56982 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 188 / Thursday, September 28, 2006 / Notices 

any final bid withdrawal payment that 

is ultimately assessed. The 

Commission’s recently adopted rules 

provide that in advance of the auction, 

the Commission shall establish the 

percentage of the withdrawn bid to be 

assessed as an interim bid withdrawal 

payment between three percent and 

twenty percent. 

42. When it adopted the new rule, the 

Commission indicated that the level of 

the interim withdrawal payment in a 

particular auction will be based on the 

nature of the service and the inventory 

of the authorizations being offered. The 

Commission noted that it may impose a 

higher interim withdrawal payment 

percentage to deter the anti-competitive 

use of withdrawals when, for example, 

bidders likely will not need to aggregate 

permits offered, such as when few 

permits are offered that are not on 

adjacent frequencies or in adjacent 

areas, or there are few synergies to be 

captured by combining permits. 

43. The Commission has observed 

that it may be appropriate to impose a 

higher interim withdrawal payment 

percentage to deter the anti-competitive 

use of withdrawals in auctions where it 

is much less likely that bidders will 

need to assemble complete sets of 

licenses. With respect to the permits 

being offered in Auction No. 70, the 

Bureaus have little evidence that 

bidders have a significant need to use 

withdrawals to avoid incomplete 

combinations of licenses. Citing 

experience with FM Auction No. 37, 

among others, the Commission has 

‘‘observed a disproportionate number of 

withdrawals late in our auctions, 

indicating that some bidders have been 

placing and then withdrawing bids 

primarily to discourage potential or 

existing market competitors from 

seeking to acquire licenses.’’ Consistent 

with its interest in deterring strategic 

withdrawals, the Bureaus propose to 

establish the percentage of the 

withdrawn bid to be assessed as an 

interim bid withdrawal payment at the 

maximum twenty percent permitted 

under the Commission’s rules. The 

Bureaus seek comment on this proposal. 

ii. Establishing the Additional Default 

Payment Percentage 

44. Any winning bidder that defaults 

or is disqualified after the close of an 

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) is 

liable for a default payment under 47 

CFR 1.2104(g)(2). This payment consists 

of a deficiency payment, equal to the 

difference between the amount of the 

bidder’s bid and the amount of the 

winning bid the next time a 

construction permit covering the same 

spectrum is won in an auction, plus an 

additional payment equal to a 

percentage of the defaulter’s bid or of 

the subsequent winning bid, whichever 

is less. Until recently, this additional 

payment for most auctions has been set 

at three percent of the defaulter’s bid or 

of the subsequent winning bid, 

whichever is less. 

45. On January 24, 2006, the 

Commission released the Commercial 

Spectrum Enhancement Act Report and 

Order (CSEA/Part 1 Report and Order), 

71 FR 6214, February 7, 2006, in which 

it modified § 1.2104(g)(2) by increasing 

the three percent limit on the additional 

default payment for non-combinatorial 

auctions to twenty percent. Under the 

modified rule, the Commission will, in 

advance of each auction, establish an 

additional default payment for that 

auction of three percent up to a 

maximum of twenty percent. The level 

of this payment in each case will be 

based on the nature of the service and 

the inventory of the construction 

permits being offered. 

46. For Auction No. 70, the Bureaus 

propose to establish additional default 

payment of twenty percent. As noted in 

the CSEA/Part 1 Report and Order, 

defaults weaken the integrity of the 

auctions process and may impede the 

deployment of service to the public, and 

an additional default payment of more 

than the previous three percent will be 

more effective in deterring defaults. In 

light of its proposal for the interim bid 

withdrawal payment amount as 

discussed above, the Bureaus are 

concerned that setting an additional 

default payment of less than the twenty 

percent maximum amount may 

encourage post-auction defaults, which 

further undermine the integrity of the 

auction process. In light of these 

considerations for Auction No. 70, the 

Bureaus propose an additional default 

payment of twenty percent of the 

relevant bid. The Bureaus seek comment 

on this proposal. 

III. Conclusion 

47. This proceeding has been 

designated as a permit-but-disclose 

proceeding in accordance with the 

Commission’s ex parte rules. Persons 

making oral ex parte presentations are 

reminded that memoranda summarizing 

the presentations must contain 

summaries of the substance of the 

presentations and not merely a listing of 

the subjects discussed. More than a one 

or two sentence description of the views 

and arguments presented is generally 

required. Other rules pertaining to oral 

and written ex parte presentations in 

permit-but-disclose proceedings are set 

forth in 47 CFR 1.1206(b). 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Gary D. Michaels, 

Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access 

Division, WTB. 

[FR Doc. 06–8366 Filed 9–27–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act Meeting Notice 

PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED DATE AND TIME: 

Thursday, September 28, 2006, Meeting 

Open to the Public. This meeting was 

cancelled. 

DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, October 3, 2006 

at 10 a.m. 

PLACE: 999 E Street, NW., Washington, 

DC. 

STATUS: This meeting will be closed to 

the public. 

ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED: 

Compliance matters pursuant to 2 

U.S.C. 437g. 

Audits conducted pursuant to 2 

U.S.C. 437g, 438(b), and Title 26, U.S.C. 

Matters concerning participation in 

civil actions or proceedings or 

arbitration. 

Internal personnel rules and 

procedures or matters affecting a 

particular employee. 

DATE AND TIME: Wednesday, October 4, 

2006 at 10 a.m. 

PLACE: 999 E Street, NW., Washington, 

DC (Ninth Floor). 

STATUS: This meeting will be open to the 

public. 

ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED: 

Correction and Approval of Minutes. 

Advisory Opinion 2006–20: Unity 08 

by counsel, John J. Duffy. 

Advisory Opinion 2006–24: National 

Republican Senatorial Committee by 

General Counsel William J. McGinley; 

Democratic Senatorial Campaign 

Committee by counsel, Marc Elias; 

Republican State Committee of 

Pennsylvania by General Counsel 

Lawrence J. Tabas. 

Report of the Audit Division on 

Daniel Mongiardo for U.S. Senate. 

Management and Administrative 

Matters. 

PERSON TO CONTACT FOR INFORMATION: 

Mr. Robert Biersack, Press Officer. 

Mary W. Dove, 

Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 06–8376 Filed 9–26–06; 2:51 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6715–01–M 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES