Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices 21143

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–6971–7]

Program Requirement Revisions

Related to the Public Water System

Supervision Program for the States of

New Hampshire, Rhode Island,

Vermont, and the Commonwealth of

Massachusetts

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the States of New Hampshire, Rhode

Island and Vermont, and the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts are in

the process of revising their approved

Public Water System Supervision

Programs to meet the requirements of

the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

Massachusetts, New Hampshire,

Rhode Island and Vermont have all

adopted regulations establishing

Administrative Penalty Authority that

apply to their respective Drinking Water

Programs. They have submitted

documentation, along with certification

from their respective State Attorney

General’s office, indicating that the

Administrative Penalty Authority

currently in effect meets the minimum

requirements set forth in the 1996

SDWA Amendments. EPA has

determined that the Administrative

Penalty Authority currently in effect for

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode

Island, and Vermont are no less

stringent than corresponding federal

requirements, as authorized under the

Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments

of 1996 and final rule provided on April

28, 1998 (63 FR 23362). Therefore, EPA

intends to approve the Administrative

Penalty Authority requirement for

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode

Island, and Vermont.

In addition, the State of Rhode Island

has adopted drinking water regulations

for Synthetic Organic Chemicals and

Inorganic Chemicals (also known as

Phase V Drinking Water Regulations)

that correspond to the National Primary

Drinking Water Regulations

promulgated by EPA on July 17, 1992

(57 FR 31776). After additional review

of the submitted documentation, EPA

has determined that the State program

revisions for its Phase V Drinking Water

Regulations are no less stringent than

the corresponding federal regulations.

Therefore, EPA intends to approve this

Public Water System Supervision

Program requirement for Rhode Island.

Furthermore, EPA has determined

that Rhode Island’s Revised Public

Water Supply Definition is no less

stringent than the corresponding revised

federal definition, as authorized under

the Safe Drinking Water Act

Amendments of 1996 and final rule

provided on April 28, 1998 (63 FR

23362). Therefore, EPA also intends to

approve this Public Water Supply

Supervision Program requirement for

Rhode Island.

DATES: All interested parties may

request a public hearing for any of the

above EPA determinations. A request for

a public hearing must be submitted to

the Regional Administrator at the

address shown below on or before May

29, 2001. Frivolous or insubstantial

requests for a hearing may be denied by

the Regional Administrator. However, if

a substantial request for a public hearing

is made by this date, a public hearing

will be held. If no timely and

appropriate request for a hearing is

received, and the Regional

Administrator does not elect to hold a

hearing on his/her own motion, this

determination shall become final and

effective on May 29, 2001.

Any request for a public hearing shall

include the following information: (1)

The name, address, and telephone

number of the individual organization,

or other entity requesting a hearing; (2)

a brief statement of the requesting

person’s interest in the Regional

Administrator’s determination; (3)

information that the requesting person

intends to submit at such hearing; and

(4) the signature of the individual

making the request, or if the request is

made on behalf of an organization or

other entity, the signature of a

responsible official of the organization

or other entity.

ADDRESSES: All documents relating to

this determination are available for

inspection between the hours of 8:30 am

and 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday, at

the following office(s): U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Office of Ecosystem Protection, One

Congress Street, 11th floor, Boston, MA

02114.

For documents specific to that State/

Commonwealth:

Massachusetts Department of

Environmental Protection, Drinking

Water Program, One Winter Street,

Boston, MA 02108

New Hampshire Department of

Environmental Services, Water

Supply Engineering Bureau, P.O. Box

95, 6 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH

03302–0095

Rhode Island Department of Health,

Office of Drinking Water Quality, 3

Capitol Hill, Cannon Building, Room

209, Providence, RI 02908–5097

Vermont Department of Environmental

Conservation, Water Supply Division,

103 South Main Street, Waterbury,

Vermont 05671–0403

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Chin, EPA–New England,

Municipal Assistance Unit, Office of

Ecosystem Protection (telephone 617–

918–1764) regarding the Administrative

Penalty Authority determinations, or

Ellie Kwong, EPA–New England, Rhode

Island State Program Unit, Office of

Ecosystem Protection (telephone 617–

918–1592) regarding Rhode Island’s

Phase V Rule and Revised Public Water

Supply Definition determinations.

Authority: (Section 1401 and section 1413

of the Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended

(1996), and 40 CFR Part 142).

Dated: April 18, 2001.

Ira W. Leighton,

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA–New

England.

[FR Doc. 01–10512 Filed 4–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

[Report No. AUC–01–40–B (Auction No. 40);

DA 01–850]

Lower and Upper Paging Bands

Auction Scheduled for June 26, 2001;

Notice and Filing Requirements,

Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront

Payments and Other Procedural Issues

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This document announces the

procedures and minimum opening bids

for the upcoming auction of licenses for

the lower and upper paging bands

(Auction No. 40) scheduled for June 26,

2001.

DATES: Auction No. 40 is scheduled for

June 26, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Auctions and Industry Analysis

Division: Erik Salovaara, Legal Branch,

or Jeff Crooks, Auctions Operations

Branch, at (202) 418–0660; Lisa Stover,

Auctions Operations Branch, at (717)

338–2888. Commercial Wireless

Division: Gary Oshinsky, Policy and

Rules Branch, at (202) 418–7167, or

Bettye Woodward, Licensing and

Technical Analysis Branch, at (202)

418–0620. Media Contact: Meribeth

McCarrick at (202) 418–0654.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of the Auction No. 40

Procedures Public Notice released April

9, 2001. The complete text of the

21144 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices

Auction No. 40 Procedures Public

Notice, including attachments, is

available for inspection and copying

during normal business hours in the

FCC Reference Center (Room CY–A257),

445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC

20554. It may also be purchased from

the Commission’s copy contractor,

International Transcription Services,

Inc. (ITS, Inc.) 1231 20th Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20036, (202) 857–3800.

It is also available on the Commission’s

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

List of Attachments available at the

FCC:

Attachment A—Licenses to be

Auctioned

Attachment B—FCC Auction Seminar

Registration Form

Attachment C—Electronic Filing and

Review of the FCC Form 175

Attachment D—Guidelines for

Completion of FCC Form 175 and

Exhibits

Attachment E—Instructions for FCC

Remittance Advice (FCC Form 159)

Attachment F—Accessing the FCC

Network to File FCC Form 175

Attachment G—Summary of

Documents Addressing the AntiCollusion Rules

I. General Information

A. Introduction

1. By the Auction No. 40 Procedures

Public Notice, the Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau (‘‘Bureau’’)

announces the procedures and

minimum opening bids for the

upcoming auction of licenses for the

lower and upper paging bands

(‘‘Auction No. 40’’) scheduled for June

26, 2001. On March 7, 2001, in

accordance with the Balanced Budget

Act of 1997, the Bureau released the

Auction No. 40 Comment Public Notice,

66 FR 15254 (March 16, 2001) seeking

comment on reserve prices or minimum

opening bids and the procedures to be

used in Auction No. 40. The Bureau

received three comments and four reply

comments in response to the Auction

No. 40 Comment Public Notice.

i. Background of Proceeding

2. In the Paging Second Report and

Order, 66 FR 11616 (March 12, 1997),

the Commission adopted rules

governing geographic licensing for

exclusive channels in the 35–36 MHz,

43–44 MHz, 152–159 MHz, 454–460

MHz, 929–930 MHz, and 931–932 MHz

bands allocated for paging, and

competitive bidding procedures for

granting mutually exclusive

applications for non-nationwide

geographic area licenses in those bands.

In order to facilitate geographic

licensing, the Commission dismissed all

pending mutually exclusive paging

applications and all non-mutually

exclusive paging applications filed after

July 31, 1996. In part, the Commission

developed a standard methodology for

providing protection to incumbent

licensees from co-channel interference

for the 929–930 MHz and 931–932 MHz

paging bands to supplement the existing

formulas for determining interference

contours on other paging bands.

i. Licenses To Be Auctioned

3. The licenses available in Auction

No. 40 include 14,000 lower paging

bands (35–36 MHz, 43–44 MHz, 152–

159 MHz, and 454–460 MHz) licenses,

as well as 1,514 upper paging bands

(929–931 MHz) licenses that were

unsold in the first paging auction

(‘‘Auction No. 26’’). The lower bands

licenses will be awarded in each of the

175 geographic areas known as

Economic Areas (EAs) and the upper

bands licenses will be awarded in each

of the 51 geographic areas known as

Major Economic Areas (MEAs). These

EAs and MEAs both encompass the

United States, Guam and Northern

Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the

United States Virgin Islands, and

American Samoa. The tables contain the

block/frequency cross-reference list for

the paging bands. A complete list of

licenses available for Auction No. 40 is

included as Attachment A of the

Auction No. 40 Procedures Public

Notice.

