 14, 2000, the Commission 

released the Part 1 Fifth Report and 

Order, 65 FR 52323, August 29, 2000, in 

which the Commission, inter alia,

adopted a ‘‘controlling interest’’

standard for attributing to auction 

applicants the total assets and/or gross 

revenues of their investors and affiliates 

in determining entrepreneur and small 

business eligibility for future C and F 

block auctions. The Commission 

observed that the rule modifications 

adopted in the various Part 1 orders 

would result in discrepancies and/or 

redundancies between certain of the 

new Part 1 rules and existing servicespecific rules, and the Commission 

delegated to the Bureau the authority to 

make conforming edits to the Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR) consistent 

with the rules adopted in the Part 1 

proceeding. More recently, the 

Commission made further modifications 

to its rules governing the attribution of 

gross revenues for purposes of 

determining small business eligibility. 

These changes included exempting the 

gross revenues of the affiliates of a rural 

telephone cooperative’s officers and 

directors from attribution to the 

applicant if certain specified conditions 

are met. The Commission also clarified 

that in calculating an applicant’s gross 

revenues under the controlling interest 

standard, the personal net worth, 

including personal income, of its 

officers and directors will not be 

attributed to the applicant. 

46. The Commission will thoroughly 

review the information provided in 

applicants’ FCC Form 175 in 

determining eligibility for designated 

entity status. Eligibility for small 

business preferences will be determined 

based on the attribution rules in effect 

at the short-form application deadline. 

Accordingly, the ‘‘controlling interest’’

standard, as recently modified, and the 

Part 1 rules that superseded inconsistent 

service-specific rules, will apply in 

Auction No. 58. 

47. ‘‘Control’’ for purposes of 

controlling interest standard. The term 

‘‘control’’ includes both de facto and de 

jure control of the applicant. Typically, 

ownership of at least 50.1 percent of an 

entity’s voting stock indicates de jure

control. De facto control is determined 

on a case-by-case basis. The following 

are some common indicia of de facto

control: 

• The entity constitutes or appoints 

more than 50 percent of the board of 

directors or management committee; 

• The entity has authority to appoint, 

promote, demote, and fire senior 

executives that control the day to-day 

activities of the licensee; or 

• The entity plays an integral role in 

management decisions. 

48. Attribution for entrepreneur 

eligibility. For purposes of determining 

which entities qualify as entrepreneurs 

for closed bidding, the Commission will 

consider the total assets and gross 

revenues of the applicant, its controlling 

interest holders, the affiliates of the 

applicant, and their controlling interest 

holders. The Commission does not 

impose specific equity requirements on 

parties with controlling interests. Once 

principals or entities with a controlling 

interest are determined, only the assets 

and revenues of those principals or 

entities, the applicant, and their 

affiliates will be counted in determining 

entrepreneur eligibility. Applicants for 

closed bidding in Auction No. 58 

should not include existing C and F 

block licenses in their calculations of 

total assets; however, all other 

Commission licenses must be included 

in such calculations. 

49. Attribution for small business and 

very small business eligibility. Similarly, 

in determining which entities qualify as 

small businesses or very small 

businesses, the Commission will 

consider the gross revenues of the 

applicant, its affiliates, its controlling 

interests, and the affiliates of its 

controlling interests. The Commission 

does not impose specific equity 

requirements on controlling interest 

holders. Once the principals or entities 

with a controlling interest are 

determined, only the revenues of those 

principals or entities, the affiliates of 

those principals or entities, and the 

applicant and its affiliates, will be 

counted in determining small business 

eligibility. 

50. A consortium of small businesses 

or very small businesses is a 

‘‘conglomerate organization formed as a 

joint venture between or among 

mutually independent business firms,’’

each of which individually must satisfy 

one of the definitions of small business 

or very small business in § 24.720(b) of 

the Commission’s rules. 

iv. Supporting Documentation 

51. Applicants should note that they 

will be required to file supporting 

documentation to their FCC Form 175 

short-form applications to establish that 

they satisfy the eligibility requirements 

to qualify as entrepreneurs and/or small 

business or very small business (or 

consortia of small businesses or very 

small businesses) for this auction. 

52. Applicants should further note 

that submission of an FCC Form 175 

application constitutes a representation 

by the certifying official that he or she 

is an authorized representative of the 

applicant, has read the form’s 

instructions and certifications, and that 

the contents of the application and its 

attachments are true and correct. 

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. 

53. Entrepreneur eligibility (Exhibit 

C). Entities applying to bid on closed 

licenses will be required to disclose on 

Exhibit C to their FCC Form 175 shortform applications, separately and in the 

aggregate, the gross revenues for the 

preceding two years and the total assets 

of each of the following: (i) The 

applicant, (ii) the applicant’s affiliates, 

(iii) the applicant’s controlling interest 

holders, and (iv) the affiliates of the 

applicant’s controlling interest holders. 

Certification that the gross revenues for 

each of the preceding two years or the 

total assets do not exceed the applicable 

limit is not sufficient. The applicant 

must provide separately for itself, its 

affiliates, its controlling interest holders, 

and their affiliates a schedule of gross 

revenues for each of the preceding two 

years. 

54. Small business or very small 

business eligibility (Exhibit D). Entities 

applying to bid as small businesses or 

very small businesses (or consortia of 

small businesses or very small 

businesses) will be required to disclose 

on Exhibit D to their FCC Form 175 

short-form applications, separately and 

in the aggregate, the gross revenues for 

the preceding three years of each of the 

following: (i) The applicant, (ii) its 

affiliates, (iii) its controlling interests, 

and (iv) the affiliates of its controlling 

interests. Certification that the average 

annual gross revenues for the preceding 

three years do not exceed the applicable 

limit is not sufficient. A statement of the 

total gross revenues for the preceding 

three years is also insufficient. The 

applicant must provide separately for 

itself, its affiliates, its controlling 

interests, and the affiliates of its 

controlling interests, a schedule of gross 

revenues for each of the preceding three 

years, as well as a statement of total 

average gross revenues for the three-year 

period. If the applicant is applying as a 

consortium of small businesses or very 

small businesses, this information must 

be provided for each consortium 

member. 

