12186 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices

Research and Development home page

on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/

ORD. Interested parties can obtain a

single copy of the report by contacting:

ORD Publications Office, Technology

Transfer Division, National Risk

Management Research Laboratory, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, 26

W. Martin Luther King Drive,

Cincinnati, OH 45268; telephone (513)

569–7562; facsimile (513) 569–7566.

Please provide your name and mailing

address, and request the document by

the title and EPA document number

(EPA/630/R–96/012). There will be a

limited number of paper copies

available from the above source in midApril. Requests will be filled on a firstcome-first-served basis. After the supply

is exhausted, copies of the report can be

purchased from the National Technical

Information Service (NTIS) by calling

(703) 487–4650 or sending a facsimile to

(703) 321–8547. The NTIS order number

for this document is PB97-137772; Price

Code A08:($31).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William Wood, Risk Assessment Forum

(8103), U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, 401 M Street, S.W.,

Washington, DC 20460, Telephone (202)

260–6743.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EPA

has followed closely the recent reports

dealing with the potential effects of

environmental endocrine disruptors on

human health and ecological well-being.

EPA’s Science Policy Council requested

that the Risk Assessment Forum prepare

a Technical Panel report that would

provide an overview of the current state

of the science relative to the endocrine

disruption hypothesis. This report

serves as an interim assessment to

inform Agency risk assessors of the

major findings and uncertainties relative

to environmental endocrine disruption

and is the basis for a position statement

by EPA’s Science Policy Council.

Dated: February 27, 1997.

Joseph K. Alexander,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science,

Office of Research and Development.

[FR Doc. 97–6509 Filed 3–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

[DA 97–386]

Auction of Wireless Communications

Service (Auction No. 14)

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau announced

the application procedures for the

upcoming WCS auction (Auction #14) in

a Public Notice dated February 20, 1997.

The auction is scheduled to begin April

15, 1997 and will consist of 128

licenses: two licenses in 52 Major

Economic Areas in the United States

and two licenses in 12 Regional

Economic Area Groupings. The purpose

of the public notice is to inform

interested parties of the auction

procedures the Commission will use in

Auction #14 and the filing requirements

to become an eligible bidder.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Louis Sigalos or Josh Roland, Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau, at (202)

418–0660.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of Public Notice DA 97–386,

‘‘Auction of Wireless Communications

Service—Auction Notice and Filing

Requirements for 128 WCS Licenses

Scheduled for April 15, 1997,’’ released

February 21, 1997. The complete text of

the Public Notice is available for

inspection and copying during normal

business hours in the FCC Reference

Center (Room 239), 1919 M Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. and also may be

purchased from the Commission’s copy

contractor, International Transcription

Service, (202) 857–3800, 2100 M Street,

N.W., Suite 140, Washington, D.C.

20037.

Synopsis of the Public Notice

I. Introduction

1. Licenses To Be Auctioned: 128

licenses. Wireless Communications

Service (‘‘WCS’’) licensees are

permitted, within their assigned

spectrum and geographic areas, to

provide any fixed, mobile, radiolocation

or broadcast-satellite use consistent

with the allocation table and associated

international agreements concerning

spectrum allocations. The auction will

consist of 2 licenses (Frequency Blocks

‘‘A’’ and ‘‘B’’) in 52 Major Economic

Areas (MEAs), authorizing service on 10

MHz of spectrum, and 2 licenses

(Frequency Blocks ‘‘C’’ and ‘‘D’’) in each

of 12 Regional Economic Area

Groupings (REAGs), authorizing service

on 5 MHz of spectrum. Each frequency

block encompasses the following

spectrum:

Frequency Block A: 2305–2310 MHz paired

with 2350–2355 MHz

Frequency Block B: 2310–2315 MHz paired

with 2355–2360 MHz

Frequency Block C: 2315–2320 MHz

Frequency Block D: 2345–2350 MHz

A detailed listing of MEAs and

REAGs, with their FCC market number,

market description, license number,

population, and upfront payment are

provided in Attachment A.

2. Auction Date: The auction will

begin on April 15, 1997. The precise

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.

3. Auction Title: This is the fourteenth

spectrum auction the Commission has

scheduled, and will be referred to as

‘‘Auction No. 14, Wireless

Communications Service.’’

4. Bidding Methodology:

Simultaneous multiple round bidding.

Bidding will be by electronic means

from remote locations only. Participants

should note that this auction will use a

round structure that is different from the

procedures used in previous

Commission auctions.

5. Pre-Auction Dates:

* Short-Form Application (FCC Form

175): March 25, 1997, 5:30 p.m. ET.

* Upfront Payments (Only Wire

Transfer Accepted): April 4, 1997, 6:00

p.m. ET.

* Orders for Remote Bidding

Software: April 4, 1997, 5:30 p.m. ET.

* Mock Auction: April 10, 1997.

6. Telephone Contacts:

* FCC National Call Center: 888-

CALL-FCC (888–225–5322) (Bidder

Information Packages/General Auction

Information).

* FCC Technical Support Hotline:

202–414–1250.

7. List of Attachments:

* Attachment A: List of Licenses

Offered.

* Attachment B: Electronic Filing of

FCC Form 175.

* Attachment C: Guidelines for

Completing FCC Form 175 and Exhibits.

* Attachment D: Summary Listing of

Documents from the Commission and

the Wireless Telecommunications

Bureau Addressing Application of the

Anti-Collusion Rules.

8. Bidder Information Package: More

complete details about this auction will

be contained in a Bidder Information

Package. The Commission will provide

one copy 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, please contact the FCC National

Call Center at 888-CALL-FCC (888–225–

5322). Bidders who do not receive their

Packages within two weeks of ordering

should contact the Call Center.

9. Participation: Those wishing to

participate in the auction must submit
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices 12187

an FCC Form 175 short-form

application. The FCC Form 175 must be

completed and filed in accordance with

the Commission’s rules and the

instructions provided in the Bidder

Information Package, and must be

submitted electronically no later than

5:30 p.m. ET on March 25, 1997.

10. Applicants will be required to

submit an upfront payment and an FCC

Remittance Advice (FCC Form 159). The

upfront payment must be made in U.S.

dollars by wire transfer. Payments must

be received at Mellon Bank in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, no later than

April 4, 1997 at 6:00 p.m. ET. No other

form of payment will be accepted.

11. Prohibition of Collusion: To

ensure the competitiveness of the

auction process, the Commission’s rules

prohibit applicants for the same

geographic areas 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 down payments. The

prohibition does not apply where

applicants enter into a bidding

agreement before filing their short-form

applications, and disclose the existence

of the agreement in the short-form

application. See 47 CFR Section

1.2105(c).

12. Relevant Authority: Prospective

bidders should familiarize themselves

thoroughly with the FCC’s rules relating

to the Wireless Communications Service

contained in Part 27 of this Chapter, and

rules relating to application and auction

procedures, contained in Part 1, Subpart

Q.

13. The specific rules applicable to

WCS are contained in the Commission’s

Report and Order in Amendment of the

Commission’s Rules to Establish Part 27,

the Wireless Communications Service

(‘‘WCS’’), GN Docket No. 96–228, FCC

97–50 (released February 19, 1997), 62

FR 9635 (March 3, 1997). This Report

and Order is posted on the

Commission’s world wide web site at

http://www.fcc.gov.

14. The Terms contained in the FCC’s

rules, the Report and Order, this Public

Notice, and in the 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.

15. The Commission may amend or

supplement the information contained

in this Public Notice and in the Bidder

Information Package at any time. The

Commission will issue public notices to

convey new or supplemental

information to bidders. It is the

responsibility of all prospective bidders

to remain current with all FCC rules and

with all public notices pertaining to this

auction. Copies of FCC documents,

including public notices, may be

obtained for a fee by calling the

Commission’s copy contractor,

International Transcription Service,

Inc., at 202–857–3800. Additionally,

many documents can be retrieved from

the FCC Internet node via anonymous

ftp@ftp.fcc.gov or the FCC world wide

web site at http://www.fcc.gov. Bidders

should also note that a separate

Auction’s web page is available on the

Commission’s web site at http://

www.fcc.gov/auctions.html.

16. Bidder Alerts: All applicants must

certify under penalty of perjury on their

FCC Form 175 applications that they are

legally, technically, financially and

otherwise qualified to hold a license,

and not in default on any Commission

licenses. Prospective bidders are

reminded that submission of a false

certification to the Commission is a

serious matter that may result in severe

penalties, including monetary

forfeitures, license revocations,

exclusion from participation in future

auctions, and/or criminal prosecution.

17. The Commission makes no

representations or warranties about the

use of this spectrum for particular

services. Applicants should be aware

that an FCC auction represents an

opportunity to become 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.

18. As is the case with many business

investment opportunities, some

unscrupulous entrepreneurs may

attempt to use the WCS auction to

deceive and defraud unsuspecting

investors. Common warning signals of

fraud include the following:

* The first contact is a ‘‘cold call’’

from a telemarketer, or is made in

response to an inquiry prompted by a

radio or television infomercial.