Block (license suffix) Frequency

35 MHz Lower Bands Unpaired Paging

Channels

CA ......................................... 35.19–35.21

CB ......................................... 35.21–35.23

CC ......................................... 35.23–35.25

CD ......................................... 35.25–35.27

CE ......................................... 35.29–35.31

CF ......................................... 35.33–35.35

CG ........................................ 35.37–35.39

CH ......................................... 35.41–35.43

CI .......................................... 35.45–35.47

CJ ......................................... 35.49–35.51

CK ......................................... 35.53–35.55

CL ......................................... 35.55–35.57

CM ........................................ 35.57–35.59

CN ......................................... 35.59–35.61

CO ........................................ 35.61–35.63

CP ......................................... 35.65–35.68

43 MHz Lower Bands Unpaired Paging

Channels

DA ......................................... 43.19–43.21

DB ......................................... 43.21–43.23

DC ......................................... 43.23–43.25

DD ......................................... 43.25–43.27

DE ......................................... 43.29–43.31

DF ......................................... 43.33–43.35

DG ........................................ 43.37–43.39

Block (license suffix) Frequency

DH ......................................... 43.41–43.43

DI .......................................... 43.45–43.47

DJ ......................................... 43.49–43.51

DK ......................................... 43.53–43.55

DL ......................................... 43.55–43.57

DM ........................................ 43.57–43.59

DN ......................................... 43.59–43.61

DO ........................................ 43.61–43.63

DP ......................................... 43.65–43.67

Block (license suffix) Frequency

152 MHz Lower Bands Unpaired Paging

Channels

EA ............... 152.230–152.250

EB ............... 152.830–152.850

EC ............... 158.090–158.110

ED ............... 158.690–158.710

FA ................ 152.015–152.045/158.475–

158.505

FB ................ 152.045–152.075/158.505–

158.535

FC ............... 152.075–152.105/158.535–

158.565

FD ............... 152.105–152.135/158.565–

158.595

FE ................ 152.135–152.165/158.595–

158.625

FF ................ 152.165–152.195/158.625–

158.655

FG ............... 152.195–152.225/158.655–

158.685

FH ............... 152.495–152.525/157.755–

157.785

FI ................. 152.525–152.555/157.785–

157.815

FJ ................ 152.555–152.585/157.815–

157.845

FK ................ 152.585–152.615/157.845–

157.875

FL ................ 152.615–152.645/157.875–

157.905

FM ............... 152.645–152.685/157.905–

157.935

FN ............... 152.685–152.705/157.935–

157.965

FO ............... 152.705–152.735/157.965–

157.995

FP ................ 152.735–152.765/157.995–

158.025

FQ ............... 152.765–152.795/158.025–

158.055

FR ............... 152.795–152.825/158.055–

158.085

454 MHz Lower Bands Paired Paging

Channels

GA ............... 454.0125–454.0375/

459.0125–459.0375

GB ............... 454.0375–454.0625/

459.0375–459.0625

GC ............... 454.0625–454.0875/

459.0625–459.0875

GD ............... 454.0875–454.1125/

459.0875–459.1125

GE ............... 454.1125–454.1375/

459.1125–459.1375

GF ............... 454.1375–454.1625/

459.1375–459.1625

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices 21145

Block (license suffix) Frequency

GG ............... 454.1625–454.1875/

459.1625–459.1875

GH ............... 454.1875–454.2125/

459.1875–459.2125

GI ................ 454.2125–454.2375/

459.1265–459.2375

GJ ................ 454.2375–454.2625/

459.2375–459.2625

GK ............... 454.2625–454.2875/

459.2625–459.2875

GL ............... 454.2875–454.3125/

459.2875–459.3125

GM .............. 454.3125–454.3375/

459.3125–454.3375

GN ............... 454.3375–454.3625/

459.3375–459.3625

GO ............... 454.3625–454.3875/

459.3625–459.3875

GP ............... 454.3875–454.4125/

459.3875–459.4125

GQ ............... 454.4125–454.4375/

459.4125–459.4375

GR ............... 454.4375–454.4625/

459.4375–459.4625

GS ............... 454.4625–454.4875/

459.4625–459.4875

GT ............... 454.4875–454.5125/

459.4875–459.5125

GU ............... 454.5125–454.5375/

459.5125–459.5375

GV ............... 454.5375–454.5625/

459.5375–459.5625

GW .............. 454.5625–454.5875/

459.5625–459.5875

GX ............... 454.5875–454.6125/

459.5875–459.6125

GY ............... 454.6125–454.6375/

459.6125–459.6375

GZ ............... 454.6375–454.6625/

459.6375–459.6625

Block (license suffix) Frequency

929–931 MHz Upper Bands Paging

Channels

A ........................................... 929.0125

B ........................................... 929.1125

C ........................................... 929.2375

D ........................................... 929.3125

E ........................................... 929.3875

F ............................................ 929.4375

G ........................................... 929.4625

H ........................................... 929.6375

I ............................................. 929.6875

J ............................................ 929.7875

K ........................................... 929.9125

L ............................................ 929.9625

AA ......................................... 931.0125

AB ......................................... 931.0375

AC ......................................... 931.0625

AD ......................................... 931.0875

AE ......................................... 931.1125

AF ......................................... 931.1375

AG ......................................... 931.1625

AH ......................................... 931.1875

AI .......................................... 931.2125

AJ .......................................... 931.2375

AK ......................................... 931.2625

AL ......................................... 931.2875

AM ........................................ 931.3125

AN ......................................... 931.3375

Block (license suffix) Frequency

AO ......................................... 931.3625

AP ......................................... 931.3875

AQ ......................................... 931.4125

AR ......................................... 931.4375

AS ......................................... 931.4625

AT ......................................... 931.4875

AU ......................................... 931.5125

AV ......................................... 931.5375

AW ........................................ 931.5625

AX ......................................... 931.5875

AY ......................................... 931.6125

AZ ......................................... 931.6375

BA ......................................... 931.6625

BB ......................................... 931.6875

BC ......................................... 931.7125

BD ......................................... 931.7375

BE ......................................... 931.7625

BF ......................................... 931.7875

BG ......................................... 931.8125

BH ......................................... 931.8375

BI .......................................... 931.8625

BJ .......................................... 931.9625

BK ......................................... 931.9875

(Licenses are not available for each block in

every market; 985 upper bands licenses were

sold in Auction No. 26. See Attachment A of

the Auction No. 40 Procedures Public Notice

to determine what licenses will be offered in

Auction No. 40.)

B. Rules and Disclaimers

i. Relevant Authority

4. Prospective bidders must

familiarize themselves thoroughly with

the Commission’s rules relating to the

paging services, contained in title 47,

parts 22 and 90 of the Code of Federal

Regulations, and those relating to

application and auction procedures,

contained in title 47, part 1 of the Code

of Federal Regulations.

5. Prospective bidders must also be

thoroughly familiar with the

procedures, terms and conditions

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

Auction No. 40 Procedures Public

Notice; the Auction No. 40 Comment

Public Notice; the Part 1 Fifth Report

and Order, 65 FR 52323 (August 29,

2000) (as well as prior Commission

proceedings regarding competitive

bidding procedures); the Paging Notice,

61 FR 6199 (February 16, 1996); the

Paging First Report and Order, 61 FR

21380 (May 10, 1996); the First Paging

Reconsideration Order 61 FR 34375

(July 2, 1996); the Paging Second Report

and Order; the Second Paging

Reconsideration Order and Paging

Third Report and Order 64 FR 33762

(June 24, 1999); and the Third Paging

Reconsideration Order, 66 FR 15041

(March 15, 2001).

6. The terms contained in the

Commission’s rules, relevant orders,

and public notices are not negotiable.

The Commission may amend or

supplement the information contained

in our public notices at any time, and

will issue public notices to convey any

new or supplemental information to

bidders. It is the responsibility of all

prospective bidders to remain current

with all Commission rules and with all

public notices pertaining to this auction.

Copies of most Commission documents,

including public notices, can be

retrieved from the FCC Internet node via

anonymous ftp at ftp://fcc.gov or the

FCC Auctions World Wide Web site at

http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/auctions.

Additionally, documents may be

obtained for a fee, by calling the

Commission’s copy contractor,

International Transcription Service, Inc.

(‘‘ITS’’), at (202) 314–3070. When

ordering documents from ITS, please

provide the appropriate FCC number

(for example, FCC 99–98 for the Paging

Third Report and Order).

ii. Prohibition of Collusion

7. To ensure the competitiveness of

the auction process, the Commission’s

rules prohibit applicants for the same

geographic license area from

communicating with each other during

the auction about bids, bidding

strategies, or settlements. This

prohibition begins at the short-form

application filing deadline and ends at

the down payment deadline after the

auction. Bidders competing for licenses

in the same geographic license areas are

encouraged not to use the same

individual as an authorized bidder. A

violation of the anti-collusion rule could

occur if an individual acts as the

authorized bidder for two or more

competing applicants, and conveys

information concerning the substance of

bids or bidding strategies between the

bidders he or she is authorized to

represent in the auction. Also, if the

authorized bidders are different

individuals employed by the same

organization (e.g., law firm or consulting

firm), a violation could similarly occur.