62890 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 

D. Provisions Regarding Defaulters and 

Former Defaulters (FCC Form 175 

Exhibit E) 

55. Each applicant must certify on its 

FCC Form 175 application under 

penalty of perjury that the applicant, its 

controlling interests, its affiliates, and 

the affiliates of its controlling interests, 

as defined by § 1.2110, are not in default 

on any payment for Commission 

licenses (including down payments) and 

not delinquent on any non-tax debt 

owed to any Federal agency. In 

addition, each applicant must attach to 

its FCC Form 175 application a 

statement made under penalty of 

perjury indicating whether or not the 

applicant, its affiliates, its controlling 

interests, or the affiliates of its 

controlling interests, as defined by 

§ 1.2110, have ever been in default on 

any Commission licenses or have ever 

been delinquent on any non-tax debt 

owed to any Federal agency. Applicants 

must include this statement as Exhibit 

E to the FCC Form 175. 

56. ‘‘Former defaulters’’—i.e., 

applicants, including their attributable 

interest holders, that in the past have 

defaulted on any Commission licenses 

or been delinquent on any non-tax debt 

owed to any Federal agency, but that 

have since remedied all such defaults 

and cured all of their outstanding nontax delinquencies—are eligible to bid in 

Auction No. 58, provided that they are 

otherwise qualified. However, as 

discussed infra in section III.D.iii, 

former defaulters are required to pay 

upfront payments that are fifty percent 

more than the normal upfront payment 

amounts.

E. Transfer and Assignment Restrictions 

on Licenses Won in Closed Bidding 

57. Licenses won in closed bidding 

generally may be transferred or assigned 

only to an entity that meets the 

entrepreneur financial caps or that 

holds another C or F block license that 

it acquired while meeting the 

entrepreneur financial caps. This 

restriction ends five years after the date 

of the initial license grant or upon 

notification by the licensee that it has 

satisfied its five-year construction 

requirement under 47 CFR 24.203(c), 

whichever comes first. Licenses won in 

open bidding are not subject to this 

restriction and may be transferred or 

assigned any time after grant to any 

qualified entity, subject to Commission 

consent. 

F. Unjust Enrichment Payments 

58. C or F block licensees that use a 

small or very small business bidding 

credit, and during the first five years of 

their license term seek to assign or 

transfer control of a license to an entity 

that does not meet the eligibility criteria 

for a small or very small business 

bidding credit, or that is eligible for a 

lower bidding credit, will have to 

reimburse the U.S. Government for a 

percentage of the amount of the bidding 

credit, plus interest. 

G. Installment Payments 

59. Installment payment plans will 

not be available in Auction No. 58. 

H. Other Information (FCC Form 175 

Exhibits F and G) 

60. Applicants owned by minorities 

or women, as defined in 47 CFR 

1.2110(c)(2), may attach an exhibit 

(Exhibit F) regarding this status. This 

applicant status information is collected 

for statistical purposes only and assists 

the Commission in monitoring the 

participation of ‘‘designated entities’’ in 

its auctions. Applicants wishing to 

submit additional information may do 

so on Exhibit G. 

J. Minor Modifications to Short-Form 

Applications (FCC Form 175) 

61. After the short-form filing 

deadline (6 p.m. ET November 30, 

2004), applicants may make only minor 

changes to their FCC Form 175 

applications. Applicants will not be 

permitted to make major modifications 

to their applications (e.g., change their 

license selections, change the certifying 

official, change control of the applicant, 

or change bidding credits). See 47 CFR 

1.2105. Permissible minor changes 

include, for example, deletion and 

addition of authorized bidders (to a 

maximum of three) and revision of 

exhibits. Applicants should make these 

modifications to their FCC Form 175 

electronically and submit a letter, 

briefly summarizing the changes, by 

electronic mail to the attention of 

Margaret Wiener, Chief, Auctions and 

Spectrum Access Division, at the 

following address: auction58@fcc.gov. 

The electronic mail summarizing the 

changes must include a subject or 

caption referring to Auction No. 58. The 

Bureau requests that parties format any 

attachments to electronic mail as 

Adobe Acrobat (pdf) or Microsoft

Word documents. 

K. Maintaining Current Information in 

Short-Form Applications (FCC Form 

175) 

62. Section 1.65 of the Commission’s 

rules requires an applicant to maintain 

the accuracy and completeness of 

information furnished in its pending 

application and to notify the 

Commission within 30 days of any 

substantial change that may be of 

decisional significance to that 

application. Amendments reporting 

substantial changes of possible 

decisional significance in information 

contained in FCC Form 175 

applications, as defined by 47 CFR 

1.2105(b)(2), will not be accepted and 

may in some instances result in the 

dismissal of the FCC Form 175 

application. An electronic copy of any 

filings that are submitted to the 

Commission related to Auction No. 58, 

including filings made with the 

Commission’s Office of the Secretary, 

should also be submitted by electronic 

mail to the following address: 

auctions58@fcc.gov. 

III. Pre-Auction Procedures 

A. Auction Seminar 

63. On Monday, November 1, 2004, 

the FCC will sponsor a seminar for 

Auction No. 58 at the Federal 

Communications Commission, located 

at 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, 

DC. The seminar will provide attendees 

with information about pre-auction 

procedures, auction conduct, the FCC 

Automated Auction System, auction 

rules, and the broadband PCS rules. 

64. For individuals who are unable to 

attend, Audio/Video of this seminar will 

be Web cast live from the FCC’s Audio/

Video Events page at http://

www.fcc.gov/realaudio/. A recording of 

the Web cast will also be available for 

playback from the FCC’s A/V Archives 

Page following the meeting. 