* The offering materials used to

invest in the venture appear to be

targeted at IRA funds, for example by

including all documents and papers

needed for the transfer of funds

maintained in IRA accounts.

* The amount of the minimum

investment is less than $25,000.

* The sales representative makes

verbal representations that: (a) The IRS,

FTC, SEC, FCC, or other government

agency has approved the investment; (b)

the investment is not subject to state or

federal securities laws; or (c) the

investment will yield unrealistically

high short-term profits. In addition, the

offering materials often include copies

of actual FCC releases, or quotes from

FCC personnel, giving the appearance of

FCC knowledge or approval of the

solicitation.

19. Information about deceptive

telemarketing investment schemes is

available from the Federal Trade

Commission (FTC) at 202–326–2222 and

from the Securities and Exchange

Commission (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 WCS

investment proposals may also call the

FCC National Call Center at 888-CALLFCC (888–225–5322).

II. Bidder Eligibility and Small

Business Provisions

A. General Eligibility Criteria

20. This auction offers a total of 128

WCS licenses, with two licenses

available in each of the 52 MEAs

(Frequency Blocks ‘‘A’’ and ‘‘B’’) and

two licenses available in each of the 12

REAGs (Frequency Blocks ‘‘C’’ and

‘‘D’’). WCS licensees will be permitted

to partition their service areas into

smaller geographic service areas and to

disaggregate their spectrum into smaller

blocks. See 47 CFR Section 27.15.

21. Section 27.12 of the Commission’s

rules sets out eligibility requirements for

WCS licensees. Under Section 27.12,

any entity, other than those precluded

by foreign ownership restrictions set

forth in Section 310 of the

Communications Act of 1934, as

amended, 47 U.S.C. Section 310, is

eligible to hold a WCS license.

22. Prospective bidders should note

that the Commission is hosting an

industry forum on the WCS on February

28, 1997, at the agency’s auction site

located at 2 Massachusetts Avenue,

N.E., Washington, D.C. Additional

information regarding the forum is

available on the Auction’s web page of

the Commission’s web site, or by calling

Louis Sigalos or Josh Roland of the

Auctions Division of the Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau at 202–

418–0660.
12188 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices

B. Special Financial Provisions for

Qualifying Small Businesses

23. Qualifying small business

applicants are eligible for the special

financial provision of bidding credits.

See 47 CFR Section 27.209.

(1) Definitions of Small Businesses

24. The Commission defined the

small business definitions for the WCS

as:

* A ‘‘small business’’ is defined as an

entity with average gross revenues not

exceeding $40 million for the preceding

three years.

* A ‘‘very small business’’ is defined

as an entity with average gross revenues

not exceeding $15 million for the

preceding three years.

25. Gross revenues include all income

received by an entity, whether earned or

passive, before any deductions are made

for costs of doing business (e.g., cost of

goods sold), as evidenced by audited

financial statements for the relevant

number of most recently completed

calendar years, or, if audited financial

statements were not prepared on a

calendar-year basis, for the most

recently completed fiscal years

preceding the filing of the applicant’s

short-form application (FCC Form 175).

If an entity was not in existence for all

or part of the relevant period, gross

revenues shall be evidenced by the

audited financial statements of the

entity’s predecessor-in-interest or, if

there is no identifiable predecessor-ininterest, unaudited financial statements

certified by the applicant as accurate.

When an applicant does not otherwise

use audited financial statements, its

gross revenues may be certified by its

chief financial officer or its equivalent.

See 47 CFR Section 27.210.

26. In determining whether an entity

qualifies as a small business at either

threshold, gross revenues of all

‘‘controlling’’ principals will be

attributed to the prospective small

business applicant, as well as the gross

revenues of affiliates of the applicant.

However, personal net worth is not

included in the determination of

eligibility for bidding as a small

business. The term ‘‘control’’ includes

both de jure and de facto control of the

applicant. Typically, de jure control is

evidenced by ownership of 50.1 percent

of an entity’s voting stock. De facto

control is determined on a case-by-case

basis. An entity must demonstrate at

least the following indicia of control to

establish that it retains de facto control

of the applicant: (1) the entity

constitutes or appoints more than 50

percent of the board of directors or

partnership management committee; (2)

the entity has authority to appoint,

promote, demote and fire senior

executives that control the day-to-day

activities of the licensees; and (3) the

entity plays an integral role in all major

management decisions. The definition

of ‘‘affiliate’’ is set forth at Section

27.210(d) of the Commission’s Rules.

(2) Bidding Credits

27. The size of a WCS bidding credit

depends on the annual gross revenues of

the bidder and its affiliates, as averaged

over the preceding three years:

* A bidder with average gross annual

revenues not exceeding $40 million (a

‘‘small business’’) receives a 25-percent

discount on its winning bids for WCS

licenses.

* A bidder with average gross annual

revenues not exceeding $15 million (a

‘‘very small business’’) receives a 35-

percent discount on its winning bids for

WCS licenses.

These bidding credits are not

cumulative.

(3) Application Showing

28. Applicants should note that as

part of their FCC Form 175 filing they

will be required to file supporting

documentation to establish that they

satisfy the eligibility requirements to bid

as a small business or very small

business in this auction, and that they

are subject to audits to confirm their

eligibility.

(4) Unjust Enrichment

29. WCS winning bidders should note

that unjust enrichment provisions apply

to winning bidders who use bidding

credits and subsequently assign or

transfer control of their WCS licenses to

an entity that does not qualify for the

special financial provisions. See 47 CFR

Section 27.209. Likewise, unjust

enrichment provisions apply to any

WCS licensee that received a bidding

credit and subsequently partitions a

portion of its license or disaggregates a

portion of its spectrum to an entity that

would not have qualified for such a

bidding credit.

III. Pre-Auction Procedures

A. Short-Form Application (FCC Form

175)—Due March 25, 1997

30. In order to be eligible to bid in this

auction, applicants must first submit an

FCC Form 175 application to the

Commission. This application must be

submitted electronically by 5:30 p.m. ET

on March 25, 1997. Late applications

will not be accepted.

31. There is no application fee

required when filing a FCC Form 175.

However, to be eligible to bid, an

applicant will have to submit an upfront

payment.

(1) Electronic Filing Only

32. Applicants must file their

applications electronically. Manual

filing is not permitted for this auction.

Generally, applicants may begin to file

electronically on a 24-hour basis

beginning at about the same time as

release of the Bidder Information

Package. All the information required to

file the FCC Form 175 electronically

(i.e., software, help files and

configuration samples) will be available

over both the Internet and the FCC’s

Bulletin Board System (‘‘BBS’).

(2) Completion of the FCC Form 175

33. Applicants should carefully

review 47 CFR Sections 1.2105 and

27.204, and must complete all items on

the FCC Form 175. Instructions for

completing the FCC Form 175 will be

contained in the Bidder Information

Package.

34. Failure to submit the required

ownership information will result in

dismissal of the application and loss of

the ability to participate in the auction.

(3) Electronic Review of FCC Form 175

35. The FCC Form 175 review

software may be used to review and

print applicants’ FCC Form 175

applications. In other words, applicants

who file electronically may review their

own completed FCC Form 175s.

Applicants also have access to view

other applicants’ completed FCC Form

175s after the deadline for filing FCC

Form 175s has passed and the

Commission has issued a public notice

identifying the filing status of the

applicants.

B. Application Processing and Minor

Corrections

36. After the deadline for filing the

FCC Form 175 applications has passed,

the Commission will process all timely

applications to determine which are

acceptable for filing, and subsequently

will issue a public notice identifying: (1)

Those applications accepted for filing

(including FCC account numbers and

the licenses for which they applied); (2)

those applications rejected; and (3)

those applications which have minor

defects that may be corrected, and the

deadline for filing such corrected

applications.

37. As described more fully in our

rules, after the March 25, 1997 shortform filing deadline, applicants may

make only minor corrections to their

FCC Form 175 applications. Applicants

will not be permitted to make major

modifications to their applications (e.g.,
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices 12189

change their license selections, change

the certifying official or change control

of the applicant). See 47 CFR Section

27.204(b).

C. Upfront Payments—Due April 4, 1997

38. In order to be eligible to bid in the

auction, applicants must submit an

upfront payment accompanied by an

FCC Remittance Advice (FCC Form

159). All upfront payments must be

received by wire transfer at Mellon Bank

in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by 6:00

p.m. E.T. on April 4, 1997.

39. Please note that:

*All payments must be made in U.S.

dollars.

*All payments must be made by wire

transfer. No other form of payment will

be accepted.

*Upfront payments for Auction 14 go

to a different lockbox number from the

one used in previous FCC auctions, and

different from the lockbox number to be

used for post-auction payments.

*Failure to deliver the upfront

payment by the April 4, 1997 deadline

will result in dismissal of the

application and disqualification from

participation in the auction.

(1) Wire Transfers

40. For this auction, the Commission

requires applicants to make their

upfront payments by wire transfer,

which experience has shown provides

the greatest reliability and efficiency.