In such a case, at a minimum,

applicants should certify on their

applications that precautionary steps

have been taken to prevent

communication between authorized

bidders and that applicants and their

bidding agents will comply with the

anti-collusion rule. However, the

Bureau cautions that merely filing a

certifying statement as part of an

application will not outweigh specific

evidence that collusive behavior has

occurred, nor will it preclude the

initiation of an investigation when

warranted.

8. Commission’s anti-collusion rules

allow applicants to form certain

agreements during the auction, provided

the applicants have not applied for

licenses covering the same geographic

21146 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices

areas. Note that in Auction No. 40,

applicants for licenses in overlapping

EAs and MEAs will not be able to take

advantage of these rule provisions, even

though the licenses are not completely

co-extensive. However, all applicants

may enter into bidding agreements

before filing FCC Form 175, as long as

they disclose the existence of the

agreement(s) in their FCC Form 175. If

parties agree in principle on all material

terms prior to the short-form filing

deadline, those parties must be

identified on the short-form application

pursuant to § 1.2105(c), even if the

agreement has not been reduced to

writing. If the parties have not agreed in

principle by the filing deadline, an

applicant would not include the names

of those parties on its application, and

may not continue negotiations with

other applicants for licenses covering

the same geographic areas. By signing

their FCC Form 175 short-form

applications, applicants are certifying

their compliance with § 1.2105(c) of the

Commission’s rules.

9. In addition, § 1.65 of the

Commission’s rules requires an

applicant to maintain the accuracy and

completeness of information furnished

in its pending application and to notify

the Commission within 30 days of any

substantial change that may be of

decisional significance to that

application. Thus, § 1.65 requires an

auction applicant to notify the

Commission of any violation of the anticollusion rules upon learning of such

violation. Bidders therefore are required

to make such notification to the

Commission immediately upon

discovery.

10. A summary listing of documents

from the Commission and the Bureau

addressing the application of the anticollusion rules may be found in

Attachment G of the Auction No. 40

Procedures Public Notice.

iii. Incumbent Licensees and Due

Diligence

11. Incumbent (non-geographic)

paging licensees operating under their

existing authorizations are entitled to

full protection from co-channel

interference. Geographic area licensees

are likewise afforded co-channel

interference protection from incumbent

licensees. Adjacent geographic area

licensees are obligated to resolve

possible interference concerns of

adjacent geographic area licensees by

negotiating a mutually acceptable

agreement with the neighboring

geographic licensee.

12. Potential bidders are reminded

that there are a number of incumbent

licensees already licensed and operating

on frequencies that will be subject to the

upcoming auction. Geographic area

licensees must protect such incumbents

from harmful interference. See 47 CFR

22.503(i). These limitations may restrict

the ability of such geographic area

licensees to use certain portions of the

electromagnetic spectrum or provide

service to certain areas in their

geographic license areas.

13. In addition, potential bidders

seeking licenses for geographic areas

adjacent to the Canadian and Mexican

border should be aware that the use of

some or all of the channels they acquire

in the auction could be restricted as a

result of current or future agreements

with Canada or Mexico. Licensees on

the lower paging channels must submit

a Form 601 to obtain authorization to

operate stations north of Line A or east

of Line C because these channels are

subject to the Above 30 Megacycles per

Second Agreement with Industry

Canada. Although the upper paging

channels do not require coordination

with Canada, the U.S.-Canada Interim

Coordination Considerations for the

Band 929–932 MHz, as amended assigns

specific 929 and 931 MHz frequencies to

the United States for licensing along

certain longitudes above Line A, and

assigns other specific 929 and 931 MHz

frequencies to Canada for licensing

along certain longitudes along the U.S.-

Canada border. In addition, the 929 and

931 MHz frequencies assigned to

Canada are unavailable for use by U.S.

licensees above Line A as set out in the

agreement.

14. Potential bidders should also be

aware that certain applications

(including those for modification),

waiver requests, petitions to deny,

petitions for reconsideration, and

applications for review are pending

before the Commission that relate to

particular applicants or incumbent

licensees. In addition, certain decisions

reached in the paging proceeding may

be subject to judicial appeal and may be

the subject of additional reconsideration

or appeal. Resolution of these matters

could have an impact on the availability

of spectrum in Auction No. 40. In

addition, the Commission will continue

to act on pending applications, requests

and petitions, some of these matters

may not be resolved by the time of the

auction.

15. Potential bidders are solely

responsible for identifying associated

risks, and investigating and evaluating

the degree to which such matters may

affect their ability to bid on, otherwise

acquire, or make use of licenses

available in Auction No. 40.

16. Potential bidders may obtain

information about licenses available in

Auction No. 40 through the Bureau’s

licensing databases on the World Wide

Web at http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/uls.

Potential bidders should direct

questions regarding the search

capabilities to the FCC Technical

Support hotline at (202) 414–1250

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

e-mail at ulscomm@fcc.gov. The hotline

is available to assist with questions

Monday through Friday, from 7 am to

10 pm ET, Saturday, 8 am to 7 pm ET,

and Sunday, 12 noon to 6 pm ET. In

order to provide better service to the

public, all calls to the hotline are

recorded. The Commission makes no

representations or guarantees regarding

the accuracy or completeness of

information in its databases or any third

party databases, including, for example,

court docketing systems.

17. The Commission makes no

representations or guarantees regarding

the accuracy or completeness of

information that has been provided by

incumbent licensees and incorporated

into the database. Potential bidders are

strongly encouraged to physically

inspect any sites located in, or near, the

geographic area for which they plan to

bid.

iv. Bidder Alerts

18. All applicants must certify on

their FCC Form 175 applications under

penalty of perjury that they are legally,

technically, financially and otherwise

qualified to hold a license, and not in

default on any payment for Commission

licenses (including down payments) or

delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to

any Federal agency. 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.

19. The FCC makes no representations

or warranties about the use of this

spectrum for particular services.

Applicants should be aware that a FCC

auction represents an opportunity to

become a FCC licensee in this service,

subject to certain conditions and

regulations. A FCC auction does not

constitute an endorsement by the FCC of

any particular services, technologies or

products, nor does a FCC license

constitute a guarantee of business

success. Applicants and interested

parties should perform their own due

diligence before proceeding, as they

would with any new business venture.

20. As is the case with many business

investment opportunities, some

unscrupulous entrepreneurs may

attempt to use Auction No. 40 to

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices 21147

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 investment is less

than $25,000.

• The sales representative makes

verbal representations that: (a) the

Internal Revenue Service (‘‘IRS’’),

Federal Trade Commission (‘‘FTC’’),

Securities and Exchange Commission

(‘‘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.

21. Information about deceptive

telemarketing investment schemes is

available from the FTC at (202) 326–

2222 and from the SEC at (202) 942–

7040. Complaints about specific

deceptive telemarketing investment

schemes should be directed to the FTC,

the SEC, or the National Fraud

Information Center at (800) 876–7060.

Consumers who have concerns about

specific proposals regarding Auction

No. 40 may also call the FCC Consumer

Center at (888) CALL–FCC ((888) 225–

5322).

v. National Environmental Policy Act

(‘‘NEPA’’) Requirements

22. Licensees must comply with the

Commission’s rules regarding the

National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA). The construction of a wireless

antenna facility is a federal action and

the licensee must comply with the

Commission’s NEPA rules for each such

facility. The Commission’s NEPA rules

require, among other things, that the

licensee consult with expert agencies

having NEPA responsibilities, including

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the

State Historic Preservation Office, the

Army Corp of Engineers and the Federal

Emergency Management Agency

(through the local authority with

jurisdiction over floodplains). The

licensee must prepare environmental

assessments for facilities that may have

a significant impact in or on wilderness

areas, wildlife preserves, threatened or

endangered species or designated

critical habitats, historical or

archaeological sites, Indian religious

sites, floodplains, and surface features.

The licensee must also prepare

environmental assessments for facilities

that include high intensity white lights

in residential neighborhoods or

excessive radio frequency emission.

A. Auction Specifics

i. Auction Date

23. The auction will begin on

Tuesday, June 26, 2001. The initial

schedule for bidding will be announced

by public notice at least one week before

the start of the auction. Unless

otherwise announced, bidding on all

licenses will be conducted on each

business day until bidding has stopped

on all licenses.

ii. Auction Title

24. Auction No. 40—Paging.

iii. Bidding Methodology

25. The bidding methodology for

Auction No. 40 will be simultaneous

multiple round bidding. Bidding will be

permitted only from remote locations,

either telephonically or electronically

(by computer via the Internet or the

Bureau’s wide area network).

iv. Pre-Auction Dates and Deadlines

26. These are important dates relating

to Auction No. 40:

Auction Seminar—May 3, 2001

Short-Form Application (FCC Form

175)—May 14, 2001; 6:00 p.m. ET

Upfront Payments (via wire transfer)—

June 4, 2001; 6:00 p.m. ET

Mock Auction—June 22, 2001

Auction Begins—June 26, 2001

v. Requirements For Participation

27. Those wishing to participate in

the auction must:

• Submit a short-form application

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

ET, May 14, 2001.