B. Short-Form Application (FCC Form 

175)—Due November 30, 2004 

65. In order to be eligible to bid in this 

auction, applicants must first submit an 

FCC Form 175 application. This 

application must be submitted 

electronically and received at the 

Commission no later than 6 p.m. ET on 

November 30, 2004. Late applications 

will not be accepted. 

66. There is no application fee 

required when filing an FCC Form 175. 

However, to be eligible to bid, an 

applicant must submit an upfront 

payment. See section III.D. 

i. Electronic Filing 

67. Applicants must file their FCC 

Form 175 applications electronically. 

Applications may generally be filed at 

any time beginning at 9 a.m. ET on 

November 16, 2004, until 6 p.m. ET on 

November 30, 2004. Applicants are 

strongly encouraged to file early and are 

responsible for allowing adequate time 

for filing their applications. Applicants 

may update or amend their electronic 

applications multiple times until the 

filing deadline on November 30, 2004. 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 62891

68. Applicants must press the 

‘‘SUBMIT Application’’ button on the 

‘‘Submission’’ page of the electronic 

form to successfully submit their FCC 

Form 175s. Any form that is not 

submitted will not be reviewed by the 

FCC. Information about accessing the 

FCC Form 175 is included in 

Attachment C of the Auction No. 58 

Procedures Public Notice. Technical 

support is available at (202) 414–1250 

(voice) or (202) 414–1255 (text 

telephone (TTY)); hours of service are 

Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 

6 p.m. ET. In order to provide better 

service to the public, all calls to the 

hotline are recorded. 

ii. Completion of the FCC Form 175 

69. Applicants should carefully 

review 47 CFR 1.2105, and must 

complete all items on the FCC Form 

175. Instructions for completing the FCC 

Form 175 are in Attachment D of the 

Auction No. 58 Procedures Public 

Notice. 

iii. Electronic Review of FCC Form 175 

70. The FCC Form 175 electronic 

review system may be used to locate 

and print applicants’ FCC Form 175 

information. There is no fee for 

accessing this system. See Attachment C 

of the Auction No. 58 Procedures Public 

Notice for details on accessing the 

review system. 

71. Applicants may also view other 

applicants’ completed FCC Form 175s 

after the filing deadline has passed and 

the FCC has issued a public notice 

explaining the status of the applications.

Note: Applicants should not include 

sensitive information (i.e., TIN/EIN) on any 

exhibits to their FCC Form 175 applications.

C. Application Processing and Minor 

Corrections 

72. After the deadline for filing the 

FCC Form 175 applications has passed, 

the FCC will process all timely 

submitted applications to determine 

which are acceptable for filing, and 

subsequently will issue a public notice 

identifying: (i) Those applications 

accepted for filing; (ii) those 

applications rejected; and (iii) those 

applications which have minor defects 

that may be corrected, and the deadline 

for filing such corrected applications.

D. Upfront Payments—Due December 

29, 2004 

73. In order to be eligible to bid in the 

auction, applicants must submit an 

upfront payment accompanied by an 

FCC Remittance Advice Form (FCC 

Form 159). After completing the FCC 

Form 175, filers will have access to an 

electronic version of the FCC Form 159 

that can be printed and faxed to Mellon 

Bank in Pittsburgh, PA. All upfront 

payments must be received at Mellon 

Bank by 6 p.m. ET on December 29, 

2004. Failure to deliver the upfront 

payment by the December 29, 2004, 

deadline will result in dismissal of the 

application and disqualification from 

participation in the auction. 

i. Making Auction Payments by Wire 

Transfer 

74. Wire transfer payments must be 

received by 6 p.m. ET on December 29, 

2004. To avoid untimely payments, 

applicants should discuss arrangements 

(including bank closing schedules) with 

their banker 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. 

75. Applicants must fax a completed 

FCC Form 159 (Revised 2/03) to Mellon 

Bank at (412) 209–6045 at least one hour 

before placing the order for the wire 

transfer (but on the same business day). 

On the cover sheet of the fax, write 

‘‘Wire Transfer—Auction Payment for 

Auction Event No. 58.’’ In order to meet 

the Commission’s upfront payment 

deadline, an applicant’s payment must 

be credited to the Commission’s account 

by the deadline. Applicants are 

responsible for obtaining confirmation 

from their financial institution that 

Mellon Bank has timely received their 

upfront payment and deposited it in the 

proper account. 

ii. Amount of Upfront Payment 

76. In the Part 1 Order, 62 FR 13540 

(March 21, 1997), the Commission 

delegated to the Bureau the authority 

and discretion to determine appropriate 

upfront payment(s) for each auction. In 

addition, in the Part 1 Fifth Report and 

Order, the Commission ordered that 

‘‘former defaulters,’’ i.e., applicants that 

have ever been in default on any 

Commission license or have ever been 

delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to 

any Federal agency, be required to 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 § 1.2110 of the 

Commission’s rules (as amended in the 

Part 1 Fifth Report and Order). 

77. The amount of the upfront 

payment will determine the number of 

bidding units on which a bidder may 

place bids. In order to bid on a license, 

otherwise qualified bidders that applied 

for that license on Form 175 must have 

an 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 

applied for on Form 175, or else the 

applicant will not be eligible to 

participate in the auction. An applicant 

does not have to make an upfront 

payment to cover all licenses for which 

the applicant has applied on Form 175, 

but rather to cover the maximum 

number of bidding units that are 

associated with licenses on which the 

bidder wishes to place bids and hold 

high bids at any given time. 

78. For Auction No. 58 the 

Commission adopts upfront payments 

on a license-by-license basis using a 

formula based on bandwidth and 

license area population: $0.05 * MHz * 

License Area Population. 

79. The specific upfront payments 

and bidding units for each license are 

set forth in Attachment A of the Auction 

No. 58 Procedures Public Notice.