Wire transfer payments must be

received by 6:00 p.m. ET on April 4,

1997. 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. Applicants will need the

following information:

ABA Routing Number: 043000261

Receiving Bank: Mellon Pittsburgh

BNF: FCC/AC—9116106

OBI Field: (Skip one space between

each information item)

‘‘AUCTIONPAY’’

FCC ACCOUNT NO. (same as FCC Form

159, Block 1)

PAYMENT TYPE CODE (enter ‘‘A30U’’)

FCC CODE (same as FCC Form 159,

Block 17A: ‘‘14’’)

PAYOR NAME (same as FCC Form 159,

Block 3)

LOCKBOX NO. 358400

Note: The BNF and Lockbox No. are

specific to the upfront payments for WCS; do

not use BNF or Lockbox numbers from

previous auctions.

41. Applicants must fax a completed

FCC Form 159 to Mellon Bank at 412–

236–5702 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 #14’’.

(2) FCC Form 159

42. Each upfront payment must be

accompanied by a completed FCC

Remittance Advice (FCC Form 159).

Proper completion of FCC Form 159 is

critical to ensuring correct credit of

upfront payments. Instructions for

completing FCC Form 159 will be

contained in the Bidder Information

Package.

(3) Amount of Upfront Payment

43. The amount of the upfront

payment required to bid on a particular

license in Auction No. 14 is $0.02 per

megahertz per population (MHz-pop).

As noted below, a different

determination is used for the Gulf of

Mexico service area. The upfront

payment associated with each license

offered is listed in Attachment A to this

Public Notice. Upfront payments,

however, are not attributed to specific

licenses, but instead will be translated

to bidding units to define the bidder’s

maximum bidding eligibility.

44. Thus, an applicant does not have

to make an upfront payment to cover all

licenses for which it has applied.

Rather, the total upfront payment

defines the maximum amount of

bidding units the applicant will be

permitted to bid on (including standing

high bids) in any single round of

bidding. At a minimum, an applicant’s

total upfront payment must be enough

to establish eligibility to bid on at least

one of the licenses applied for on its

FCC Form 175, or else the applicant will

not be eligible to participate in the

auction.

45. In calculating the upfront payment

amount, an applicant should determine

the maximum number of bidding units

in terms of MHz-pops it may wish to bid

on in any single round, and submit an

upfront payment covering that number

of bidding units. In this auction, the

licenses authorize service over 10 MHz

of spectrum for MEAs and 5 MHz of

spectrum for REAGs. Thus, if an

applicant wants to be eligible to bid in

any single bidding round on licenses in

MEAs with a maximum total population

of 750,000 persons, the applicant must

submit an upfront payment of $150,000

(750,000 x 10 MHz x $0.02 = $150,000).

Due to the unique circumstances of the

Gulf of Mexico service area (no

population figure), the Commission will

establish an upfront payment of $5,000

and 250,000 bidding units for each MEA

license and an upfront payment of

$2,500 and 125,000 bidding units for

each REAG license in this area.

Note: An applicant may, on its FCC Form

175, apply for every license being offered, but

its actual bidding in any round will be

limited by the bidding units reflected in its

upfront payment. Bidders will be required to

remain active in each round of the auction

on a specified percentage of bidding units

reflected in their upfront payments in order

to retain their current eligibility.

(4) Refunds

46. The Commission currently intends

to use wire transfers for all Auction 14

refunds. To avoid delays in processing

refunds, applicants should include wire

transfer instructions with any refund

request they file; they may also provide

this information in advance by faxing it

to the FCC Billings and Collections

Branch, ATTN: Regina Dorsey or

Linwood Jenkins, at 202–418–2843.

Applicants should also note that

implementation of the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996 requires the

Commission to obtain a Taxpayer

Identification Number before it can

disburse refunds.

D. Auction Registration

47. No later than five business days

before the auction, the Commission 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 who have

timely submitted upfront payments

sufficient to make them eligible to bid

on at least one of the licenses for which

they applied.

48. All qualified bidders are

automatically registered for the auction.

Registration materials will be

distributed prior to the auction by two

separate overnight mailings, each

containing part of the confidential

identification codes required to place

bids. These mailings only will be sent

to the contact person at the applicant

address listed in the FCC Form 175.

49. Applicants who do not receive

both registration mailings will not be

able to submit bids. Therefore, any

qualified applicant who has not

received both mailings within three

business days after the release of the

qualified bidders public notice should

contact the FCC National Call Center at

888–CALL–FCC (888–225–5322).

Receipt of both registration mailings is

critical to participating in the auction

and each applicant is responsible for

ensuring it has received all of the

registration material.

Note: Qualified bidders should note that

lost login codes, passwords or bidder
12190 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices

identification numbers can only be replaced

by appearing in person at the FCC Auction

Headquarters located at 2 Massachusetts

Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002. 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

replacement codes.

E. Remote Electronic Bidding Software

50. Bidding for WCS licenses is by

electronic means only. Bidders must

purchase remote electronic bidding

software for $175.00, including shipping

and handling, by April 4, 1997.

(Auction software is tailored to a

specific auction, so software from prior

auctions will not work for Auction 14.)

Information about this software and an

order form will be included in the

Bidder Information Package. Bidders

who order remote bidding software by

the ordering deadline will receive it

with the registration mailings.

F. Mock Auction

51. All applicants whose FCC Form

175s have been accepted for filing will

be eligible to participate in a mock

auction beginning April 10, 1997. The

mock auction will enable applicants to

become familiar with the electronic

software prior to the auction. Free

demonstration software will be available

for use in the mock auction. Due to

different bidding procedures in the WCS

auction from previous Commission

auctions, participation by all bidders is

strongly recommended. Details will be

announced by public notice.

IV. Auction Event

52. The Commission will begin the

auction on Tuesday, April 15, 1997.

A. Auction Structure

(1) Simultaneous Multiple Round

Auction

53. The 128 WCS licenses will be

awarded through a single, simultaneous

multiple round auction. Unless

otherwise announced, bids will be

accepted on all licenses in each round

of the auction.

(2) Activity Rule

54. 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 waiting until the end before

participating. A bidder that does not

satisfy the activity rule either loses

bidding eligibility or uses an activity

rule waiver.

55. A bidder is considered ‘‘active’’ on

a license in the current round if it either

is the high bidder at the end of the

previous round’s bidding period and

does not withdraw the high bid in the

current round, or submits an acceptable

bid in the current round. Placing and

removing a bid in the same round does

not count toward activity. A bidder’s

activity level in a round is the sum of

the bidding units associated with

licenses on which the bidder is active.

The minimum required activity level is

expressed as a percentage of the bidder’s

maximum bidding eligibility and

increases as the auction progresses

following stage transitions.

(3) Activity Rule Waivers

56. Each bidder will be provided five

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 minimum level. An activity

rule waiver applies to an entire round

of bidding and not to a particular

license.

57. The FCC 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 bidding

period where a bidder’s activity level is

below the minimum required unless: (1)

there are no activity rule waivers

available; or (2) the bidder overrides the

automatic application of a waiver by

reducing eligibility.

58. A bidder with insufficient activity

who wants to reduce its bidding

eligibility rather than use an activity

rule waiver must affirmatively override

the automatic waiver mechanism during

the bidding period. In this case, the

bidder’s eligibility is permanently

reduced, and it will not be permitted to

later regain its lost bidding eligibility.

59. 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 during a bidding

period in which no bids are submitted,

the auction will remain open. (Note that

an automatic waiver invoked in a round

in which there are no new valid bids

will not keep the auction open.) Thus in

the later rounds of the auction, if a

bidder does not intend to bid but wants

to ensure that the auction does not

close, it should enter a proactive waiver

in place of a bid.

(4) Auction Stages

60. The auction is composed of three

stages, which are each defined by an

increasing activity rule. Below are the

proposed activity levels for each stage of

the WCS auction. The Commission

reserves the discretion to alter the

activity percentages.

61. Stage One: In each round of the

first stage of the auction, a bidder

desiring to maintain its current

eligibility is required to be active on

licenses encompassing at least 60

percent of its current bidding eligibility.

Failure to maintain the requisite 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

current round activity by five-thirds

(5⁄3).

62. Stage Two: In each round of the

second stage, a bidder desiring to

maintain its current eligibility is

required to be active on 90 percent of its

current bidding eligibility. During Stage

Two, reduced eligibility for the next

round will be calculated by multiplying

the current round activity by ten-ninths

(10⁄9).

63. Stage Three: In each round of the

third stage, a bidder desiring to

maintain its current eligibility is

required to be active on 98 percent of its

current bidding eligibility. In this final

stage, reduced eligibility for the next

round will be calculated by multiplying

the current round activity by fiftyfortyninths (50⁄49).

64. 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 who 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 reverify

their activity status at stage transitions.

Bidders may check their activity against

the required minimum activity level by

using the bidding software’s bidding

module.

(5) Stage Transitions

65. The auction will start in Stage

One. Under our general guidelines it

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

Stage One to Stage Two, and from Stage

Two to Stage Three) when in each of

three consecutive rounds of bidding, the

high bid has increased on 10 percent or

less of the licenses being auctioned (as

measured in bidding units). However,

the Commission retains the discretion to

accelerate the auction by

announcement. This determination will
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices 12191

be based on a variety of measures of

bidder activity including, but not

limited to, the auction activity level, the

percentages of licenses (measured in

terms of activity units) on which there

are new bids, the number of new bids,

and the percentage increase in revenue.