• Submit a sufficient upfront

payment and a FCC Remittance Advice

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

June 4, 2001.

• Comply with all provisions

outlined in the Auction No. 40

Procedures Public Notice.

vi. General Contact Information

28. The following is a list of general

contact information relating to Auction

No. 40:

General Auction Information—General

Auction Questions, Seminar

Registration—FCC Auctions Hotline,

(888) 225–5322, Press Option #2, or

direct (717) 338–2888, Hours of

service: 8 a.m.–5:30 p.m. ET

Auction Legal Information—Auction

Rules, Policies, Regulations—

Auctions and Industry Analysis

Division, Legal Branch (202) 418–

0660

Licensing Information—Rules, Policies,

Regulations, Licensing Issues, Due

Diligence, Incumbency Issues—

Commercial Wireless Division, (202)

418–0620

Technical Support—Electronic Filing,

Automated Auction System—FCC

Auctions Technical Support Hotline,

(202) 414–1250 (Voice), (202) 414–

1255 (TTY), Hours of service: Monday

through Friday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET,

Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, 12

noon to 6 p.m.

Payment Information—Wire Transfers,

Refunds—FCC Auctions Accounting

Branch, (202) 418–1995, (202) 418–

2843 (Fax)

Telephonic Bidding—Will be furnished

only to qualified bidders

FCC Copy Contractor—Additional

Copies of Commission Documents—

International Transcription Services,

Inc., 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY–

B400, Washington, DC 20554, (202)

314–3070

Press Information—Meribeth McCarrick

(202) 418–0654

FCC Forms—(800) 418–3676 (outside

Washington, DC), (202) 418–3676 (in

the Washington Area), http://

www.fcc.gov/formpage.html

FCC Internet Sites—http://www.fcc.gov,

http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/auctions

II. Short-Form (FCC Form 175)

Application Requirements

29. Guidelines for completion of the

short-form (FCC Form 175) are set forth

in Attachment D to the Auction No. 40

Procedures Public Notice. The shortform application seeks the applicant’s

name and address, legal classification,

status, small business bidding credit

eligibility, identification of the

license(s) sought, the authorized bidders

and contact persons. All applicants

must certify on their FCC Form 175

applications under penalty of perjury

that they are legally, technically,

financially and otherwise qualified to

hold a license and, as discussed in

section II.D (Provisions Regarding

Defaulters and Former Defaulters), that

they are not in default on any payment

for Commission licenses (including

down payments) or delinquent on any

non-tax debt owed to any Federal

agency.

30. The Commission determines

whether there are mutually exclusive

applications for any given license by

reviewing all of the Form 175’s

submitted to determine whether more

than one party has applied for a given

21148 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices

license. In the event that review of all

the Form 175’s accepted for filing

determines that only one party has

applied for a given license(s), those

license(s) will be removed from the

auction. In such cases, the party that

applied for the given license(s) will be

permitted to file a long-form

application.

31. In Auction No. 40, Form 175 will

include a mechanism that allows an

applicant to filter the 15,514 licenses by

paging service, frequency band, market

area, and/or channel block/license

suffix to create customized lists of

licenses. The applicant will make

selections for one or more of the filter

criteria and the system will produce a

list of licenses satisfying the specified

criteria. The applicant may apply for all

the licenses in the customized list by

using the ‘‘Select All’’ option; select

individual licenses separately from the

list; or create a second customized list

without selecting any of the licenses

from the first list. Applicants also will

be able to select licenses from one

customized list and then create a second

customized list to select additional

licenses.

A. Ownership Disclosure Requirements

(FCC Form 175 Exhibit A)

32. All applicants must comply with

the uniform Part 1, ownership

disclosure standards and provide

information required by §§ 1.2105 and

1.2112 of the Commission’s rules.

Specifically, in completing FCC Form

175, applicants will be required to file

an ‘‘Exhibit A’’ providing a full and

complete statement of the ownership of

the bidding entity. The ownership

disclosure standards for the short-form

are set forth in § 1.2112 of the

Commission’s rules.

B. Consortia and Joint Bidding

Arrangements (FCC Form 175 Exhibit B)

33. Applicants will be required to

identify on their short-form applications

any parties with whom they have

entered into any consortium

arrangements, joint ventures,

partnerships or other agreements or

understandings which relate in any way

to the licenses being auctioned,

including any agreements relating to

post-auction market structure. See 47

CFR 1.2105(a)(2)(viii) and 1.2105(c)(1).

Applicants will also be required to

certify on their short-form applications

that they have not entered into any

explicit or implicit agreements,

arrangements or understandings of any

kind with any parties, other than those

identified, regarding the amount of their

bids, bidding strategies, or the particular

licenses on which they will or will not

bid. See 47 CFR 1.2105(a)(2)(ix). As

discussed, if an applicant has had

discussions, but has not reached a joint

bidding agreement by the short-form

deadline, it would not include the

names of parties to the discussions on

its applications and may not continue

discussions with applicants for the same

geographic license area(s) after the

deadline. Where applicants have

entered into consortia or joint bidding

arrangements, applicants must submit

an ‘‘Exhibit B’’ to the FCC Form 175.

34. A party holding a non-controlling,

attributable interest in one applicant

will be permitted to acquire an

ownership interest in, form a

consortium with, or enter into a joint

bidding arrangement with other

applicants for licenses in the same

geographic license area provided that (i)

the attributable interest holder certifies

that it has not and will not

communicate with any party concerning

the bids or bidding strategies of more

than one of the applicants in which it

holds an attributable interest, or with

which it has formed a consortium or

entered into a joint bidding

arrangement; and (ii) the arrangements

do not result in a change in control of

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

among auction applicants, bidders are

reminded that certain discussions or

exchanges could touch upon

impermissible subject matters because

they may convey pricing information

and bidding strategies.

C. Eligibility

i. Small Business Bidding Credit

Eligibility (FCC Form 175 Exhibit C)

35. In the Paging Second Report and

Order, the Commission adopted small

business bidding credits to promote and

facilitate the participation of small

businesses in competitive bidding for

licenses in the paging service. In the

Second Paging Reconsideration Order

and Paging Third Report and Order, the

Commission subsequently increased the

size of the bidding credits.

36. Bidding credits are available to

small businesses, or consortia thereof,

(as defined in 47 CFR 1.2110(c) and

22.217(a)). A bidding credit represents

the amount by which a bidder’s winning

bids are discounted. The size of the

bidding credit depends on the average

annual gross revenues for the preceding

three years of the bidder, its affiliates,

its controlling interests, and the

affiliates of its controlling interests:

• A bidder with attributed average

annual gross revenues of more than $3

million but not more than $15 million

for the preceding three years receives a

25 percent discount on its winning bids

for paging licenses;

• A bidder with attributed average

annual gross revenues of not more than

$3 million for the preceding three years

receives a 35 percent discount on its

winning bids for paging licenses.

37. Bidding credits are not

cumulative; qualifying applicants

receive either the 25 percent or the 35

percent bidding credit, but not both.

ii. Tribal Land Bidding Credit

38. To encourage the growth of

wireless services in federally recognized

tribal lands the Commission has

implemented a tribal land bidding

credit. See Part V.C.

iii. Applicability of Part 1 Attribution

Rules

39. Controlling interest standard. On

August 14, 2000, the Commission

released the Part 1 Fifth Report and

Order, in which the Commission, inter

alia, adopted a ‘‘controlling interest’’

standard for attributing to auction

applicants the gross revenues of their

investors and affiliates in determining

small business eligibility for future

auctions. The Commission observed that

the rule modifications adopted in the

various part 1 orders would result in

discrepancies and/or redundancies

between certain of the new part 1 rules

and existing service-specific rules, and

the Commission delegated to the Bureau

the authority to make conforming edits

to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

consistent with the rules adopted in the

prt 1 proceeding. Part 1 rules that

superseded inconsistent service-specific

rules will control in Auction No. 40.

Accordingly, the ‘‘controlling interest’’

standard as set forth will be in effect for

Auction No. 40, even if conforming edits

to the CFR are not made prior to the

auction.

40. Control. The term ‘‘control’’

includes both de facto and de jure

control of the applicant. Typically,

ownership of at least 50.1 percent of an

entity’s voting stock evidences de jure

control. De facto control is determined

on a case-by-case basis. The following

are some common indicia of de facto

control:

• The entity constitutes or appoints

more than 50 percent of the board of

directors or management committee;

• The entity has authority to appoint,

promote, demote, and fire senior

executives that control the day-to-day

activities of the licensee; or

• The entity plays an integral role in

management decisions.

41. Attribution for small business

eligibility. In determining which entities

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices 21149

qualify as small businesses, the

Commission will consider the gross

revenues of the applicant, its affiliates,

its controlling interests, and the

affiliates of its controlling interests. The

Commission does not impose specific

equity requirements on controlling

interest holders. Once principals or

entities with a controlling interest are

determined, only the revenues of those

principals or entities, the applicant and

their affiliates will be counted in

determining small business eligibility.