80. In calculating its upfront payment 

amount, an applicant should determine 

the maximum number of bidding units 

on which it may wish to be active 

(bidding units associated with licenses 

on which the bidder has the standing 

high bid from the previous round and 

licenses on which the bidder places a 

bid in the current round) in any single 

round, and submit an upfront payment 

covering that number of bidding units. 

In order to make this calculation, an 

applicant should add together the 

upfront payments for all licenses on 

which it seeks to bid in any given 

round. Applicants should check their 

calculations carefully, as there is no 

provision for increasing a bidder’s 

maximum eligibility after the upfront 

payment deadline. 

81. Former defaulters should calculate 

their upfront payment for all licenses by 

multiplying the number of bidding units 

they wish to purchase 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. 

iii. Applicant’s Wire Transfer 

Information for Purposes of Refunds of 

Upfront Payments 

82. The Commission will use wire 

transfers for all Auction No. 58 refunds. 

To ensure that refunds of upfront 

payments are processed in an 

expeditious manner, the Commission is 

requesting that all pertinent information 

as listed be supplied to the FCC. 

Applicants can provide the information 

electronically during the initial shortform filing window after the form has 

62892 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 

been submitted. Wire Transfer 

Instructions can also be manually faxed 

to the FCC, Financial Operations Center, 

Auctions Accounting Group, ATTN: 

Gail Glasser, at (202) 418–2843 by 

December 29, 2004. 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. 

E. Auction Registration 

83. Approximately ten days before the 

auction, the FCC will issue a public 

notice announcing all qualified bidders 

for the auction. Qualified bidders are 

those applicants whose FCC Form 175 

applications have been accepted for 

filing and have timely submitted 

upfront payments sufficient to make 

them eligible to bid on at least one of 

the licenses for which they applied. 

84. All qualified bidders are 

automatically registered for the auction. 

Registration materials will be 

distributed prior to the auction by two 

separate overnight mailings, one 

containing the confidential bidder 

identification number (BIN) and the 

other containing the SecurID cards, both 

of which are required to place bids. 

These mailings will be sent only to the 

contact person at the contact address 

listed in the FCC Form 175. 

85. Qualified bidders that do not 

receive both registration mailings will 

not be able to submit bids. Therefore, 

any qualified bidder that has not 

received both mailings by noon on 

Wednesday, January 5, 2005, should 

contact the Auctions Hotline at (717) 

338–2888. Receipt of both registration 

mailings is critical to participating in 

the auction, and each qualified bidder is 

responsible for ensuring it has received 

all of the registration material. 

86. Qualified bidders should note that 

lost bidder identification numbers or 

SecurID cards can be replaced only by 

appearing in person at the FCC 

headquarters, located at 445 12th St., 

SW., Washington, DC 20554. Only an 

authorized representative or certifying 

official, as designated on an applicant’s 

FCC Form 175, may appear in person 

with two forms of identification (one of 

which must be a photo identification) in 

order to receive replacements. Qualified 

bidders requiring replacements must 

call technical support prior to arriving 

at the FCC.

F. Remote Electronic Bidding 

87. The Commission will conduct this 

auction over the Internet, and 

telephonic bidding will be available as 

well. As a contingency plan, bidders 

may also dial in to the FCC Wide Area 

Network. Qualified bidders are 

permitted to bid telephonically or 

electronically. Each applicant should 

indicate its bidding preference—

electronic or telephonic—on the FCC 

Form 175. In either case, each 

authorized bidder must have its own 

SecurID card, which the FCC will 

provide at no charge. Each applicant 

with one authorized bidder will be 

issued two SecurID cards, while 

applicants with two or three authorized 

bidders will be issued three cards. For 

security purposes, the SecurID cards 

and the FCC Automated Auction System 

user manual are only mailed to the 

contact person at the contact address 

listed on the FCC Form 175. Please note 

that each SecurID card is tailored to a 

specific auction; therefore, SecurID 

cards issued for other auctions or 

obtained from a source other than the 

FCC will not work for Auction No. 58. 

The telephonic bidding phone number 

will be supplied in the first overnight 

mailing, which also includes the 

confidential bidder identification 

number. 

G. Mock Auction 

88. All qualified bidders will be 

eligible to participate in a mock auction 

on Friday, January 21, 2005. The mock 

auction will enable applicants to 

become familiar with the FCC 

Automated Auction System prior to the 

auction. Participation by all bidders is 

strongly recommended. 

IV. Auction Event 

89. The first round of bidding for 

Auction No. 58 will begin on 

Wednesday, January 26, 2005. The 

initial bidding schedule will be 

announced in a public notice listing the 

qualified bidders, which is released 

approximately 10 days before the start 

of the auction. 

A. Auction Structure 

i. Simultaneous Multiple Round 

Auction 

90. The Bureau will award all licenses 

in Auction No. 58 in a simultaneous 

multiple round auction. The Bureau 

concludes that it is operationally 

feasible and appropriate to auction the 

PCS licenses through a simultaneous 

multiple round auction. Unless 

otherwise announced, bids will be 

accepted on all licenses in each round 

of the auction. This approach, we 

believe, allows bidders to take 

advantage of synergies that exist among 

licenses and is administratively 

efficient. 

ii. Maximum Eligibility and Activity 

Rules 

91. The amount of the upfront 

payment submitted by a bidder would 

determine the initial (maximum) 

eligibility (as measured in bidding 

units) for each bidder. 

92. Note again that each license is 

assigned a specific number of bidding 

units equal to the upfront payment 

listed in Attachment A of the Auction 

No. 58 Procedures Public Notice on a 

bidding unit per dollar basis. The total 

upfront payment defines the maximum 

number of bidding units on which the 

applicant will be permitted to bid and 

hold high bids in a round. As there is 

no provision for increasing a bidder’s 

eligibility after the upfront payment 

deadline, applicants are cautioned to 

calculate their upfront payments 

carefully. The total upfront payment 

does not affect the total dollar amount 

a bidder may bid on any given license. 