(6) Auction Stopping Rules

66. Barring extraordinary

circumstances, bidding will remain

open on all licenses until bidding stops

on every license. Thus, the auction will

close for all licenses when one round

passes during which no bidder submits

a new acceptable bid on any license,

applies a proactive waiver, or

withdraws a previous high bid.

67. The Commission retains the

discretion, however, to keep an auction

open even if no new acceptable bids or

proactive waivers are submitted, and no

previous high bids are withdrawn. In

this event, the effect will be the same as

if a bidder had submitted a proactive

waiver. Thus, the activity rule will

apply as usual, and a bidder with

insufficient activity will either lose

bidding eligibility or use an activity rule

waiver (if it has any left).

68. Further, in its discretion, the

Commission reserves the right to declare

that the auction will end after a

specified number of additional rounds

(’’special stopping rule’’). If the

Commission 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 three rounds. The

Commission intends to exercise this

option only in extreme circumstances,

such as where the auction is proceeding

very slowly, where there is minimal

overall bidding activity, or where it

appears likely that the auction will not

close within a reasonable period of time.

Before exercising this option, the

Commission will probably first attempt

to increase the pace of the auction by,

for example, moving the auction into

the next stage (where bidders would be

required to maintain a higher level of

bidding activity), increasing the number

of bidding rounds per day, and/or

increasing the amount of the minimum

bid increments for the limited number

of licenses where there is still a high

level of bidding activity.

(7) Auction Delay, Suspension or

Cancellation

69. By public notice or by

announcement during the auction, the

Commission 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

and competitive conduct of competitive

bidding. In such cases, the Commission,

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 Commission to delay or

suspend the auction.

B. Bidding Procedures

(1) Round Structure

70. The initial bidding schedule will

be announced by public notice at least

one week before the start of the auction,

and will be included in the registration

mailings. Each bidding round contains a

single bidding period followed by the

release of the round results. Participants

should note that the round structure for

the WCS auction is a different format

than the round structure used in

previous Commission auctions.

71. The Commission 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 Commission may

increase or decrease the amount of time

for the performance and review periods,

or the number of rounds per day,

depending upon the bidding activity

level and other factors.

(2) Minimum Acceptable Bids

72. The Commission does not

anticipate establishing a minimum

opening bid for WCS licenses, but

reserves the discretion to implement

minimum opening bids for any license.

Bidders will be informed if a minimum

opening bid is imposed through a public

notice released prior to the start of the

auction. Once there is a standing high

bid on a license, the minimum bid

increment for that license will be based

on the level of activity that license has

received in the current and previous

rounds. The Commission will release

the specific methodology for calculating

this increment before the start of the

auction.

(3) High Bids

73. Each bid will be date-and timestamped when it is entered into the

computer system. In the event of tie

bids, the Commission will identify the

high bidder on the basis of the order in

which bids are received by the

Commission, starting with the earliest

bid.

(4) Bidding

74. During a bidding period, a bidder

may submit bids for as many licenses as

it is eligible, as well as withdraw high

bids from previous bidding periods,

remove bids placed in the same bidding

period, or permanently reduce

eligibility. This is a change in the

procedures from previous auctions.

Bidders also have the option of making

multiple submissions and withdrawals

per each bidding period, and will not

have a separate period to withdraw bids.

If a bidder enters multiple bids for a

license in the same round, the system

takes the last bid entered as that

bidder’s bid for the round. A bidder

withdrawing a high bid from a previous

round, will be subject to the bid

withdrawal payments, but a bidder

removing a bid placed in the same

round is not subject to the payments.

Eligibility in the first round of the

auction is determined by: (a) the

licenses applied for on FCC Form 175

and (b) the upfront payment amount

deposited. The bid submission screens

will be tailored for each bidder to

include only those licenses for which

the bidder applied on its FCC Form 175.

A bidder also has the option to tailor its

bid submission screens to call up

specified groups of licenses.

75. The bidding software requires

each bidder to login to the FCC Auction

System during the bidding period using

the FCC Account Number, Bidder

Identification Number, and confidential

security codes provided in the

registration materials. Bidders can

download and print bid confirmations

after they submit their bids.

(5) Bid Withdrawal

(a) Procedures

76. A high bidder that withdraws its

standing high bid from a previous round

is subject to the bid withdrawal

payments specified in Section 27.203 of

the Commission’s Rules. A bidder that

places a bid and removes it during the

same bidding period will not be subject

to a bid withdrawal payment. The

procedure for withdrawing a bid and

receiving a withdrawal confirmation is

essentially the same as the procedure for

placing a bid. To prevent strategic

delays to the close of the auction, the

Commission retains the discretion to

limit the number of times that a bidder

may re-bid on a license from which it

has withdrawn a high bid.

77. If a high bid is withdrawn, the

license will be offered in the next round

at the second highest bid price, which

may be less than, or equal to, in the case

of tie bids, the amount of the withdrawn

bid, without any bid increment. The
12192 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices

Commission will serve as a ‘‘place

holder’’ on the license until a new

acceptable bid is submitted on that

license.

(b) Calculation

78. Generally, a bidder who

withdraws a standing high bid during

the course of an auction will be subject

to a payment equal to the lower of (1)

the difference between the net

withdrawn bid and the subsequent net

winning bid, or (2) the difference

between the gross withdrawn bid and

the subsequent gross winning bid for

that license. See 47 CFR Section 27.203.

No withdrawal payment will be

assessed if the subsequent winning bid

exceeds the withdrawn bid.

(6) Round Results

79. The bids placed during a bidding

period are not published until the

conclusion of that bidding period. After

a bidding period closes, the Commission

will compile reports of all bids placed,

bids withdrawn, current high bids, new

minimum accepted bids, and bidder

eligibility status (bidding eligibility and

activity rule waivers), and post the

reports for public access.

80. Reports reflecting bidders’

identities and bidder identification

numbers will be available before and

during the auction. Thus, bidders will

know in advance of the auction the

identities of the bidders against whom

they are bidding.

(7) Auction Announcements

81. The Commission will use auction

announcements to announce items such

as schedule changes and stage

transitions. All FCC auction

announcements will be available on the

FCC remote electronic bidding system,

as well as the Internet and the FCC

Bulletin Board System.

(8) Other Matters

82. After the short-form filing

deadline, applicants may make only

minor changes to their FCC Form 175

applications. For example, permissible

minor changes include deletion and

addition of authorized bidders (to a

maximum of three) and revision of

exhibits. Filers should make these

changes on-line, and submit a letter to

Kathleen O’Brien Ham, Chief, Auctions

Division, Wireless Telecommunications

Bureau, Federal Communications

Commission, 2025 M Street, N.W.,

Room 5322, Washington, D.C., 20554

(and mail a separate copy to Josh

Roland, Auctions Division), briefly

summarizing the changes. Questions

about other changes should be directed

to the FCC Auctions Division at 202–

418–0660.

V. Post-Auction Procedures

A. Down Payments and Withdrawn Bid

Payments

83. After bidding has ended, the

Commission will issue a public notice

declaring the auction closed (‘‘auction

closing notice’’), identifying the

winning bids and bidders for each

license, and listing withdrawn bid

payments due.

84. Within ten business days after

release of the auction closing notice,

each winning bidder must submit

sufficient funds to bring the total

amount of money on deposit with the

government (upfront payment less any

withdrawal payments) to 20 percent of

its high bids, unless it is an eligible

small or very small business who

elected to bid using bidding credits,

then it must submit sufficient funds to

bring the total amount of money on

deposit with the government (upfront

payment less any withdrawal payments)

to 20 percent of its net winning bids

(actual bids less any applicable bidding

credits). See 47 CFR Section 1.2107(b).

In addition, by the same deadline all

bidders must pay any withdrawn bid

amounts due under Section 1.2104(g)(1)

of the Commission’s Rules. Upfront

payments are applied first to satisfy any

outstanding bid withdrawal payments

before being applied toward down

payments. 47 CFR Section 1.2104(g)(2).

B. Long-Form Application (FCC Form

600)

85. Within ten business days after

release of the auction closing notice,

winning bidders must submit a properly

completed FCC Form 600 application

and required exhibits for each WCS

license won through the auction.

Winning small business or very small

business bidders must include an

exhibit demonstrating their eligibility

for the small business incentives. See 47

CFR Sections 1.2107 (c) and (d). Further

instructions will be provided to auction

winners at the close of the auction.

86. The FCC Form 600 may be filed

electronically. Alternatively, a hard

copy plus required 3.5′′ properlyformatted diskette copies may be sent

to: FCC Form 600 Filing, Auction No.

14, Federal Communications

Commission, Office of Operations, 1270

Fairfield Road, Gettysburg, PA 17325–

7245.

