Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 236 / Tuesday, December 9, 1997 / Notices 64833

614] (Direct Final)

*CLOSED SESSION

D. Report

—OGC Litigation Report

Note: * Session Closed—Exempt pursuant

to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c) (10).

Dated: December 5, 1997.

Floyd Fithian,

Secretary, Farm Credit Administration Board.

[FR Doc. 97–32327 Filed 12–5–97; 12:49 pm]

BILLING CODE 6705–01–M

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

[DA–97–2352]

LMDS Auction No. 17 Postponed

Released: November 10, 1997.

Report No. AUC–17–C (Auction No. 17)

In an effort to provide a greater

opportunity for prospective applicants

to participate in the upcoming Local

Multipoint Distribution Service

(‘‘LMDS’’) auction, the Commission is

postponing the LMDS auction,

originally scheduled to begin on

December 10, 1997, until February 18,

1998. This postponement will further

opportunities for businesses to access

additional sources of capital to further

the advent of new competition in the

cable television and local telephony

marketplaces.

In addition, applicants will be able to

take advantage of the World Trade

Organization agreement to pursue

additional sources of financing and

investment. The Commission has

proposed amendments to its rules in

response to the WTO agreement. Rules

and Policies on Foreign Participation in

the U.S. Telecommunications Market,

Order and Notice of Proposed Rule

Making, 12 FCC Rcd 7847, 62 FR 32966,

June 17, 1997. Once the Commission

has adopted final rules in this

proceeding, the Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau will

release a public notice explaining how

these amendments will affect LMDS

applicants.

Except for the filing dates and auction

schedule, information provided in

previous public notices and the LMDS

Bidder Information Package remains

unchanged. The new schedule is as

follows:

FCC Form 175 filing: 5:30 p.m., ET Tuesday,

January 20, 1998

Upfront Payments: 6 p.m. ET, Monday,

February 2, 1998

Mock Auction: 9 a.m. ET–3 p.m. ET, Friday,

February 13, 1998

Auction Begins: 9 a.m. ET Wednesday,

February 18, 1998

For further information, please

contact Louis Sigalos of the Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau, Auctions

and Industry Analysis Division, at (202)

418–0660.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–32011 Filed 12–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

[DA–97–2497]

Spectrum Auction Schedule for 1998;

Released: November 25, 1997.

Report No. AUC–17–C (Auction No. 17)

This Public Notice apprises potential

applicants of important dates for several

auctions that will be conducted in 1998.

The dates listed below may be subject

to change. A brief summary of the

wireless services to be auctioned is

provided below. More detailed

information concerning each of these

auctions has been provided or will be

provided at a later date. The wireless

services to be auctioned are:

Local Multipoint Distribution Service

(‘‘LMDS’’)

This auction will consist of 986 LMDS

licenses in the 28 GHz and 31 GHz

bands. Two licenses will be offered in

each of 493 Basic Trading Areas

(‘‘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. Block A of the

New York BTA is encumbered by a preexisting licensee in the New York

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The

incumbent licensee, CellularVision of

New York, is entitled to interference

protection. The second license, in

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 and 31,225–31,300

MHz.

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 licenses. These provisions allow

only hub-to-subscriber transmissions by

LMDS licensees in this band.

Key Dates

Short form (FCC Form 175) Application

Deadline: January 20, 1998.

Upfront Payment Deadline: February 2,

1998.

Electronic Bid Submission Software Order

Deadline: February 2, 1998.

Mock Auction Date: February 13, 1998.

Auction Commencement Date: February

18, 1998.

Further details on this spectrum may

be found in the LMDS First Report and

Order, CC Docket No. 92–297, 11 FCC

Rcd 19005, 61 FR 44177, August 28,

1996; LMDS Second Report and Order,

CC Docket No. 92–297, FCC 97–82, 62

FR 16514, April 7, 1997 (recon.

pending); LMDS Order on

Reconsideration, CC Docket No. 92–297,

FCC 97–166, 62 FR 28373, May 23,

1997; LMDS Second Order on

Reconsideration, CC Docket No. 92–297,

FCC 97–323, 62 FR 48787, September

17, 1997; Public Notice, ‘‘Auction of

Local Multipoint Distribution Service,’’

DA 97–2081, 62 FR 53629, October 15,

1997; Public Notice, ‘‘Comment Sought

on Reserve Prices or Minimum Opening

Bids for LMDS Auction,’’ DA 97–2224,

62 FR 55642, October 27, 1997; Public

Notice, ‘‘LMDS Auction Postponed

Until February 18, 1998,’’ DA 97–2352

(released November 10, 1997); Public

Notice, ‘‘Opportunity for Reply

Comment on Reserve Prices or

Minimum Opening Bids for LMDS

Auction Extended,’’ DA 97–2420

(released November 18, 1997); and the

LMDS auction Bidder Information

Package.

220 MHz Service

This auction will consist of 908

licenses in the Phase II 220 MHz

service, with three nationwide, 30

Regional Economic Area Groupings

(‘‘220 MHz REAGs’’) and 875 Economic

Area (‘‘EA’’) licenses. The licenses

encompass the following channels:

Channels

Nationwide Block:

Channels 51–60 .................... 10

Channels 81–90 .................... 10

Channels 141–150 ................ 10

EA Block:

A: Channel Groups 2, 13 ...... 10

B: Channel Groups 3, 16 ...... 10

C: Channel Groups 5, 18 ...... 10

D: Channel Groups 8, 19 ...... 10

E: Channel Groups 171–180 10

The Channel Groups indicated in the

allocation plan are the 5-channel, noncontiguous assignments identified as

‘‘Group Nos. 1, 2, 3’’ etc., in Section