93. In order to ensure that the 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. 

94. A bidder’s activity level in a 

round is the sum of the bidding units 

associated with licenses on which the 

bidder is active. A bidder is considered 

active on a license in the current round 

if it is either the high bidder at the end 

of the previous bidding round and does 

not withdraw the high bid in the current 

round, or if it submits a bid in the 

current round (see ‘‘Minimum 

Acceptable Bids and Bid Increments’’ in 

section IV.B.iii). The minimum required 

activity is expressed as a percentage of 

the bidder’s current bidding eligibility, 

and increases by stage as the auction 

progresses. Because these procedures 

have proven successful in maintaining 

the pace of previous auctions (as set 

forth under ‘‘Auction Stages’’ in section 

IV.A.iii and ‘‘Stage Transitions’’ in 

section IV.A.iv), we adopt them for 

Auction No. 58. 

iii. Auction Stages 

95. The Commission will conduct the 

auction in two stages and employ an 

activity rule. In each round of Stage 

One, a bidder desiring to maintain its 

current eligibility would be required to 

be active on licenses encompassing at 

least 80 percent of its current bidding 

eligibility. Finally, in each round of 

Stage Two, a bidder desiring to maintain 

its current eligibility would be required 

to be active on at least 95 percent of its 

current bidding eligibility.

96. The Bureau reserves the discretion 

to further alter the activity requirements 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 62893

before and/or during the auction. We 

also note that the Bureau has other 

mechanisms by which it may influence 

the speed of an auction. When 

determining the bidding schedule, the 

Bureau takes into consideration the 

desirability of concluding the auction 

reasonably swiftly, and the Bureau also 

attempts to ensure that bidders have 

sufficient time for placing bids during 

rounds and for analysis between rounds. 

For Auction No. 58, the Bureau has 

already taken steps to adjust bid 

increments in a manner that should 

help speed the auction: the Bureau has 

proposed a maximum percentage 

increment of 0.3 (30%). This relatively 

high maximum percentage increment 

will allow licenses for which there is 

greater demand—i.e., those receiving 

many bids—to rise in price faster than 

if a lower maximum percentage 

increment were used. Additionally, the 

minimum opening bids adopted by the 

Bureau should help to avoid a 

protracted auction. 

97. The Commission adopts its 

proposals for the activity rules and 

stages. Listed are the activity levels for 

each stage of the auction. The Bureau 

reserves the discretion to further alter 

the activity percentages before and/or 

during the auction. 

Stage One: During the first stage of the 

auction, a bidder desiring to maintain 

its current eligibility will be required to 

be active on licenses encompassing at 

least 80 percent of its current bidding 

eligibility in each bidding round. 

Failure to maintain the required activity 

level will result in a reduction in the 

bidder’s bidding eligibility in the next 

round of bidding (unless an activity rule 

waiver is used). During Stage One, 

reduced eligibility for the next round 

will be calculated by multiplying the 

bidder’s current activity (the sum of 

bidding units of the bidder’s standing 

high bids and bids during the current 

round) by five-fourths (5/4). 

Stage Two: During the second stage of 

the auction, a bidder desiring to 

maintain its current eligibility is 

required to be active on 95 percent of its 

current bidding eligibility. Failure to 

maintain the required activity level will 

result in a reduction in the bidder’s 

bidding eligibility in the next round of 

bidding (unless an activity rule waiver 

is used). During Stage Two, reduced 

eligibility for the next round will be 

calculated by multiplying the bidder’s 

current activity (the sum of bidding 

units of the bidder’s standing high bids 

and bids during the current round) by 

twenty-nineteenths (20/19). 

Caution: Since activity requirements 

increase in each auction stage, bidders 

must carefully check their current 

activity during the bidding period of the 

first round following a stage transition. 

This is especially critical for bidders 

that have standing high 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 using the bidding 

system’s bidding module. 

98. Because the foregoing procedures 

have proven successful in maintaining 

proper pace in previous auctions, we 

adopt them for Auction No. 58. 

iv. Stage Transitions 

99. The auction will generally 

advance to the next stage (i.e., from 

Stage One to Stage Two) when the 

auction activity level, as measured by 

the percentage of bidding units 

receiving new high bids, is below 20 

percent for three consecutive rounds of 

bidding in each Stage. The Bureau will 

retain the discretion to change stages 

unilaterally by announcement during 

the auction. 

100. Thus, the Bureau will retain the 

discretion to regulate the pace of the 

auction by announcement. This 

determination will be based on a variety 

of measures of bidder activity, 

including, but not limited to, the 

auction activity level, the percentages of 

licenses (as measured in bidding units) 

on which there are new bids, the 

number of new bids, and the percentage 

increase in revenue. The Commission 

believes that these stage transition rules 

are appropriate for use in Auction No. 

58. 

v. Activity Rule Waivers and Reducing 

Eligibility 

101. Each bidder in the auction will 

be provided three activity rule waivers 

that may be used in any round during 

the course of the auction. Use of an 

activity rule waiver preserves the 

bidder’s current bidding eligibility 

despite the bidder’s activity in the 

current round being below the required 

level. An activity rule waiver applies to 

an entire round of bidding and not to a 

particular license. 

102. The FCC Automated Auction 

System assumes that bidders with 

insufficient activity would prefer to use 

an activity rule waiver (if available) 

rather than lose bidding eligibility. 

Therefore, the system will automatically 

apply a waiver (known as an ‘‘automatic 

waiver’’) at the end of any round where 

a bidder’s activity level is below the 

minimum required unless: (i) There are 

no activity rule waivers available; or (ii) 

the bidder overrides the automatic 

application of a waiver by reducing 

eligibility, thereby meeting the 

minimum requirements. If a bidder has 

no waivers remaining and does not 

satisfy the required activity level, the 

current eligibility will be permanently 

reduced, possibly eliminating the bidder 

from further bidding in the auction. 