42. A consortium of small businesses

is a ‘‘conglomerate organization formed

as a joint venture between or among

mutually independent business firms,’’

each of which individually must satisfy

the definition of small business in

§ 1.2110(f) and § 22.223(b) of the

Commission’s rules. Thus, each

consortium member must disclose its

gross revenues along with those of its

affiliates, its controlling interests, and

the affiliates of its controlling interests.

Although the gross revenues of the

consortium members will not be

aggregated for purposes of determining

eligibility for small business credits, this

information must be provided to ensure

that each individual consortium

member qualifies for any bidding credit

awarded to the consortium.

iv. Supporting Documentation

43. Applicants will be required to file

supporting documentation to their FCC

Form 175 short-form applications to

establish that they satisfy the eligibility

requirements to qualify as small

businesses (or consortia of small

businesses) for this auction.

44. 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.

D. Provisions Regarding Defaulters and

Former Defaulters (FCC Form 175

Exhibit D)

45. Each applicant must certify on its

FCC Form 175 application that it is not

in default on any Commission licenses

and that it is not delinquent on any nontax debt owed to any Federal agency. In

addition, each applicant must attach to

its FCC Form 175 application a

statement made under penalty of

perjury indicating whether or not the

applicant has ever been in default on

any Commission licenses or has ever

been delinquent on any non-tax debt

owed to any federal agency. Applicants

must include this statement as Exhibit

D of the FCC Form 175. If any of an

applicant’s controlling interests holders

or their affiliates, as defined by § 1.2110

of the Commission’s rules (as recently

amended in the Part 1 Fifth Report and

Order) have ever been in default on any

Commission license or have ever been

delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to

any Federal agency, the applicant must

include such information as part of the

same attached statement. Prospective

bidders are reminded that the statement

must be made under penalty of perjury

and, further, 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.

46. ‘‘Former defaulters’’—i.e.,

applicants, including their attributable

interest holders, that in the past have

defaulted on any Commission licenses

or been delinquent on any non-tax debt

owed to any Federal agency, but that

have since remedied all such defaults

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

Auction No. 40, provided that they are

otherwise qualified. However, as

discussed infra in Section III.D.iii,

former defaulters are required to pay

upfront payments that are fifty percent

more than the normal upfront payment

amounts.

E. Installment Payments

47. Installment payment plans will

not be available in Auction No. 40.

F. Other Information (FCC Form 175

Exhibits E and F)

48. Applicants owned by minorities

or women, as defined in 47 CFR

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

(Exhibit E) regarding this status. This

applicant status information is collected

for statistical purposes only and assists

the Commission in monitoring the

participation of ‘‘designated entities’’ in

its auctions. Applicants wishing to

submit additional information may do

so on Exhibit F (Miscellaneous

Information) to the FCC Form 175.

G. Minor Modifications to Short-Form

Applications (FCC Form 175)

49. After the short-form filing

deadline (May 14, 2001), applicants may

make only minor changes to their FCC

Form 175 applications. Applicants will

not be permitted to make major

modifications to their applications (e.g.,

change their license selections or

proposed service areas, change the

certifying official or change control of

the applicant or change bidding credits).

See 47 CFR 1.2105. Permissible minor

changes include, for example, deletion

and addition of authorized bidders (to a

maximum of three) and revision of

exhibits. Applicants should make these

changes on-line, and submit a letter to

Margaret Wiener, Chief, Auctions and

Industry Analysis Division, Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau, Federal

Communications Commission, 445 12th

Street, SW., Suite 4–A669, Washington,

DC 20554, briefly summarizing the

changes. Questions about other changes

should be directed to Erik Salovaara of

the Auctions and Industry Analysis

Division at (202) 418–0660.

H. Maintaining Current Information in

Short-Form Applications (FCC Form

175)

50. Applicants have an obligation

under 47 CFR 1.65, to maintain the

completeness and accuracy of

information in their short-form

applications. Amendments reporting

substantial changes of possible

decisional significance in information

contained in FCC Form 175

applications, as defined by 47 CFR

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

may in some instances result in the

dismissal of the FCC Form 175

application.

III. Pre-Auction Procedures

A. Auction Seminar

51. On Thursday, May 3, 2001, the

FCC will sponsor a free seminar for

Auction No. 40 at the Federal

Communications Commission, located

at 445 12th Street, SW., Washington,

DC. The seminar will provide attendees

with information about pre-auction

procedures, conduct of the auction, the

FCC Automated Auction System, and

the paging and auction rules. The

seminar will also provide an

opportunity for prospective bidders to

ask questions of FCC staff.

52. To register, complete the

registration form, Attachment B of the

Auction No. 40 Procedures Public

Notice, and submit it by Tuesday, May

1, 2001. Registrations are accepted on a

first-come, first-served basis.

B. Short-Form Application (FCC Form

175)—Due May 14, 2001

53. In order to be eligible to bid in this

auction, applicants must first submit a

FCC Form 175 application. This

application must be submitted

electronically and received at the

Commission no later than 6 p.m. ET on

21150 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices

May 14, 2001. Late applications will not

be accepted.

54. There is no application fee

required when filing a FCC Form 175.

However, to be eligible to bid, an

applicant must submit an upfront

payment. See Part III.D.

i. Electronic Filing

55. Applicants must file their FCC

Form 175 applications electronically.

Applications may generally be filed at

any time beginning at noon ET on May

3, 2001, until 6 p.m. ET on May 14,

2001. Applicants are strongly

encouraged to file early and are

responsible for allowing adequate time

for filing their applications. Applicants

may update or amend their electronic

applications multiple times until the

filing deadline on May 14, 2001.

56. Applicants must press the

‘‘SUBMIT Application’’ button on the

‘‘Submission’’ page of the electronic

form to successfully submit their FCC

Form 175s. Any form that is not

submitted will not be reviewed by the

FCC. Information about accessing the

FCC Form 175 is included in

Attachment C of the Auction No. 40

Procedures Public Notice. Technical

support is available at (202) 414–1250

(voice) or (202) 414–1255 (text

telephone (TTY)); the hours of service

Monday through Friday, from 7 am to

10 pm ET, Saturday, 8 am to 7 pm ET,

and Sunday, 12 noon to 6 pm ET. In

order to provide better service to the

public, all calls to the hotline are

recorded.

57. Applicants can also contact

Technical Support via e-mail. To obtain

the address, click the Support tab on the

Form 175 Homepage.

iii. Completion of the FCC Form 175

58. Applicants should carefully

review 47 CFR 1.2105, and must

complete all items on the FCC Form

175. Instructions for completing the FCC

Form 175 are in Attachment D of the

Auction No. 40 Procedures Public

Notice. Applicants are encouraged to

begin preparing the required

attachments for FCC Form 175 prior to

submitting the form. Attachments C and

D to the Auction No. 40 Procedures

Public Notice provide information on

the required attachments and

appropriate formats.

iv. Electronic Review of FCC Form 175

59. The FCC Form 175 electronic

review system may be used to locate

and print applicants’ FCC Form 175

information. Applicants may also view

other applicants’ completed FCC Form

175s after the filing deadline has passed

and the FCC has issued a public notice

explaining the status of the applications.

For this reason, it is important that

applicants do not include their

Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs)

on any exhibits to their FCC Form 175

applications. There is no fee for

accessing this system. See Attachment C

of the Auction No. 40 Procedures Public

Notice for details on accessing the

review system.

C. Application Processing and Minor

Corrections

60. The FCC will process all timely

submitted applications to determine

which are acceptable for filing, and

subsequently will issue a public notice

identifying: (i) those applications

accepted for filing; (ii) those

applications rejected; and (iii) those

applications which have minor defects

that may be corrected, and the deadline

for filing such corrected applications.

61. As described more fully in the

Commission’s rules, after the May 14,

2001, short-form 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., change their

license selections, change the certifying

official, change control of the applicant,

or change bidding credit eligibility).

D. Upfront Payments—Due June 4, 2001

62. In order to be eligible to bid in the

auction, applicants must submit an

upfront payment accompanied by a FCC

Remittance Advice Form (FCC Form

159). After completing the FCC Form

175, filers will have access to an

electronic version of the FCC Form 159

that can be printed and faxed to Mellon

Bank in Pittsburgh, PA. All upfront

payments must be received at Mellon

Bank by 6:00 p.m. ET on June 4, 2001.

Please note that:

• All payments must be made in U.S.

dollars.

• All payments must be made by wire

transfer.

• Upfront payments for Auction No.

40 go to a lockbox number different

from the lockboxes used in previous

FCC auctions, and different from the

lockbox number to be used for postauction payments.

• Failure to deliver the upfront

payment by the June 4, 2001, deadline

will result in dismissal of the

application and disqualification from

participation in the auction.

i. Making Auction Payments by Wire

Transfer

63. Wire transfer payments must be

received by 6 p.m. ET on June 4, 2001.

