53628 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 199 / Wednesday, October 15, 1997 / Notices

Environmental Protection Agency, 75

Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA

94105.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before November 14, 1997.

Availability

The proposed Prospective Purchaser

Agreements are available for public

inspection at the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 75 Hawthorne

Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. A copy

of the proposed settlement may also be

obtained from Jeannie Cervera, Assistant

Regional Counsel (ORC–3), Office of

Regional Counsel, U.S. EPA Region IX,

75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA

94105. Comments should reference

‘‘Lincoln Property Company No. 2233

(East Parcel) and Lincoln 237 Associates

(West Parcel)—‘‘South Bay Asbestos

Superfund Site’’ and ‘‘Docket Numbers

97–14 and 97–15’’ and should be

addressed to Jeannie Cervera at the

above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeannie Cervera, Assistant Regional

Counsel (ORC–3), Office of Regional

Counsel, U.S. EPA Region IX, 75

Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA

94105; E-mail:

cervera.jeannie@epamail.epa.gov; Phone

(415) 744–1395.

Dated: October 6, 1997.

Frederick Schauffler

Director, Superfund Division, Region IX.

[FR Doc. 97–27271 Filed 10–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

[WT Docket No. 97–199; FCC 97–322]

Broadband Block C Personal

Communications Systems Facilities

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: An application of Westel

Samoa, Inc. for a broadband Block C

Personal Communications System

authorization and six (6) applications of

Westel, L.P. for broadband F Block

Personal Communications System

authorizations were designated for

hearing. The Commission has

determined that material questions of

fact exist as to whether Westel Samoa,

Inc., and Westel, L.P., through its

principal, possess the requisite

qualifications to be a Commission

licensee. In addition, the Commission

has ordered Anthony T. Easton to show

cause why he should not be barred from

holding any Commission license or

participating in any future Commission

auctions. The Commission has

determined that because of

misrepresentations made by Mr. Easton

he should be so barred.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph Weber, Enforcement and

Consumer Information Division,

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau

(202) 418–1317.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of Memorandum Opinion and

Order, Hearing Designation Order,

Notice of Opportunity for Hearing, and

Order to Show Cause in WT Docket 97–

199, adopted September 8, 1997, and

released September 9, 1997.

The full text of Commission decisions

are available for inspection and copying

during normal business hours in the

FCC Dockets Branch (Room 239), 1919

M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. The

complete text of this decision may also

be purchased from the Commission’s

copy contractor, International

Transcription Service, Inc., 1231 20th

Street, NW., Washington, DC. 20036

(202) 857–3800.

Summary of Memorandum Opinion

and Order, Hearing Designation Order,

Notice of Opportunity for Hearing, and

Order To Show Cause

1. The Commission designated the

application of Westel Samoa, Inc. and

the six applications of Westel, L.P.

(collectively referred to as ‘‘Westel’’) for

hearing. Additionally, the Commission

ordered Anthony T. Easton to show

cause why he should not be barred from

holding any Commission license or

participating in any future Commission

auction. On January 23, 1996, Mr.

Easton, while acting as a bidding agent

of PCS 2000, L.P. (PCS 2000), an

applicant in the Commission’s C Block

Personal Communications Systems

(PCS) auction, submitted a bid of

$180,060,000 ($180 million bid) for

Basic Trading Area (BTA) market B324.

After the time for withdrawing bids had

expired, PCS 2000 realized that it

intended to bid $18,006,000 for market

B324. Upon this realization, Mr. Easton

telephoned the Commission and stated

that the Commission’s computer had

caused the bidding error and that he

possessed documentation to verify that

fact. Subsequent to the telephone

conversation, Mr. Easton caused

documents to be sent to the Commission

by facsimile which purported to

demonstrate that the bid for market

B324 was only $18 million and not $180

million.

2. The Commission learned from one

of Mr. Easton’s employees that the

materials sent by Mr. Easton were not

the original bidding documents. The

employee sent copies of the original

bidding information to the Commission

the following day by facsimile. The

original bidding documents sent by the

employee bore Mr. Easton’s hand-signed

initials along with the date and time the

document was created.