103. 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 round by using the reduce eligibility 

function in the bidding system. In this 

case, the bidder’s eligibility is 

permanently reduced to bring the bidder 

into compliance with the activity rules 

as described in ‘‘Auction Stages’’ (see

section IV.A.iii discussion). Once 

eligibility has been reduced, a bidder 

will not be permitted to regain its lost 

bidding eligibility. 

104. Finally, a bidder may proactively 

use an activity rule waiver as a means 

to keep the auction open without 

placing a bid. If a bidder submits a 

proactive waiver (using the proactive 

waiver function in the FCC Automated 

Auction System) during a round in 

which no bids are submitted, the 

auction will remain open and the 

bidder’s eligibility will be preserved. 

However, an automatic waiver triggered 

during a round in which there are no 

new bids or withdrawals will not keep 

the auction open.

Note: Once a proactive waiver is submitted 

during a round, that waiver cannot be 

unsubmitted.

vi. Auction Stopping Rules 

105. For Auction No. 58, the Bureau 

will employ a simultaneous stopping 

rule, and retain discretion to invoke a 

modified version of the stopping rule. 

The modified version of the stopping 

rule would close the auction for all 

licenses after the first round in which 

no bidder submits a proactive waiver, a 

withdrawal, or a new bid on any license 

on which it is not the standing high 

bidder. 

106. In addition, the Bureau reserves 

the right to declare that the auction will 

end after a designated number of 

additional rounds (‘‘special stopping 

rule’’). If the Bureau invokes this special 

stopping rule, it will accept bids in the 

final round(s) only for licenses on 

which the high bid increased in at least 

one of the preceding specified number 

of rounds. The Bureau may exercise this 

option only in circumstances such as 

where the auction is proceeding very 

slowly, where there is minimal overall 

bidding activity or where it appears 

62894 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 

likely that the auction will not close 

within a reasonable period of time. 

vii. Auction Delay, Suspension, or 

Cancellation

107. 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, evidence of 

an auction security breach, unlawful 

bidding activity, administrative or 

weather necessity, or for any other 

reason that affects the fair 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. We emphasize 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 

108. 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. 

109. The FCC has 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 and review 

periods, or the number of rounds per 

day, depending upon the bidding 

activity level and other factors. 

ii. Reserve Price or Minimum Opening 

Bid 

110. In establishing minimum 

opening bids for Auction No. 58, the 

Bureau adopts the following license-by 

license formulas based on bandwidth 

and license area population.

Population ≥ 2,000,000: $0.50 * MHz * 

License Area Population. 

Population ≥ 500,000: $0.25 * MHz * 

License Area Population. 

Population < 500,000: $0.15 * MHz * 

License Area Population.

111. The Bureau adopts the minimum 

opening bids proposed in the Auction 

No. 58 Comment Public Notice and the 

Auction No. 58 Revised Inventory Public 

Notice. By comparing the minimum 

opening bids proposed in Auction No. 

58 only to those of Auction No. 35, 

commenters have not adequately 

substantiated their argument that the 

minimum opening bids are excessive. 

On average, for the licenses for 

spectrum that was available in Auction 

No. 35, the Auction No. 58 minimum 

opening bids are significantly lower 

than the net amount of winning bids 

from Auction No. 35. 

112. The minimum opening bids we 

adopt for Auction No. 58 are reducible 

at the discretion of the Bureau. We 

emphasize, however, that such 

discretion will be exercised, if at all, 

sparingly and early in the auction, i.e., 

before bidders lose all waivers and 

begin to lose substantial eligibility. 

During the course of the auction, the 

Bureau will not entertain requests to 

reduce the minimum opening bid on 

specific licenses. 

113. The specific minimum opening 

bids for each license available in 

Auction No. 58 are set forth in 

Attachment A of the Auction No. 58 

Procedures Public Notice.

iii. Minimum Acceptable Bids and Bid 

Increments 

114. In Auction No. 58 we will use a 

smoothing methodology to calculate 

minimum acceptable bids. The 

smoothing methodology is designed to 

vary the increment for a given license 

between a maximum and minimum 

percentage based on the bidding activity 

on that license. This methodology 

allows the increments to be tailored to 

the activity on a license, decreasing the 

time it takes for licenses receiving many 

bids to reach their final prices. The 

formula used to calculate this increment 

is included as Attachment F of the 

Auction No. 58 Procedures Public 

Notice. We will initially set the 

weighting factor at 0.5, the minimum 

percentage increment at 0.1 (10%), and 

the maximum percentage increment at 

0.3 (30%). Hence, at these initial 

settings, the percentage increment will 

fluctuate between 10% and 30% 

depending upon the number of bids for 

the license. The Bureau will retain the 

discretion to change the minimum 

acceptable bids and bid increments if 

circumstances so dictate. 

115. In each round, each eligible 

bidder will be able to place a bid on a 

particular license for which it applied in 

any of nine different amounts. The FCC 

Automated Auction System will list the 

nine bid amounts for each license. 

116. Once there is a standing high bid 

on a license, the FCC Automated 

Auction System will calculate a 

minimum acceptable bid for that license 

for the following round, as described in 

Attachment F of the Auction No. 58 

Procedures Public Notice. The 

difference between the minimum 

acceptable bid and the standing high bid 

for each license will define the bid 

increment—i.e., bid increment = 

(minimum acceptable bid)¥(standing 

high bid). The nine acceptable bid 

amounts for each license consist of the 

minimum acceptable bid (the standing 

high bid plus one bid increment) and 

additional amounts calculated using 

multiple bid increments (i.e., the second 

bid amount equals the standing high bid 

plus two times the bid increment, the 

third bid amount equals the standing 

high bid plus three times the bid 

increment, etc.). 