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 910–1174

OBI Field: (Skip one space between

each information item)

‘‘AUCTIONPAY’’

TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NO.:

(same as FCC Form 159, block 12)

PAYMENT TYPE CODE (enter ‘‘A40U’’)

FCC CODE 1 (same as FCC Form 159,

block 24A: ‘‘40’’)

PAYER NAME (same as FCC Form 159,

block 2)

LOCKBOX NO. #358405

Note: The BNF and Lockbox number are

specific to the upfront payments for this

auction; do not use BNF or Lockbox numbers

from previous auctions.

64. Applicants must fax a completed

FCC Form 159 (Revised 2/00) 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 No. 40.’’ Bidders should

confirm receipt of their upfront payment

at Mellon Bank by contacting their

sending financial institution.

ii. FCC Form 159

65. A completed FCC Remittance

Advice Form (FCC Form 159, Revised 2/

00) must be faxed to Mellon Bank with

each upfront payment. Proper

completion of FCC Form 159 (Revised

2/00) is critical to ensuring correct

credit of upfront payments. Detailed

instructions for completion of FCC Form

159 are included in Attachment E of the

Auction No. 40 Procedures Public

Notice. An electronic version of the FCC

Form 159 is available after filing the

FCC Form 175. The FCC Form 159 can

be completed electronically, but must be

filed with Mellon Bank via facsimile.

iii. Amount of Upfront Payment

66. In the Part 1 Order, Memorandum

Opinion and Order, and Notice of

Proposed Rule Making, the Commission

delegated to the Bureau the authority

and discretion to determine appropriate

upfront payment(s) for each auction. In

addition, in the Part 1 Fifth Report and

Order, the Commission ordered that

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

have ever been in default on any

Commission license or have ever been

delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices 21151

any Federal agency, be required to pay

upfront payments fifty percent greater

than non-‘‘former defaulters.’’

67. Bidders’ upfront payments will be

translated to bidding units on a bidding

unit for dollar basis. In order to bid on

a license, otherwise qualified bidders

who applied for that license on Form

175 must make a sufficient upfront

payment to have an eligibility level that

meets or exceeds the number of bidding

units assigned to that license.

68. The bidding units for each license

will equal the license’s upfront payment

on a bidding unit for dollar basis. The

bidding unit level for each license will

remain constant throughout the auction.

The specific upfront payments and

bidding units for each license are set

forth in Attachment A of the Auction

No. 40 Procedures Public Notice.

69. In calculating its upfront payment

amount, an applicant should determine

the maximum number of bidding units

it may wish to bid on in any single

round, and submit an upfront payment

covering that number of bidding units.

In order to make this calculation, an

applicant should add together the

upfront payments for all licenses on

which it seeks to bid in any given

round. Bidders should check their

calculations carefully, as there is no

provision for increasing a bidder’s

maximum eligibility after the upfront

payment deadline.

70. At a minimum, therefore, an

applicant’s total upfront payment must

be enough to establish eligibility to bid

on at least one of the licenses applied

for on Form 175, or else the applicant

will not be eligible to participate in the

auction. An applicant does not have to

make an upfront payment to cover all

licenses for which the applicant has

applied on Form 175, but rather to cover

the maximum number of bidding units

that are associated with licenses on

which the bidder wishes to place bids

and hold high bids at any given time.

71. Former defaulters should calculate

their upfront payment for all licenses by

multiplying the number of bidding units

they wish to purchase by 1.5. In order

to calculate the number of bidding units

to assign to former defaulters, the

Commission will divide the upfront

payment received by 1.5 and round the

result up to the nearest bidding unit.

NOTE: An applicant may, on its FCC

Form 175, apply for every applicable

license being offered, but its actual

bidding in any round will be limited by

the bidding units reflected in its upfront

payment.

iv. Applicant’s Wire Transfer

Information for Purposes of Refunds for

Upfront Payments

72. The Commission will use wire

transfers for all Auction No. 40 refunds.

To ensure that refunds of upfront

payments are processed in an

expeditious manner, all pertinent

information should be supplied to the

FCC. Applicants can provide the

information electronically during the

initial short-form filing window after

the form has been submitted. Wire

Transfer Instructions can also be

manually faxed to the FCC, Financial

Operations Center, Auctions Accounting

Group, ATTN: Tim Dates or Gail

Glasser, at (202) 418–2843 by June 4,

2001. All refunds will be returned to the

payer of record as identified on the FCC

Form 159 unless the payer submits

written authorization instructing

otherwise. For additional information,

please call (202) 418–1995.

Name of Bank

ABA Number

Contact and Phone Number

Account Number to Credit

Name of Account Holder

Taxpayer Identification Number

Correspondent Bank (if applicable)

ABA Number

Account Number

(Applicants should also note that

implementation of the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996 requires the

FCC to obtain a Taxpayer Identification

Number (TIN) before it can disburse

refunds.) Eligibility for refunds is

discussed in Part V.E.

A. Auction Registration

73. Approximately ten days before the

auction, the FCC will issue a public

notice announcing all qualified bidders

for the auction. Qualified bidders are

those applicants whose FCC Form 175

applications have been accepted for

filing and have timely submitted

upfront payments sufficient to make

them eligible to bid on at least one of

the licenses for which they applied.

74. All qualified bidders are

automatically registered for the auction.

Registration materials will be

distributed prior to the auction by two

separate overnight mailings, one

containing the confidential bidder

identification number (BIN) required to

place bids and the other containing the

SecurID cards. These mailings will be

sent only to the contact person at the

contact address listed in the FCC Form

175.

75. Applicants that do not receive

both registration mailings will not be

able to submit bids. Therefore, any

qualified applicant that has not received

both mailings by noon on Thursday,

June 21, 2001 should contact the

Auctions Hotline at (717) 338–2888.

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.

76. Qualified bidders should note that

lost bidder identification numbers or

SecurID cards can be replaced only by

appearing in person at the FCC Auction

Headquarters located at 445 12th St.,

SW., Washington, DC 20554. Only an

authorized representative or certifying

official, as designated on an applicant’s

FCC Form 175, may appear in person

with two forms of identification (one of

which must be a photo identification) in

order to receive replacement codes.

Qualified bidders requiring

replacements must call technical

support prior to arriving at the FCC.

F. Remote Electronic Bidding

77. This is the first auction that the

Commission will conduct over the

Internet. Telephonic bidding and access

via the Bureau’s wide area network will

also be available, as in prior auctions.

Qualified bidders are permitted to bid

telephonically or electronically, i.e.,

over the Internet or the Bureau’s wide

area network. In either case, each bidder

must have their own Remote Security

Access SecurID card, which the FCC

will provide at no charge. Each

applicant will be issued at least two

SecurID cards, and up to a maximum of

three cards. For security purposes, the

SecurID cards are only mailed to the

contact person at the contact address

listed on the FCC Form 175. Please note

that the SecurID card is tailored to a

specific auction, so a SecurID card

obtained from a source other than the

FCC will not work for Auction No. 40.

The telephonic bidding phone number

will be supplied in the first Federal

Express mailing of the confidential

bidder identification number. Your

bidding preference—electronic or

telephonic—is specified on the FCC

Form 175.

G. Mock Auction

78. All qualified bidders will be

eligible to participate in a mock auction

on Friday, June 22, 2001. The mock

auction will enable applicants to

become familiar with the electronic

system prior to the auction.

Participation by all bidders is strongly

recommended. Details will be

announced by public notice.

IV. Auction Event

79. The first round of bidding for

Auction No. 40 will begin on Tuesday,

21152 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices

June 26, 2001. The initial bidding

schedule will be announced in a public

notice listing the qualified bidders,

which is released approximately 10

days before the start of the auction.

A. Auction Structure

i. Simultaneous Multiple Round

Auction

80. All licenses in Auction No. 40 will

be awarded in a single, simultaneous

multiple round auction. Unless

otherwise announced, bids will be

accepted on all licenses in each round

of the auction. This approach allows

bidders to take advantage of any

synergies that exist among licenses and

is administratively efficient.

ii. Maximum Eligibility and Activity

Rules

81. The amount of the upfront

payment submitted by a bidder will

determine the initial maximum

eligibility (as measured in bidding

units) for each bidder. Upfront

payments are not attributed to specific

licenses, but instead will be translated

into bidding units to define a bidder’s

initial maximum eligibility (see

‘‘Amount of Upfront Payment’’ in Part

III.D.iii). The total upfront payment

defines the maximum number of

bidding units on which the applicant

will be permitted to bid and hold high

bids. As there is no provision for

increasing a bidder’s maximum

eligibility during the course of an

auction (as described under ‘‘Auction

Stages’’ in Part IV.A.iii), prospective

bidders are cautioned to calculate their

upfront payments carefully. The total

upfront payment does not affect the

total dollars a bidder may bid on any

given license.

82. In order to ensure that the auction

closes within a reasonable period of

time, an activity rule requires bidders to

bid actively throughout the auction,

rather than wait until the end before

participating. Bidders are required to be

active on a specific percentage of their

current eligibility during each round of

the auction.