3. The same employee conveyed

information to a senior employee in Mr.

Easton’s office that Mr. Easton was

misrepresenting facts to the

Commission. That employee relayed the

information regarding Mr. Easton to Mr.

Quentin Breen, a PCS 2000 director and

principal of Westel. The first employee

who witnessed Mr. Easton’s actions also

conveyed the information concerning

Mr. Easton’s deception before the

Commission to Mr. Breen. At the time

the information was communicated, Mr.

Breen was taking part of a PCS 2000

Board of Directors meeting. However,

Mr. Breen failed to reveal any of the

information regarding Mr. Easton’s

deception to either the Board of

Directors or to the Commission.

4. Pursuant to sections 309(e), 312(a),

and 312(c) of the Communications Act

of 1934, as amended, Westel Samoa,

Inc.’s application, Westel, L.P.’s six

applications, have been designated for

hearing, and Anthony T. Easton has

been ordered to show cause why he

should not be barred from holding any

attributable interest in a Commission

authorization or participate in future

auctions in a consolidated proceeding

upon the following issues listed below:

(I) To determine, based on Anthony T.

Easton’s misrepresentations before and

lack of candor exhibited towards the

Commission, whether Mr. Easton

should be barred from holding

Commission authorizations and

participating in future Commission

auctions.

(II) (a) To determine the facts and

circumstances surrounding the conduct

of Quentin L. Breen in connection with

PCS 2000’s bids placed on January 23,

1996, in the Commission’s Broadband

PCS C Block auction;

(b) To determine, based on the

evidence adduced above, whether

Quentin L. Breen engaged in

misrepresentations before and/or

exhibited a lack of candor towards the

Commission.

(III) To determine, based on the

evidence adduced in Issue 2, whether

Westel Samoa, Inc., and Westel, L.P.,

possess the requisite character

qualifications to be granted the

captioned C Block and F Block

Broadband Personal Communications

System applications, and accordingly,

whether grant of their applications
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 199 / Wednesday, October 15, 1997 / Notices 53629

would serve the public interest,

convenience, and necessity.

5. The Commission has further placed

Mr. Breen on notice that the presiding

administrative law judge may find that

Mr. Breen has misrepresented facts to

the Commission or lacked candor before

the Commission and therefore, may

impose upon him a forfeiture up to the

statutory maximum.

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–27150 Filed 10–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

Auction of Local Multipoint

Distribution Service; Auction Notice

and Filing Requirements for 986 Basic

Trading Area (‘‘BTA’’) Licenses in the

28 GHz and 31 GHz Bands, Scheduled

for December 10, 1997

[DA 97–2081]

Released September 25, 1997

I. Introduction

Local Multipoint Distribution Service

(‘‘LMDS’’) Licenses to Be Auctioned:

The Federal Communications

Commission (‘‘FCC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’)

will hold an auction for 986 licenses to

provide LMDS in the 28 GHz and 31

GHz bands. Two licenses will be offered

in each of 493 BTAs and BTA-like areas

in the United States. One license, in

frequency block A, will authorize

service on 1,150 megahertz of spectrum

in both the 28 GHz and 31 GHz bands.

The second license, frequency block B,

will authorize service on 150 megahertz

of spectrum in the 31 GHz band. Each

frequency block encompasses the

following spectrum:

Block A (1,150 megahertz): 28 GHz

band: 27,500–28,350 MHz and

29,100–29,250 MHz and 31 GHz band:

31,075–31,225 MHz

Block B (150 megahertz): 31 GHz band:

31,000–31,075 MHz and 31,225–

31,300 MHz

Note: Operations to take place in the

29,100—29,250 MHz band are governed by

47 CFR 101.103(g) and (h), 101.113(c),

101.133(d), and 101.147(t), which are new

provisions designed to facilitate the sharing

of this spectrum by LMDS, GSO/FSS

gateways, and MSS feeder link licensees.

These provisions allow only hub-tosubscribers transmissions by LMDS licensees

in this band.

Auction Date: The auction will

commence on December 10, 1997. 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

will be conducted on each business day

until bidding has stopped on all

licenses.

Auction Title: LMDS—Auction No.

17.