C. Application Processing and Grant;

Final Payments

87. Once a high bidder has submitted

its down payment and filed an

acceptable FCC Form 600 application,

the Commission will release a public

notice announcing acceptance of the

long-form application. Parties will have

five days following the public notice to

file petitions to deny. Any responses to

petitions to deny are due within five

days. If the Commission dismisses or

denies all petitions to deny, the

Commission will announce by public

notice that it is prepared to award a

license, and the winning bidder will

then have ten business days to submit

the balance of its winning bid. If this

payment is made, the license will be

granted.

88. Winning bidders will receive

further instructions and detailed

payment information after the auction

closes.

D. Refund of Remaining Upfront

Payment Balance

89. All applicants who submitted

upfront payments but were not winning

bidders for any WCS license 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 that applicant

after any applicable bid withdrawal

payments have been paid.

90. Bidders who drop out of the

auction completely may be eligible for

a refund of their upfront payments

before the close of the auction.

However, bidders who reduce their

eligibility and remain in the auction are

not eligible for partial refunds of upfront

payments until the close of the auction.

Qualified bidders who have exhausted

all 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, along with a Taxpayer

Identification Number (‘‘TIN’’) and a

copy of their bidding eligibility screen

print, to: Federal Communications

Commission, Billings and Collections

Branch, Attn: Regina Dorsey or Linwood

Jenkins, 1919 M Street, N.W., Room 452,

Washington, D.C. 20554.

91. Bidders can also fax their request

to the Billings and Collections Branch at

(202) 418–2843. Once the request has

been approved, a refund will be sent to

the address provided on the FCC Form

159.

92. Refund processing generally takes

up to two weeks to complete. Bidders

with questions about refunds should

contact Regina Dorsey or Linwood

Jenkins at 202–418–1995.

E. Default and Disqualification

93. Any high bidder that defaults or

is disqualified after the close of the
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices 12193

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 Sections 1.2104(g) and

1.2109 of the Commission’s Rules. In

the event that the amount of those

payments cannot be determined (i.e.

until the license has been reauctioned),

the Commission can require a ‘‘deposit’’

of at least three (3) percent of the

defaulted bid amount. See In Re C. H.

PCS, Inc., BTA No. B347 Frequency

Block C, Order, DA 96–1825 (released

November 4, 1996). See also Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau Will

Strictly Enforce Default Payment Rules,

Public Notice, DA 96–481 (April 4,

1996). Under certain circumstances the

Commission can also reauction the

license to existing or new applicants, or

offer it to the other highest bidders (in

descending order) at their final bids. See

47 CFR Sections 1.2109 (b) and (c). 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. See 47

CFR Section 1.2107(d).

F. Service and Construction

Requirements

94. WCS licenses are required to

provide substantial service to their

service areas within ten years. Licensees

failing to demonstrate that they are

providing substantial service at the ten

year period will be subject to forfeiture

of their licenses.

Federal Communications Commission

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

Attachment A—List of Licenses Offered

The following tables lists the 128

Wireless Communications Service

(‘‘WCS’’) licenses to be auctioned. The

licenses consist of two licenses

(Frequency Blocks ‘‘A’’ and ‘‘B’’) in each

of 52 Major Economic Areas (MEAs) and

two licenses (Frequency Blocks ‘‘C’’ and

‘‘D’’) in each of 12 Regional Economic

Area Groupings (REAGs). The MEAs

and REAGs are based on the 172

Economic Area (‘‘EAs’’) developed by

the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the

U.S. Department of Commerce. More

information regarding EAs is available

on the Commission’s Office of

Engineering and Technology’s Internet

web page at: http://www.fcc.gov/oet/

info/maps/bea/

SUMMARY OF LICENSES TO BE AUCTIONED: BLOCKS A AND B MAJOR ECONOMIC AREAS

MEA No. Major economic area name License No. Pop. Upfront payment

RE01—Northeast

ME01 ................ Boston ............................................................................................ WSME01A/B 8,672,944 $1,734,588.80

ME02 ................ New York City ................................................................................ WSME02A/B 29,027,017 5,805,403.40

ME03 ................ Buffalo ............................................................................................ WSME03A/B 1,529,735 305,947.00

ME04 ................ Philadelphia .................................................................................... WSME04A/B 7,942,319 1,588,463.80

RE02—Southeast

ME05 ................ Washington ..................................................................................... WSME05A/B 7,745,433 1,549,086.60

ME06 ................ Richmond ....................................................................................... WSME06A/B 3,897,805 779,561.00

ME07 ................ Charlotte-G’boro-Greenville-Raleigh .............................................. WSME07A/B 9,825,342 1,965,068.40

ME08 ................ Atlanta ............................................................................................ WSME08A/B 7,341,931 1,468,386.20

ME09 ................ Jacksonville .................................................................................... WSME09A/B 2,168,038 433,607.60

ME10 ................ Tampa-St. Petersburg-Orlando ...................................................... WSME10A/B 5,528,763 1,105,752.60

ME11 ................ Miami .............................................................................................. WSME11A/B 5,025,606 1,005,121.20

RE03—Great Lakes

ME12 ................ Pittsburgh ....................................................................................... WSME12A/B 4,148,373 829,674.60

ME13 ................ Cincinnati-Dayton ........................................................................... WSME13A/B 4,325,459 865,091.80

ME14 ................ Columbus ....................................................................................... WSME14A/B 2,100,613 420,122.60

ME15 ................ Cleveland ........................................................................................ WSME15A/B 5,077,339 1,015,467.80

ME16 ................ Detroit ............................................................................................. WSME16A/B 10,041,377 2,008,275.40

ME17 ................ Milwaukee ....................................................................................... WSME17A/B 4,634,011 926,802.20

ME18 ................ Chicago .......................................................................................... WSME18A/B 12,495,510 2,499,102.00

ME19 ................ Indianapolis .................................................................................... WSME19A/B 2,753,182 550,636.40

ME20 ................ Minneapolis-St. Paul ...................................................................... WSME20A/B 6,018,051 1,203,610.20

ME21 ................ Des Moines-Quad Cities ................................................................ WSME21A/B 2,733,385 546,677.00

RE04—Mississippi Valley

ME22 ................ Knoxville ......................................................................................... WSME22A/B 1,364,665 272,933.00

ME23 ................ Louisville-Lexington-Evansville ....................................................... WSME23A/B 4,059,317 811,863.40

ME24 ................ Birmingham .................................................................................... WSME24A/B 3,082,737 616,547.40

ME25 ................ Nashville ......................................................................................... WSME25A/B 2,002,283 400,456.60

ME26 ................ Memphis-Jackson ........................................................................... WSME26A/B 3,850,949 770,189.80

ME27 ................ New Orleans-Baton Rouge ............................................................ WSME27A/B 4,310,367 862,073.40

ME28 ................ Little Rock ....................................................................................... WSME28A/B 2,309,255 461,851.00

ME29 ................ Kansas City .................................................................................... WSME29A/B 2,903,432 580,686.40

ME30 ................ St. Louis ......................................................................................... WSME30A/B 4,436,804 887,360.80

RE05—Central

ME31 ................ Houston .......................................................................................... WSME31A/B 5,513,511 1,102,702.20

ME32 ................ Dallas-Fort Worth ........................................................................... WSME32A/B 9,575,762 1,915,152.40

ME33 ................ Denver ............................................................................................ WSME33A/B 3,952,116 790,423.20

ME34 ................ Omaha ............................................................................................ WSME34A/B 1,638,440 327,688.00

ME35 ................ Wichita ............................................................................................ WSME35A/B 1,094,213 218,842.60

ME36 ................ Tulsa ............................................................................................... WSME36A/B 1,259,636 251,927.20

ME37 ................ Oklahoma City ................................................................................ WSME37A/B 1,695,572 339,114.40
12194 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices

SUMMARY OF LICENSES TO BE AUCTIONED: BLOCKS A AND B MAJOR ECONOMIC AREAS—Continued

MEA No. Major economic area name License No. Pop. Upfront payment

ME38 ................ San Antonio .................................................................................... WSME38A/B 2,944,684 588,936.80

ME39 ................ El Paso-Albuquerque ..................................................................... WSME39A/B 2,114,287 422,857.40

ME40 ................ Phoenix ........................................................................................... WSME40A/B 3,458,935 691,787.00

RE06—West

ME41 ................ Spokane-Billings ............................................................................. WSME41A/B 1,727,716 345,543.20

ME42 ................ Salt Lake City ................................................................................. WSME42A/B 2,444,454 488,890.80

ME43 ................ San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose ................................................. WSME43A/B 11,956,167 2,391,233.40

ME44 ................ Los Angeles-San Diego ................................................................. WSME44A/B 19,333,536 3,866,707.20

ME45 ................ Portland .......................................................................................... WSME45A/B 2,999,719 599,943.80

ME46 ................ Seattle ............................................................................................ WSME46A/B 3,990,811 798,162.20

RE07—Alaska

ME47 ................ Alaska ............................................................................................. WSME47A/B 550,043 110,008.60

RE08—Hawaii

ME48 ................ Hawaii ............................................................................................. WSME48A/B 1,108,229 221,645.80

RE09—Guam and Northern Mariana Islands

ME49 ................ Guam and Northern Mariana Islands ............................................. WSME49A/B 176,000 35,200.00