83. A bidder’s activity level in a

round is the sum of the bidding units

associated with licenses on which the

bidder is active. A bidder is considered

active on a license in the current round

if it is either the high bidder at the end

of the previous bidding round and does

not withdraw the high bid in the current

round, or if it submits an acceptable bid

in the current round (see ‘‘Bid

Increments and Minimum Accepted

Bids’’ in Part IV.B.iii). The minimum

required activity level is expressed as a

percentage of the bidder’s maximum

bidding eligibility, and increases by

stages as the auction progresses.

iii. Auction Stages

84. Auction No. 40 will be conducted

in three stages and employ an activity

rule. In each round of Stage One, a

bidder desiring to maintain its current

eligibility will be required to be active

on licenses encompassing at least 80

percent of its current bidding eligibility.

In each round of Stage Two, a bidder

desiring to maintain its current

eligibility will be required to be active

on at least 90 percent of its current

bidding eligibility. Finally, in Stage

Three, in order to maintain eligibility, a

bidder will be required to be active on

98 percent of its current bidding

eligibility. The FCC reserves the

discretion to further alter the activity

percentages before and/or during the

auction.

85. The procedures for each stage are:

Stage One: During the first stage of the

auction, a bidder desiring to maintain

its current eligibility will be required to

be active on licenses that represent at

least 80 percent of its current bidding

eligibility in each bidding round.

Failure to maintain the required activity

level will result in a reduction in the

bidder’s bidding eligibility in the next

round of bidding (unless an activity rule

waiver is used). During Stage One,

reduced eligibility for the next round

will be calculated by multiplying the

bidder’s current activity (the sum of

bidding units of the bidder’s standing

high bids and valid bids during the

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

Stage Two: During the second stage of

the auction, a bidder desiring to

maintain its current eligibility is

required to be active on 90 percent of its

current bidding eligibility. Failure to

maintain the required activity level will

result in a reduction in the bidder’s

bidding eligibility in the next round of

bidding (unless an activity rule waiver

is used). During Stage Two, reduced

eligibility for the next round will be

calculated by multiplying the bidder’s

current activity (the sum of bidding

units of the bidder’s standing high bids

and valid bids during the current round)

by ten-ninths (10/9).

Stage Three: During the third stage of

the auction, a bidder desiring to

maintain its current eligibility is

required to be active on 98 percent of its

current bidding eligibility. Failure to

maintain the required activity level will

result in a reduction in the bidder’s

bidding eligibility in the next round of

bidding (unless an activity rule waiver

is used). In this stage, reduced eligibility

for the next round will be calculated by

multiplying the bidder’s current activity

(the sum of bidding units of the bidder’s

standing high bids and valid bids during

the current round) by fifty-fortyninths

(50/49).

Caution: Since activity requirements

increase in each auction stage, bidders

must carefully check their current

activity during the bidding period of the

first round following a stage transition.

This is especially critical for bidders

that have standing high bids and do not

plan to submit new bids. In past

auctions, some bidders have

inadvertently lost bidding eligibility or

used an activity rule waiver because

they did not re-verify their activity

status at stage transitions. Bidders may

check their activity against the required

minimum activity level by using the

bidding system’s bidding module.

iv. Stage Transitions

86. Auction No. 40 will start in Stage

One and 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). In addition, the

Bureau will retain the discretion to

regulate the pace of the auction by

announcement. This determination will

be based on a variety of measures of

bidder activity, including, but not

limited to, the auction activity level, the

percentages of licenses (as measured in

bidding units) on which there are new

bids, the number of new bids, and the

percentage increase in revenue.

v. Activity Rule Waivers and Reducing

Eligibility

87. In Auction No. 40, 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.

88. The FCC Automated Auction

System assumes that bidders with

insufficient activity prefer to use an

activity rule waiver (if available) rather

than lose bidding eligibility. Therefore,

the system will automatically apply a

waiver (known as an ‘‘automatic

waiver’’) at the end of any round where

a bidder’s activity level is below the

minimum required unless: (i) There are

no activity rule waivers available; or (ii)

the bidder overrides the automatic

application of a waiver by reducing

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices 21153

eligibility, thereby meeting the

minimum requirements.

89. A bidder with insufficient activity

that wants to reduce its bidding

eligibility rather than use an activity

rule waiver must affirmatively override

the automatic waiver mechanism during

the round by using the reduce eligibility

function in the bidding system. In this

case, the bidder’s eligibility is

permanently reduced to bring the bidder

into compliance with the activity rules

as described in ‘‘Auction Stages’’ (see

Part IV.A.iii discussion). Once eligibility

has been reduced, a bidder will not be

permitted to regain its lost bidding

eligibility.

90. Finally, a bidder may proactively

use an activity rule waiver as a means

to keep the auction open without

placing a bid. If a bidder submits a

proactive waiver (using the proactive

waiver function in the bidding system)

during a round in which no bids are

submitted, the auction will remain open

and the bidder’s eligibility will be

preserved. However, an automatic

waiver triggered during a round in

which there are no new valid bids or

withdrawals will not keep the auction

open.

vi. Auction Stopping Rules

91. For Auction No. 40, the Bureau

will employ a simultaneous stopping

rule. Under this rule, bidding will

remain open on all licenses until

bidding stops on every license. 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. After

the first such round, bidding closes

simultaneously on all licenses.

92. The Bureau also will retain

discretion to implement a modified

version of the simultaneous stopping

rule. The modified version will close

the auction for all licenses after the first

round in which no bidder submits a

proactive waiver, a withdrawal, or a

new bid on any license on which it is

not the standing high bidder. Thus,

absent any other bidding activity, a

bidder placing a new bid on a license

for which it is the standing high bidder

will not keep the auction open under

this modified stopping rule.

93. The Bureau will retain discretion

to keep the auction open even if no new

acceptable bids or proactive waivers are

submitted and no previous high bids are

withdrawn in a round. 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).

94. In addition, the Bureau reserves

the right to declare that the auction will

end after a designated number of

additional rounds (‘‘special stopping

rule’’). If the Bureau invokes this special

stopping rule, it will accept bids in the

final round(s) only for licenses on

which the high bid increased in at least

one of the preceding specified number

of rounds. We proposed to exercise this

option only in circumstances such as

where the auction is proceeding very

slowly, where there is minimal overall

bidding activity or where it appears

likely that the auction will not close

within a reasonable period of time.

Before exercising this option, the

Bureau is likely to attempt to increase

the pace of the auction by, for example,

moving the auction into the next stage

(where bidders will be required to

maintain a higher level of bidding

activity), increasing the number of

bidding rounds per day, and/or

adjusting the amount of the minimum

bid increments for the licenses.

vii. Auction Delay, Suspension, or

Cancellation

95. By public notice or by

announcement during the auction, the

Bureau may delay, suspend, or cancel

the auction in the event of natural

disaster, technical obstacle, evidence of

an auction security breach, unlawful

bidding activity, administrative or

weather necessity, or for any other

reason that affects the fair and

competitive conduct of competitive

bidding. In such cases, the Bureau, in its

sole discretion, may elect to resume the

auction starting from the beginning of

the current round, resume the auction

starting from some previous round, or

cancel the auction in its entirety.

Network interruption may cause the

Bureau to delay or suspend the auction.

Exercise of this authority is solely

within the discretion of the Bureau, and

its use is not intended to be a substitute

for situations in which bidders may

wish to apply their activity rule waivers.

B. Bidding Procedures

i. Round Structure

96. The initial bidding schedule will

be announced in the public notice

listing the qualified bidders, which will

be released approximately 10 days

before the start of the auction and will

be included in the registration mailings.

The round structure for each bidding

round contains a single bidding round

followed by the release of the round

results. Multiple bidding rounds may be

conducted in a given day. The Bureau

will consider all relevant factors,

including but not limited to the number

of licenses in the auction, when

determining the number of bidding

rounds per day. Details regarding round

results formats and locations will also

be included in the public notice listing

qualified bidders.

97. The FCC has discretion to change

the bidding schedule in order to foster

an auction pace that reasonably

balances speed with the bidders’ need to

study round results and adjust their

bidding strategies. The FCC may

increase or decrease the amount of time

for the bidding rounds and review

periods, or the number of rounds per

day, depending upon the bidding

activity level and other factors.

ii. Reserve Price or Minimum Opening

Bid

98. Background. The Balanced Budget

Act of 1997, codified at 47 U.S.C.

309(j)(4)(f), calls upon the Commission

to prescribe methods by which a

reasonable reserve price will be required

or a minimum opening bid established

when FCC licenses are subject to

auction unless the Commission

determines that a reserve price or

minimum opening bid is not in the

public interest. Consistent with this

mandate, the Commission directed the

Bureau to seek comment on the use of

a minimum opening bid and/or reserve

price prior to the start of each auction.

Among other factors, the Bureau must

consider the amount of spectrum being

auctioned, levels of incumbency, the

availability of technology to provide

service, the size of the geographic

service areas, the extent of interference

with other spectrum bands, and any

other relevant factors that could have an

impact on the spectrum being

auctioned. The Commission concluded

that the Bureau should have the

discretion to employ either or both of

these mechanisms for future auctions.