Bidding Methodology: Simultaneous

multiple round bidding. Bidding will be

permitted only from remote locations,

either electronically (by computer) or

telephonically.

Pre-Auction Deadlines:

• Auction Seminar—October 30, 1997

• Short-Form Application (FCC Form

175) November 17, 1997, 5:30 p.m. ET

(Applications are not due on

November 10 as previously

announced on July 30, 1997)

• Upfront Payments (via wire

transfer)—December 1, 1997, 6:00

p.m. ET (Payments are not due on

November 24 as previously

announced on July 30, 1997)

• Orders for Remote Bidding Software—

December 1, 1997, 5:30 p.m. ET

• Mock Auction—December 8, 1997

Telephone Contacts:

• FCC National Call Center—888-CALLFCC (888–225–5322) (For Bidder

Information Packages, General

Auction Information, and Seminar

Registration, press option #2 at the

prompt)

FCC Technical Support Hotline—202–

414–1250

Participation: Those wishing to

participate in the auction must:

• Submit a short-form application (FCC

Form 175) by the above-listed

deadline.

• Submit an upfront payment and an

FCC Remittance Advice Form (FCC

Form 159) by the above-listed

deadline.

• Comply with all provisions outlined

in this Public Notice.

Prohibition of Collusion: To ensure

the competitiveness of the auction

process, the Commission’s rules

prohibit applicants for the same BTA

from communicating with each other

during the auction about bids, bidding

strategies, or settlements. This

prohibition begins with the filing of

short-form applications, and ends when

winning bidders submit their first down

payments. The only exception is where

applicants enter into a bidding

agreement before filing their short-form

applications, and disclose the existence

of the agreement in their short-form

applications. See 47 CFR 1.2105(c).

Bidder Information Package: More

complete details about this auction are

contained in a Bidder Information

Package. The Commission will provide

one copy to each company free of

charge. Additional copies may be

ordered at a cost of $16.00 each,

including postage, payable by Visa or

Master Card, or by check payable to

‘‘Federal Communications Commission’’

or ‘‘FCC.’’ To place an order, contact the

FCC National Call Center at 888–CALL–

FCC (888–225–5322, press option #2 at

the prompt). Prospective bidders who

have already contacted the FCC

expressing an interest in this auction

will receive a Bidder Information

Package in two to three weeks, and need

not call again unless they wish to order

additional copies.

Relevant Authority: Prospective

bidders must familiarize themselves

thoroughly with the Commission’s rules

relating to LMDS, contained in title 47,

part 101 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 bidders must also be

thoroughly familiar with the

procedures, terms and conditions

(collectively, ‘‘Terms’’) contained in the

Second Report and Order in PP Docket

No. 93–253, 59 FR 22980 (May 4, 1994);

the Second Memorandum Opinion and

Order in PP Docket No. 93–253, 59 FR

44272 (August 26, 1994); the Erratum to

the Second Memorandum Opinion and

Order in PP Docket No. 93–253

(released October 19, 1994); the First

Report and Order, 61 FR 44177 (August

28, 1996), and Fourth Notice of

Proposed Rule Making in CC Docket No.

97–297, 61 FR 39425 (July 29, 1996); the

Second Report and Order, 62 FR 23148

(April 29, 1997), Order on

Reconsideration, 62 FR 28373 (May 23,

1997), and Fifth Notice of Proposed Rule

Making in CC Docket No. 96–297, 62 FR

16514 (April 7, 1997) (‘‘LMDS Second

R&O’’); and the Second Order on

Reconsideration in CC Docket No. 97–

297, 62 FR 48787 (September 17, 1997)

(collectively referred to as the ‘‘Relevant

Orders’’).

The Terms contained in the

Commission’s rules, Relevant Orders,

Public Notices and Bidder Information

Package are not negotiable. Prospective

bidders should review these auction

documents thoroughly prior to the

auction to make certain that they

understand all of the provisions and are

willing to be bound by all of the Terms

before participating in the auction.

Potential bidders should also be

aware that petitions for reconsideration

of the Commission’s actions in the

LMDS Second R&O have been filed; that

several, but not all, matters raised in

petitions for reconsideration have been