117. At the start of the auction and 

until a bid has been placed on a license, 

the minimum acceptable bid for that 

license will be equal to its minimum 

opening bid. Corresponding additional 

bid amounts will be calculated using 

bid increments defined as the difference 

between the minimum opening bid 

times one plus the percentage 

increment, rounded as described in 

Attachment F of the Auction No. 58 

Procedures Public Notice, and the 

minimum opening bid—i.e., bid 

increment = (minimum opening bid) (1 

+ percentage increment) 

{rounded}¥(minimum opening bid). At 

the start of the auction and until a bid 

has been placed on a license, the nine 

acceptable bid amounts for each license 

consist of the minimum opening bid 

and additional amounts calculated 

using multiple bid increments (i.e., the 

second bid amount equals the minimum 

opening bid plus the bid increment, the 

third bid amount equals the minimum 

opening bid plus two times the bid 

increment, etc). 

118. In the case of a license for which 

the standing high bid has been 

withdrawn, the minimum acceptable 

bid will equal the second highest bid 

received for the license. The additional 

bid amounts are calculated using the 

difference between the second highest 

bid times one plus the minimum 

percentage increment, rounded, and the 

second highest bid. 

119. The Bureau retains the discretion 

to change the minimum acceptable bids 

and bid increments and the 

methodology for determining the 

minimum acceptable bids and bid 

increments if it determines that 

circumstances so dictate. The Bureau 

will do so by announcement in the FCC 

Automated Auction System. The Bureau 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 62895

may also use its discretion to adjust the 

minimum bid increment without prior 

notice if circumstances warrant. 

iv. High Bids 

120. At the end of each bidding 

round, the high bids will be determined 

based on the highest gross bid amount 

received for each license. A high bid 

from a previous round is sometimes 

referred to as a ‘‘standing high bid.’’ A 

‘‘standing high bid’’ will remain the 

high bid until there is a higher bid on 

the same license at the close of a 

subsequent round. Bidders are 

reminded that standing high bids are 

counted as activity for purposes of the 

activity rule.

121. In the event of identical high 

bids on a license in a given round (i.e., 

tied bids) a Sybase SQL pseudorandom number generator will be used 

to assign a random number to each bid. 

The remaining bidders, as well as the 

high bidder, will be able to submit a 

higher bid in a subsequent round. If no 

bidder submits a higher bid in a 

subsequent round, the high bid from the 

previous round will win the license. If 

any bids are received on the license in 

a subsequent round, the high bid will 

once again be determined on the highest 

gross bid amount received for the 

license. 

v. Bidding 

122. During a round, a bidder may 

submit bids for as many licenses as it 

wishes (subject to its eligibility), 

withdraw high bids from previous 

bidding rounds, remove bids placed in 

the same bidding round, or permanently 

reduce eligibility. Bidders also have the 

option of making multiple submissions 

and withdrawals in each round. If a 

bidder submits multiple bids for a single 

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 its 

bid do not count towards the bidder’s 

activity at the close of the round. 

123. Please note that all bidding will 

take place remotely either through the 

FCC Automated Auction System or by 

telephonic bidding. (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. Normally, five to 

ten minutes are necessary to complete a 

bid submission). 

124. A bidder’s ability to bid on 

specific licenses in the first round of the 

auction is determined by three factors: 

(i) The licenses applied for on FCC 

Form 175 and (ii) the eligibility 

restrictions on those licenses, if any, 

and (iii) the upfront payment amount 

deposited. The bid submission screens 

will allow bidders to submit bids on 

only those licenses for which the bidder 

applied on its FCC Form 175. 

125. In order to access the bidding 

function of the FCC Automated Auction 

System, bidders must be logged in 

during the bidding round using the 

bidder identification number provided 

in the registration materials, and the 

password generated by the SecurID 

card. Bidders are strongly encouraged to 

print bid confirmations for each round 

after they have completed all of their 

activity for that round. 

126. In each round, eligible bidders 

will be able to place bids on a given 

license in any of nine different amounts. 

For each license, the FCC Automated 

Auction System interface will list the 

nine acceptable bid amounts in a dropdown box. Bidders may use the dropdown box to select from among the nine 

bid amounts. The FCC Automated 

Auction System also includes an import 

function that allows bidders to upload 

text files containing bid information. 

127. Finally, bidders are cautioned to 

select their bid amounts carefully 

because, as explained in the following 

section, bidders that withdraw a 

standing high 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 

128. For Auction No. 58 the 

Commission adopts bid removal and bid 

withdrawal procedures. With respect to 

bid withdrawals, the Commission will 

limit each bidder to withdrawals in no 

more than two rounds during the course 

of the auction. The two rounds in which 

withdrawals are used would be at the 

bidder’s discretion. 

129. Procedures. Before the close of a 

bidding round, a bidder has the option 

of removing any bids placed in that 

round. By using the ‘‘remove bid’’

function in the bidding 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. Removing a bid will affect a 

bidder’s activity for the round in which 

it is removed, i.e., a bid that is removed 

does not count toward bidding activity. 

These procedures will enhance bidder 

flexibility during the auction. 

130. Once a round closes, a bidder 

may no longer remove a bid. However, 

in later rounds, a bidder may withdraw 

standing high bids from previous 

rounds using the withdraw bid function 

in the FCC Automated Auction System 

(assuming that the bidder has not 

reached its withdrawal limit). A high 

bidder that withdraws its standing high 

bid from a previous round during the 

auction is subject to the bid withdrawal 

payments specified in 47 CFR 1.2104(g).

Note: Once a withdrawal is submitted 

during a round, that withdrawal cannot be 

unsubmitted.

131. The Bureau will limit the 

number of rounds in which bidders may 

place withdrawals to two rounds. These 

rounds will be at the bidder’s discretion 

and there will be no limit on the 

number of bids that may be withdrawn 

in either of these rounds. Withdrawals 

during the auction will be subject to the 

bid withdrawal payments specified in 

47 CFR 1.2104(g). Bidders should note 

that abuse of the Commission’s bid 

withdrawal procedures could result in 

the denial of the ability to bid on a 

market. 