RE10—Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands

ME50 ................ Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands .............................................. WSME50A/B 3,623,846 724,769.20

RE11—American Samoa

ME51 ................ American Samoa ............................................................................ WSME51A/B 47,000 9,400.00

RE12—Gulf of Mexico

ME52 ................ Gulf of Mexico ................................................................................ WSME52A/B 0 5,000.00

Totals ......... ......................................................................................................... 252,556,719 50,516,343.80

SUMMARY OF LICENSES TO BE AUCTIONED: BLOCKS C AND D REGIONAL ECONOMIC AREA GROUPINGS

Region No. Regional economic area grouping name License No. Pop. Upfront payment

RE01 ................. Northeast ........................................................................................ WSRE01C/D 47,172,015 $4,717,201.50

RE02 ................. Southeast ....................................................................................... WSRE02C/D 41,532,918 4,153,291.80

RE03 ................. Great Lakes .................................................................................... WSRE03C/D 54,327,300 5,432,730.00

RE04 ................. Mississippi Valley ........................................................................... WSRE04C/D 28,319,809 2,831,980.90

RE05 ................. Central ............................................................................................ WSRE05C/D 33,247,156 3,324,715.60

RE06 ................. West ............................................................................................... WSRE06C/D 42,452,403 4,245,240.30

RE07 ................. Alaska ............................................................................................. WSRE07C/D 550,043 55,004.30

RE08 ................. Hawaii ............................................................................................. WSRE08C/D 1,108,229 110,822.90

RE09 ................. Guam and Northern Mariana Islands ............................................. WSRE09C/D 176,000 17,600.00

RE10 ................. Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands .............................................. WSRE10C/D 3,623,846 362,384.60

RE11 ................. American Samoa ............................................................................ WSRE11C/D 47,000 4,700.00

RE12 ................. Gulf of Mexico ................................................................................ WSRE12C/D 0 2,500.00

Totals ......... ......................................................................................................... 252,556,719 25,258,171.90

Attachment B—Electronic Filing of FCC

Form 175

The Commission has implemented a

remote access system to allow

applicants to submit their FCC Form

175 applications electronically. The

remote access system for initial filing of

the FCC Form 175 applications will

generally be available 24 hours per day

beginning at approximately the same

time as the release of the Bidder

Information Package. FCC Form 175

applications that are filed electronically

using this remote access system must be

submitted and confirmed by 5:30 p.m.

ET on March 25, 1997. Late applications

or unconfirmed submissions of

electronic data will not be accepted. The

electronic filing process consists of an

initial filing period and a resubmission

period to make minor corrections.

Parties interested in filing FCC Form

175 applications electronically may do

so via a (202) area code telephone

service with no additional access charge

or via a 900 number telephone service

at a charge of $2.30 per minute. The first

minute of connection time to the 900

number service will be at no charge.

Similarly, parties interested in

reviewing FCC Form 175 applications

electronically will do so via the 900

telephone service at a charge of $2.30

per minute. The first minute of

connection time to the 900 number

service will be at no charge.

Those applicants who wish to file

their FCC Form 175 electronically or

review other FCC Form 175 applications

on-line will need the following

hardware and software:

Hardware Requirements

*CPU: Intel 80486 or above.

*RAM: 8MB RAM (more

recommended if you intend to open

multiple applications).

* Hard Disk: 12MB available disk

space.

* Modem: v.32bis 14.4kbps Hayes

compatible modem.

* Monitor: VGA or above.

* Mouse or other pointing device.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices 12195

To create backup installation disks for

the FCC Form 175 Application, you will

need the following:

* 1.44MB 3.5′′ Floppy Drive.

*Three blank MS-DO formatted

1.44MB floppy disks.

Software Requirements

* FCC Form 175 Application Software

(available through the Internet and the

FCC Bulletin Board System).

* Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Microsoft

Windows for Workgroups v3.11 in an

enhanced mode.

Note: The FCC Form 175 Application has

not been tested in a Macintosh, OS/2, or

Windows95 environment. Therefore, the FCC

will not support operating systems other than

Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Microsoft

Windows for Workgroups v3.11 in an

enhanced mode. This includes any other

emulated Windows environment. If your

Windows is in a networked environment,

you should check with your local network

administrator for any potential conflicts with

the PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) Dialer that

is incorporated into the FCC Form 175

Application. This usually includes any TCP/

IP installed network protocol.

The PPP Dialer that is incorporated

into the FCC Form 175 Application will

establish a point-to-point connection

from your PC to the FCC Network. This

point-to-point connection is not routed

through the Internet.

Applicants who wish to file their FCC

applications electronically or who wish

to view other applicants’ applications

must first download the software from

either the Internet or the FCC Bulletin

Board System. Applicants must

download the following compressed

files to install the software:

f175v10a.exe, f175v10b.exe,

f175v10c.exe.

Internet Access

In order to download the compressed

files from the Internet, you will need to

have access to the Internet and an ftp

client software as follows:

* World Wide Web: ftp://ftp.fcc.gov.

Once you connect to the FCC ftp

server, select the following directory

and download the following files:

Directory: /pub/Auctions/WCS/

Auctionl14/Programs.

File: f175v10a.exe, f175v10b.exe,

f175v10c.exe.

* FTP: The following instructions are

for the command line version of ftp.

1. Connect to the FCC ftp server by

typing ftp ftp.fcc.gov.

2. At the user name prompt, type

anonymous [Enter].

3. At the password prompt, type your

Internet e-mail address [Enter].

4. To allow the file to be downloaded

type: binary [Enter].

5. Change your current directory to

the Programs directory by typing: cd

/pub/Auctions/WCS/Auctionl14/

Programs [Enter].

6. Use the get command to download

the files from the FCC ftp server by

typing:

get f175v10a.exe [Enter]

get f175v10b.exe [Enter]

get f175v10c.exe [Enter]

7. If you wish to exit, type: bye

[Enter].

* Gopher: gopher.ftp.fcc.gov or use

any gopher to get to ‘‘all the gophers in

the world’’ then ‘U.S.’ then ‘DC’ then

‘FCC’.

Dial-In Access to the FCC Auction

Bulletin Board System (BBS)

The FCC Auction Bulletin Board

System provides dial-in access for the

FCC Form 175 Application Software. In

order to access the FCC Auction BBS,

use a communications package that can

handle at least xmodem protocol (e.g.,

pcAnyWhere, Telix, Procomm) to dial

in to (202) 682–5851. Use the settings of

8 data bits, no parity and 1 stop bit

(8,N,1).

* For new users follow steps 1–5,

otherwise go to step 6 in the ANSI

Protocol Instructions section or the NonANSI Protocol Instructions section

(whichever is applicable):

1. Type New and press [Enter]. If the

word ANSI is blinking, type Y for yes.

If the word ANSI is not blinking, type

N for No.

2. Type in your first and last name

and press [Enter]. This will be your

login name.

3. Type in Y and press [Enter] when

asked to verify your login name.

4. Type in what you want your

password to be and press [Enter].

5. Retype the password for

verification and press [Enter].

*ANSI Protocol Instructions (once the

account is generated):

6. Type W for WCS Auction Files and

press [Enter].

7. Type A for Auction 14 and press

[Enter].

8. Type P for Programs and press

[Enter].

9. Type C for Current Library and

press [Enter].

10. Move the cursor to the file named

f175v10a.exe and type [Control-D] for

Download and press [Enter] (You may

need to change the transfer protocol

first—please see note below.)

11. The FCC Auction BBS will begin

transferring the file. You may need to

give your terminal emulation software a

command to receive the file; please

consult your terminal emulation

software manual for instructions

concerning how to do so.

12. Type X to return to the Programs

menu. Repeat steps 10 and 11 to

download the following files:

f175v10b.exe, f175v10c.exe.

13. Type X to return to the Programs

menu, then type X again. Type X to Exit

and press [Enter] and continue to do so

until asked if you want to Exit the BBS.

Press Y for Yes when asked to verify

that you want to exit.

*Non-ANSI Protocol Instructions

(once the account is generated):

6. Type W for WCS Auction Files and

press [Enter].

7. Type A for Auction 14 and press

[Enter].

8. Type P for Programs and press

[Enter].

9. Type C for Current Library and

press [Enter].

10. Type the letter next to the file

named f175v10a.exe and press [Enter].

11. Type D for Download now and

press [Enter] (You may need to change

the transfer protocol first—please see

the note below.)

12. The FCC Auction BBS will begin

transferring the file. You may need to

give your terminal emulation software a

command to receive the file; please

consult your terminal emulation

software manual for instructions

concerning how to do so.

13. Repeat steps 10 through 12 to

download the following files:

f175v10b.exe, f175v10c.exe.

14. Type X, then type X to Exit and

press [Enter] and continue to do so until

asked if you want to Exit the BBS. Press

Y for Yes when asked to verify that you

want to exit.

Note: To download files, you will need to

match the transfer protocol on your BBS

account to the transfer protocol set in your

terminal emulation software. To set the BBS

transfer protocol, return to the initial menu

and type L for Library and [Enter], P for

Preferences and [Enter], and P for File

Transfer Protocol and [Enter]. Type the letter

next to the protocol you desire and press

[Enter]. You may now download files.

Extracting the FCC Form 175

Application

The FCC Form 175 Application files

are downloaded in a self-extracting,

compressed file format. When you have

downloaded all of the compressed files

for the FCC Form 175 Application, you

must extract the FCC Form 175

Application from those files. To extract

the software, start File Manager in the

Main Program group, open the file

folder where you downloaded the files,

and double-click on f175v10a.exe. A

message will appear listing the default

directory to which the software will

extract. If this directory does not exist,

it will be created automatically. Press

Unzip to begin extracting the software

from the compressed file.
12196 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices

When the extraction is complete, a

message will appear listing the number

of files that were unzipped. Press OK

and repeat the above process for the

remaining compressed files

(f175v10b.exe, f175v10c.exe). Be sure to

extract to the same directory as the first

compressed file.

Installing the FCC Form 175 Application

After you extract the software from

the compressed files, you must install

the FCC Form 175 Application. To

install the software, start File Manager,

open the file folder to which you

extracted the software and double-click

on setup.exe.

When the setup program begins, a

screen will appear listing the default

directory to which the software will

install. Press the Install button, then

press OK to install to the specified

directory. If the directory does not exist,

the setup program will create it

automatically.

When the installation is complete, a

message may appear asking you to

restart Windows so that the changes

made by the installation may take effect.

Press Restart to restart Windows, or

press Stay Here to restart at a later time.

Do not use the FCC Form 175

Application until you restart Windows.

Creating Backup Installation Disks for

the FCC Form 175 Application

To create backup installation disks for

the FCC Form 175 Application, go to

File Manager, open the file folder to

which you extracted the software,

double-click on backup.bat, and follow

the instructions on the screen.

Running the FCC Form 175 Application

When the installation process is

complete, you will have a new Program

Manager group called FCC Form 175

Application v10 with the following

icons: Configure PPP, FCC Form 175

Submit, FCC Form 175 Review,

Suggestion Box, Readme, and Uninstall.

You must verify/modify the

parameters in the Configure PPP

program prior to establishing a PPP

connection. Please consult the

readme.txt file included with the

software for information regarding

Configure PPP.

Double-click on an icon to start the

respective system.

Uninstalling the FCC Form 175

Application

To uninstall the FCC Form 175

Application, double-click on the

Uninstall icon in the FCC Form 175 v10

program group. Press Start to uninstall

the software.

Please note that the Uninstall program

will remove ALL versions of the

software located in that installation

directory.

Alternatively, you may uninstall the

FCC Form 175 Application by deleting

the directory to which you installed the

software, then switching to Program

Manager and deleting the FCC Form 175

v10 icons and group.

Help

Detailed instructions for using all FCC

Remote Electronic Auction System

software can be found in the readme file

associated with the software and in the

context-sensitive help function

associated with each software system.

For technical assistance in installing

or using the FCC Form 175 Application,

contact the FCC Technical Support

Hotline at (202) 414–1250. The FCC

Technical Support Hotline will be

generally available Monday through

Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

Attachment C—Guidelines for

Completing FCC Form 175 and Exhibits

A. FCC Form 175

Because of the significance of the

Form 175 application to the auction,

bidders should especially note the

following:

Electronic filing only: Applicants for

the WCS auction must submit their FCC

Form 175 applications by means of

electronic filing. Applicants should note

that any attachments must be submitted

in ASCII text (.TXT) format.

Items 2–5: Give a street address (not

a Post Office box number) for the

applicant, suitable for mail or private

parcel delivery. The FCC will send all

registration materials and other written

communications to the applicant at this

address.

Item 6: Applicants should verify that

this item is pre-filled with the number

‘‘14.’’ If this item is blank or contains

another number, applicants should

confirm that they entered ‘‘14’’ on the

initial FCC Form 175 Welcome Screen.

Item 7: Applicants must create a tendigit FCC Account Number, which the

Commission will use to identify and

track applicants:

* A bidder that has a taxpayer

identification number (TIN) must create

this FCC account number by using its

TIN, plus the prefix of ‘‘0’’ (i.e.,

0123456789). A TIN is either the

Employer Identification Number (EIN)

in the case of a business, or the Social

Security Account Number (SSAN) in the

case of an individual.

* If—and only if—an applicant does

not have a taxpayer identification

number, the applicant should use its

ten-digit area code and telephone

number (i.e., 2025551234) on an interim

basis. However, the FCC must have a

TIN before it will be able to issue a

license or refund upfront payments.

Each applicant must include its FCC

Account Number when submitting

amendments, additional information, or

other correspondence or inquiries

regarding its application, and must

include this same number on each FCC

Form 159 (FCC Remittance Advice)

accompanying required auction deposits

or payments.

Item 8: Applicants must indicate their

legal classification. Limited liability

companies or joint ventures should

check the ‘‘Other’’ box and indicate

their classification in the blank.

Items 9 and 10: A box does not need

to be checked in Item 9 unless small

business status is selected in Item 10.

Applicants should be aware that they

will be committed to their election

choices. (Applicants are also requested

to indicate their status as a rural

telephone company, minority-owned

business or woman-owned business as

well, so the FCC can monitor its

performance in promoting economic

opportunities for these designated

entities.) Be advised that this is the sole

opportunity applicants have to elect

small business status and bidding credit

level (if applicable), and there is no

opportunity to change the election(s)

made once the short-form filing

deadline passes.

* Small or very small business

applicants eligible for bidding credits

should check that gross revenues do not

exceed the maximum dollar amount

specified in the FCC rules governing the

auctionable service in Item 9.

* Small or very small business

applicants should enter the applicable

bidding credit in Item 10: either 25 or

35 percent. Applicants should be aware

that this is the sole opportunity that

they will have to elect the appropriate

bidding credit.

* Applicants should leave the

Installment Payment Plan Type blank,

as none is available for this auction.

Item 11: For each license on which

they seek bidding eligibility, applicants

must identify the market number in the

Market No. column, and the frequency

block or blocks in the Frequency Block

column; frequency blocks are A and B

for MEAs and C and D for REAGs.

Applicants that wish to bid on all

frequency blocks on all markets should

check the ‘‘ALL’’ boxes in the Market

No. and Frequency Block/Channel No.

headings.

Applicants should identify all

licenses they want to be eligible to bid

on in the auction in Item 11. Be advised
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices 12197

that there is no opportunity to change

this list once the short-form filing

deadline passes. The FCC Auction

System will not accept bids on licenses

an applicant has not applied for on its

FCC Form 175.

Item 12: Applicants must list the

name(s) of the person(s) (no more than

three) authorized to represent them at

the auction. Only those individuals

listed on the FCC Form 175 will be

authorized to place or withdraw bids for

the applicant during the auction.

Certifications: Applicants should

carefully read the list of certifications on

the FCC Form 175. These certifications

help to ensure a fair and competitive

auction and require, among other things,

disclosure to the Commission of certain

information on applicant ownership and

agreements or arrangements concerning

the auction. Additionally, the applicant

must certify that it is not in default on

any Commission licenses and that it is

not delinquent on any extension of

credit from any federal agency.

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.

Contact person: If the Commission

wishes to communicate with the

applicant by telephone or fax, those

communications will be directed to the

contact person identified on the FCC

Form 175. Space is provided for a

telephone number, fax number, and email address. All written

communications and registration

information will be directed to the

applicant’s contact person at the address

specified on the FCC Form 175.

Applicants must provide a street

address; no P.O. Box addresses may be

used.

Completeness: Applicants must

submit all information required by FCC

Form 175 and by applicable rules.

Failure to submit required information

will result in dismissal of the

application and inability to participate

in the auction.

Continuing Accuracy: Each applicant

is responsible for the continuing

accuracy and completeness of

information furnished in the FCC Form

175 and its exhibits. See 47 CFR Section

1.65. It is the staff’s position that ten

business days from a reportable change

is a reasonable period of time in which

applicants must amend their FCC Form

175s. Applicants are reminded that

Certification (6) on FCC Form 175

includes consent to be audited.

B. Exhibits and Attachments

In addition to FCC Form 175 itself,

applicants must submit additional

information required by the FCC’s rules.

Although we do not require a particular

organization or format for this

information, we have developed the

following guidelines that will facilitate

the processing of short-form

applications. We encourage applicants

to submit this information using the

following format. All exhibits must be

in ASCII text (.TXT) format.

Exhibit A—Applicant Identity and

Ownership Information: 47 CFR Section

1.2105(a)(2) requires each applicant to

fully disclose the real party or partiesin-interest in an exhibit to its FCC Form

175 application. This information

should provide the name, citizenship

and address of all partners, if the

applicant is a partnership; of a

responsible officer or director, if the

applicant is a corporation; of the trustee,

if the applicant is a trust; or, if the

applicant is none of the foregoing, list

the name, address and citizenship of a

principal or other responsible person.