132. Calculation. Generally, the 

Commission imposes payments on 

bidders that withdraw high 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 high 

bid in the same or subsequent 

auction(s). In the case of multiple bid 

withdrawals on a single license, within 

the same or subsequent auctions(s), 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 of the intervening subsequent 

withdrawn bids, in either the same or 

subsequent auctions(s), equals or 

exceeds that withdrawn bid. Thus, a 

bidder that withdraws a bid will not be 

responsible for any withdrawal 

payments if there is a subsequent higher 

bid in the same or subsequent 

auction(s). 

133. In instances in which bids have 

been withdrawn on a license that is not 

won in the same auction, the 

Commission will assess an interim 

withdrawal payment equal to 3 percent 

of the amount of the withdrawn bids. 

The 3 percent interim payment will be 

applied toward any final bid withdrawal 

payment that will be assessed after 

subsequent auction of the license. The 

Part 1 Fifth Report and Order provides 

specific examples showing application 

of the bid withdrawal payment rule. 

62896 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Notices 

vii. Round Results 

134. Bids placed during a round will 

not be made public until the conclusion 

of that bidding period. After a round 

closes, the Bureau will compile reports 

of all bids placed, bids withdrawn, 

current high bids, new minimum 

acceptable bids, and bidder eligibility 

status (bidding eligibility and activity 

rule waivers), and post the reports for 

public access. Reports reflecting 

bidders’ identities for Auction No. 58 

will be available before and during the 

auction. Thus, bidders will know in 

advance of this auction the identities of 

the bidders against which they are 

bidding.

viii. Auction Announcements 

135. The FCC will use auction 

announcements to announce items such 

as schedule changes and stage 

transitions. All FCC auction 

announcements will be available by 

clicking a link on the FCC Automated 

Auction System. 

V. Post-Auction Procedures 

A. Down Payments and Withdrawn Bid 

Payments 

136. After bidding has ended, the 

Commission will issue a public notice 

declaring the auction closed and 

identifying winning bidders, down 

payments, final payments, and any 

withdrawn bid payments due. 

137. Within ten business days after 

release of the auction closing 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 No. 58 to 20 

percent of the net amount of its winning 

bids (gross bids less any applicable 

small business or very small business 

bidding credits). In addition, by the 

same deadline, all bidders must pay any 

bid withdrawal payments due under 47 

CFR 1.2104(g), as discussed in ‘‘Bid 

Removal and Bid Withdrawal,’’ section 

IV.B.vi. (Upfront payments are applied 

first to satisfy any withdrawn bid 

liability, before being applied toward 

down payments.) 

B. Final Payments 

138. Each winning bidder will be 

required to submit the balance of the net 

amount of its winning bids within ten 

business days after the deadline for 

submitting down payments. 

C. Long-Form Application (FCC Form 

601) 

139. 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) and 

required exhibits for each license won 

through Auction No. 58. 

D. Ownership Disclosure Information 

Report (FCC Form 602) 

140. At the time it submits its longform application (FCC Form 601), each 

winning bidder also must comply with 

the ownership reporting requirements as 

set forth in 47 CFR 1.913, 1.919, and 

1.2112. 

E. Tribal Land Bidding Credit 

141. 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 telephone service penetration rate 

equal to or below 70 percent is eligible 

to receive a tribal land bidding credit as 

set forth in 47 CFR 1.2107 and 1.2110(f). 

A tribal land bidding credit is in 

addition, and separate from, any other 

bidding credit for which a winning 

bidder may qualifiy. 

F. Default and Disqualification 

142. Any high 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). In 

such event the Commission may reauction the license or offer it to the next 

highest bidder (in descending order) at 

its final bid. 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 licenses held by the applicant. 

G. Refund of Remaining Upfront 

Payment Balance 

143. All applicants that submit 

upfront payments but are not winning 

bidders for a license in Auction No. 58 

may be entitled to a refund of their 

remaining upfront payment balance 

after the conclusion of the auction. No 

refund will be made unless there are 

excess funds on deposit from the 

applicant after any applicable bid 

withdrawal payments have been paid. 

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. 

144. Bidders that drop out of the 

auction completely may be eligible for 

a refund of their upfront payments 

before the close of the auction. Qualified 

bidders that have exhausted all of their 

activity rule waivers, have no remaining 

bidding eligibility, and have not 

withdrawn a high bid during the 

auction must submit a written refund 

request. If you have completed the 

refund instructions electronically, then 

only a written request for the refund is 

necessary. If not, the request must also 

include wire transfer instructions, 

Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) 

and FCC Registration Number (FRN). 

Send refund request to: Federal 

Communications Commission, 

Financial Operations Center, Auctions 

Accounting Group, Gail Glasser, 445 

12th Street, SW., Room 1–C864, 

Washington, DC 20554. 

145. Bidders are encouraged to file 

their refund information electronically 

using the refund information portion of 

the FCC Form 175, but bidders can also 

fax their information to the Auctions 

Accounting Group at (202) 418–2843. 

Once the information has been 

approved, a refund will be sent to the 

party identified in the refund 

information.

Note: Refund processing generally takes up 

to two weeks to complete. Bidders with 

questions about refunds should contact Gail 

Glasser at (202) 418–0578.

Federal Communications Commission. 

Gary Michaels, 

Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access 

Division, WTB.

[FR Doc. 04–24118 Filed 10–27–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Announcement of Board 

Approval Under Delegated Authority 

and Submission to OMB

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System

SUMMARY: Background.

Notice is hereby given of the final 

approval of proposed information 

collection by the Board of Governors of 

the Federal Reserve System (Board) 

under OMB delegated authority, as per 

5 CFR 1320.16 (OMB Regulations on 

Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the 

Public). Board–approved collections of 

information are incorporated into the 

official OMB inventory of currently 

approved collections of information. 

Copies of the OMB 83–Is and supporting 

statements and approved collection of 

information instrument(s) are placed