Exhibit B—Agreements with Other

Parties/Joint Bidding Arrangements:

Applicants must attach an exhibit

identifying all parties with whom the

applicant has entered into partnerships,

joint ventures, consortia or other

agreements, arrangement or

undertakings of any kind, relating to the

licenses being auctioned, including any

such agreements relating to post-auction

market structure. 47 CFR Section

1.2105(a)(2)(viii).

Be aware that pursuant to

Certification (4) on the FCC Form 175,

the applicant certifies that it will not

enter into any explicit or implicit

agreements or understandings of any

kind with parties not identified in the

application regarding the amount to be

bid, bidding strategies or the particular

licenses on which the applicant will or

will not bid. See 47 CFR Section

1.2105(a)(2)(ix). To prevent collusion,

the Commission’s rules generally

prohibit communications during the

course of the auction among applicants

for the same license areas when such

communications concern bids, bidding

strategies, or settlements. 47 CFR

Section 1.2105(c).

Exhibit C—Status as a Small or Very

Small Business Applicant: Applicants

claiming status as a small or very small

business must attach an exhibit

regarding this status.

* Small or very small business

applicants must state the average gross

revenues for the preceding three years

for the applicant (including affiliates),

as prescribed by 47 CFR Section 27.210.

Certification that the average gross

revenues for the preceding three years

do not exceed the required limit is not

sufficient.

Exhibit D—Information Requested of

Designated Entities: Applicants owned

by minorities or women as defined in 47

CFR Section 1.2110(b), or who are rural

telephone companies, may attach an

exhibit regarding this status. This

information, in conjunction with the

information in Item 10, will assist the

Commission in monitoring the

participation of designated entities in its

auctions.

Exhibit E—Miscellaneous

Information: Applicants wishing to

submit additional information should

include it in Exhibit E.

Applicants are reminded that all

information required in connection with

applications to participate in spectrum

auctions is necessary to determine the

applicants’ qualifications, and as such

will be available for public inspection.

Required proprietary information may

be redacted, or confidentiality may be

requested, following the procedures set

out in 47 CFR Section 0.459. Any such

requests should be submitted in writing

to Kathleen O’Brien Ham, Chief,

Auctions Division, Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau, Federal

Communications Commission, 2025 M

Street, N.W., Room 5322, Washington,

D.C., 20554 (with a separate copy

mailed to Josh Roland, Auctions

Division), in which case the applicant

must indicate in Exhibit E that it has

filed a confidentiality request. Because

the required information bears on

applicants’ qualifications, the

Commission envisions that

confidentiality requests will not be

routinely granted.

Waivers: Applicants requesting

waiver of any rules must submit a

statement of reasons sufficient to justify

the waiver sought.

Attachment D—Summary Listing of

Documents From the Commission and

the Wireless Telecommunications

Bureau Addressing Application of the

Anti-Collusion Rules

To date, discussion concerning the

anti-collusion rules may be found in the

following Commission and Bureau

items:

Commission Decisions

Second Report and Order in PP

Docket No. 93–253, FCC 94–61, 9 FCC
12198 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 50 / Friday, March 14, 1997 / Notices

Rcd 2348 (1994), 59 FR 22980 (May 4,

1994), paragraphs 221–226.

Fifth Report and Order in PP Docket

No. 93–253, FCC 94–178, 9 FCC Rcd

5532 (1994), 59 FR 37566 (July 22,

1994), paragraphs 91–92.

Second Memorandum Opinion and

Order in PP Docket No. 93–253, FCC

94–215, 9 FCC Rcd 7245 (1994), 59 FR

44272 (Aug. 26, 1994), paragraphs 48–

55.

Fourth Memorandum Opinion and

Order in PP Docket No. 93–253, FCC

94–264, 9 FCC Rcd 6858 (1994), 59 FR

24947 (May 18, 1994), paragraphs 47–

60.

Memorandum Opinion and Order in

PP Docket No. 93–253, FCC 94–295, 9

FCC Rcd 7684 (1994), 59 FR 64159 (Dec.

13, 1994), paragraphs 8–12.

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau

Decisions

Order in PP Docket No. 93–253 and

MM Docket No. 94–131, DA 95–2292,

(released November 3, 1995).

Public Notices

‘‘Wireless Telecommunications

Bureau Clarifies Spectrum Auction

Anti-Collusion Rules,’’ Public Notice,

DA 95–2244 (released October 26,

1995).

‘‘Wireless Telecommunications

Bureau Provides Guidance on the AntiCollusion Rule for D, E and F Block

Bidders,’’ Public Notice, DA 96–1460

(released August 28, 1996).

Letters From the Office of General

Counsel and the Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau

Letter to Gary M. Epstein and James

H. Barker from William E. Kennard,

General Counsel, Federal

Communications Commission (released

October 25, 1994).

Letter to Alan F. Ciamporcero from

William E. Kennard, General Counsel,

Federal Communications Commission

(released October 25, 1996).

Letter to R Michael Senkowski from

Rosalind K. Allen, Acting Chief,

Commercial Radio Division, Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau (released

December 1, 1994).

Letter to Leonard J. Kennedy from

Rosalind K. Allen, Acting Chief,

Commercial Radio Division, Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau (released

December 14, 1994).

Letter to Jonathan D. Blake and Robert

J. Rini from Kathleen O’Brien Ham,

Chief, Auctions Division, Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau, DA 95–

2404 (released November 28, 1995).

Letter to Mark Grady from Kathleen

O’Brien Ham, Chief, Auctions Division,

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau,

DA 96–587 (released April 16, 1996).

Letter to David L. Nace from Kathleen

O’Brien Ham, Chief, Auctions Division,

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau,

DA 96–1566 (released September 17,

1996).

[FR Doc. 97–6418 Filed 3–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

[MM Docket Nos. 91–221 and 87–8; 96–222;

94–150, 92–51 and 87–154]

Television Ownership Rulemaking

Proceedings

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This Public Notice provides

an opportunity for public response to

the comments filed in these related

proceedings. On February 7, 1997, we

received comments in each of these

rulemaking proceedings regarding

broadcast television ownership and

broadcast television attribution rules

that also address issues raised in one or

more of these related proceedings but

that were not filed formally in those

dockets. In order to present a more

complete record for comment, we have

filed such comments in the appropriate

dockets.

DATES: Replies are due on or before

March 21, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Replies to the comments

submitted in these rulemaking

proceedings should be submitted to

Secretary, Federal Communications

Commission, Room 222, 1919 M Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20554, and a copy

submitted to Dorothy Conway, Federal

Communications Commission, Room

234, 1919 M Street, NW., Washington,

DC 20554, or via the Internet to

dconway@fcc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane

Gross at (202) 418–2130.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. In particular, the following parties

filed comments in MM Docket Nos. 91–

221 and 87–8 (the local television

ownership proceeding). These

comments also address issues in the

Commission’s broadcast attribution

proceeding, MM Docket Nos. 94–150,

92–51 and 87–154. We will place copies

of these comments in the record of MM

Docket Nos. 94–150, 92–51 and 87–154:

BET Holdings, Inc.; Kentuckiana

Broadcasting, Inc.; Local Station

Ownership Coalition; Media Access

Project, Black Citizens for a Fair Media,

Center for Media Education, Minority

Media and Telecommunications

Council, National Association for Better

Broadcasting, Office of Communication

of the United Church of Christ,

Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task

Force, Telecommunications Research

and Action Center, Washington Area

Citizens Coalition Interested in Viewers’

Constitutional Rights, and Women’s

Institute for Freedom of the Press; Miller

Broadcasting, Inc.; Montclair

Communications, Inc.

2. The following party filed comments

in MM Docket No. 96–222 (the national

television ownership proceeding) and

MM Docket Nos. 91–221 and 87–8 (the

local television ownership proceeding).

These comments also address issues in

the Commission’s broadcast attribution

proceeding, MM Docket Nos. 94–150,

92–51 and 87–154. We will place copies

of these comments in the record of MM

Docket Nos. 94–150, 92–51 and 87–154:

Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc.

3. The following party filed comments

in MM Docket No. 96–222 (the national

television ownership proceeding). These

comments also address issues in the

Commission’s local television

ownership proceeding, MM Docket Nos.

91–221 and 87–8. We will place copies

of these comments in the record of MM

Docket Nos. 94–150, 92–51 and 87–154:

Cynthia L. McGillen and James P.

McGillen.

4. The following party filed comments

in MM Docket Nos. 94–150, 92–51 and

87–154 (the broadcast attribution

proceeding). These comments also

address issues in the Commission’s

local television ownership proceeding,

MM Docket Nos. 91–221 and 87–8. We

will place copies of these comments in

the record of MM Docket Nos. 91–221

and 87–8: Saga Communications, Inc.

5. Copies of these comments are

available for public inspection in the

docket file in the Commission’s Public

Reference Room, room 239, 1919 M St.,

NW, Washington, DC 20554.

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–6422 Filed 3–13–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE

CORPORATION

Sunshine Act Meeting

Pursuant to the provisions of the

‘‘Government in the Sunshine Act’’ (5

U.S.C. 552b), notice is hereby given that

at 10:27 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11,

1997, the Board of Directors of the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

met in closed session to consider

matters relating to the Corporation’s

corporate and supervisory activities.