99. In the Auction No. 40 Comment

Public Notice, the Bureau proposed to

establish minimum opening bids for

Auction No. 40 and to retain discretion

to lower the minimum opening bids.

Specifically, for Auction No. 40, the

Bureau proposed the following formula

for minimum opening bids:

• For a license being auctioned by

MEA, the minimum opening bid will be

20% of the average gross high bid

received in Auction No. 26 in the same

MEA.

• For a license being auctioned by

EA, the minimum opening bid will be

the EA population multiplied by 20% of

the gross average dollars per population

received in Auction No. 26 for the

corresponding MEA.

21154 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices

100. The Bureau will set a ‘‘floor’’ for

minimum opening bids at $1000 for

licenses in the upper paging bands

(929–931 MHz) and $500 for the

licenses in the lower paging bands (35–

36 MHz, 43–44 MHz, 152–159 MHz, and

454–460 MHz).

101. In the alternative, the Bureau

sought comment on whether, consistent

with the Balanced Budget Act, the

public interest would be served by

having no minimum opening bid or

reserve price.

102. All the parties filing comments

and replies addressed the minimum

opening bids proposed in the Auction

No. 40 Comment Public Notice. As a

preliminary matter, none of the parties

contended that having minimum

opening bids in Auction No. 40 is

contrary to the public interest. Several

parties expressly endorsed the use of

minimum opening bids as an effective

auction tool. Accordingly, pursuant to

the Balanced Budget Act, the Bureau

adopts its proposal to use minimum

opening bids in Auction No. 40.

103. All the comments and replies

propose that some or all the minimum

opening bids be lower than those

proposed in the Auction No. 40

Comment Public Notice. One

commenter proposes that for lower

paging bands markets with a population

of less than 1 million, the Bureau use

$200, rather than $500, as an absolute

minimum opening bid. Another

proposes a ‘‘floor price’’ of $50, at least

for licenses in the lower paging bands.

A third asserts that minimum opening

bids should be set based on the filing fee

for additional site licenses under the

former licensing system. One reply

comment proposes that the floor be

reduced to $200 for all licenses.

104. After reviewing the comments

and replies, the Bureau has concluded

that it should adopt its original proposal

and the minimum opening bids listed in

the Auction No. 40 Comment Paging

Notice. The specific minimum opening

bid for each license is set forth in

Attachment A to the Auction No. 40

Procedures Public Notice. The Bureau

believes that parties unable or unwilling

to make the proposed absolute

minimum opening bids most likely will

be unable or unwilling to use the

licenses to provide service to the public.

The commenters’ observations regarding

the extent of incumbency, proposals to

grant licenses based on incumbency,

and concerns about the transition from

site specific licensing to geographic area

licensing, were the subject of prior rule

making proceedings and are not within

the scope of auction procedures.

105. The minimum opening bids for

Auction No. 40 are reducible at the

discretion of the Bureau. Such

discretion will be exercised, if at all,

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

before bidders lose all waivers and

begin to lose substantial eligibility.

During the course of the auction, the

Bureau will not entertain any bidder

request to reduce the minimum opening

bid on specific licenses.

iii. Bid Increments and Minimum

Accepted Bids

106. In Auction No. 40, the minimum

accepted bid will be set as the minimum

opening bid or the standing high bid

plus a defined increment. Bidders will

be able to place any of nine higher bids,

each higher bid being equal to the

minimum accepted bid plus one to nine

times the defined increment. The

defined increment will be based on a

percentage of the standing high bid or,

if no standing high bid had been placed,

on the minimum opening bid. At the

outset of the auction, we will use twenty

percent of the standing high bid or

minimum opening bid to calculate the

increment. We retain the discretion to

change the percentage used to calculate

the defined increment if circumstances

so dictate and to set a floor for the

increment used to calculate the

minimum acceptable bid at an absolute

dollar amount.

107. Finally, in Stage III of Auction

No. 40, we will have discretion to use

a smaller percentage to calculate the

increment used in setting acceptable

bids higher than the minimum accepted

bid. In all other respects, such as

rounding, the smaller defined increment

would be calculated in the same manner

as the defined increment used to set the

minimum accepted bid. Some

commenters advocated that the Bureau

should use ten percent (10%) or less

should it exercise this discretion in

Stage III and use a smaller percentage to

calculate acceptable bids higher than

the minimum accepted bid. We

conclude that there is no need to so

restrict our discretion. Advanced notice

of the Bureau’s decision to exercise its

discretion with regard to acceptable bids

in any manner will be announced via

the Automated Auction System.

iv. High Bids

108. An implementation of the

Lecuyer pseudo-random generator will

be used to determine the standing high

bidder in the case of tie high bids. A

random number will be assigned to each

bid. The tie bid having the highest

random number will become the

standing high bid. As noted in the

Auction No. 40 Comment Public Notice,

we have adopted this method of

breaking ties for this auction because,

unlike prior auctions, bidders in

Auction No. 40 will be able to bid via

the Internet. Breaking ties by reference

to the timing of the bids, as in prior

auctions, is inappropriate in Auction

No. 40 because bidders may access the

Internet at widely varying speeds.

v. Bidding

109. During a bidding round, a bidder

may submit bids for as many licenses as

it wishes (subject to its eligibility),

withdraw high bids from previous

bidding rounds, remove bids placed in

the same bidding round, or permanently

reduce eligibility. Bidders also have the

option of making multiple submissions

and withdrawals in each bidding round.

If a bidder submits multiple bids for a

single license in the same round, the

system takes the last bid entered as that

bidder’s bid for the round.

110. Please note that all bidding will

take place remotely either through the

Automated Auction System or by

telephonic bidding. (Telephonic bid

assistants are required to use a script

when entering bids placed by telephone.

Telephonic bidders are therefore

reminded to allow sufficient time to bid

by placing their calls well in advance of

the close of a round. In the past, four to

five minutes have been necessary to

complete a bid submission. Due to the

large number of licenses in Auction No.

40, bidders may require more time to

submit their bids than in past auctions.)

There will be no on-site bidding during

Auction No. 40.

111. A bidder’s ability to bid on

specific licenses in the first round of the

auction is determined by two factors: (i)

the licenses applied for on FCC Form

175 and (ii) the upfront payment

amount deposited. The bid submission

screens will allow bidders to submit

bids on only those licenses for which

the bidder applied on its FCC Form 175.

112. The FCC Automated Auction

System requires each bidder to be

logged in during the bidding round

using the bidder identification number

provided in the registration materials,

and the generated SecurID code. Bidders

are strongly encouraged to print bid

confirmations after they submit their

bids.

113. In each round, eligible bidders

will be able to place acceptable bids on

a given license in any of ten different

amounts. The Automated Auction

System interface will list as acceptable

bids for each license a minimum

acceptable bid and nine higher bids.

Until a bid has been placed on a license,

the minimum acceptable bid for that

license will be equal to its minimum

opening bid. In the rounds after an

acceptable bid is placed on a license,

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices 21155

the minimum acceptable bid for that

license will be equal to the standing

high bid plus a defined increment. (If a

high bid on a license was withdrawn,

however, the Commission will specify

the minimum acceptable bid.)

114. Finally, bidders are cautioned in

selecting their bid amounts because, as

explained in the following section,

bidders who withdraw a standing high

bid from a previous round, even if

mistakenly or erroneously made, are

subject to bid withdrawal payments.

vi. Bid Removal and Bid Withdrawal

115. Procedures. Before the close of a

bidding round, a bidder has the option

of removing any bids placed in that

round. By using the ‘‘remove bid’’

function in the bidding system, a bidder

may effectively ‘‘unsubmit’’ any bid

placed within that round. A bidder

removing a bid placed in the same

round is not subject to withdrawal

payments. Removing a bid will affect a

bidder’s activity for the round in which

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

subsequently removed does not count

toward the bidder’s activity

requirement.

116. Once a round closes, a bidder

may no longer remove a bid. However,

in later rounds, a bidder may withdraw

standing high bids from previous

rounds using the ‘‘withdraw bid’’

function (assuming that the bidder has

not exhausted its withdrawal

allowance). A high bidder that

withdraws its standing high bid from a

previous round during the auction is

subject to the bid withdrawal payments

specified in 47 CFR 1.2104(g).

117. In previous auctions, we have

detected bidder conduct that, arguably,

may have constituted strategic bidding

through the use of bid withdrawals.

While we continue to recognize the

important role that bid withdrawals

play in an auction, i.e., reducing risk

associated with efforts to secure various

licenses in combination, we conclude

that, for Auction No. 40, adoption of a

limit on their use to two rounds is the

most appropriate outcome. By doing so

we believe we strike a reasonable

compromise that will allow bidders to

use withdrawals.

118. The Bureau will limit the

number of rounds in which bidders may

place withdrawals to two rounds. These

rounds will be at the bidder’s discretion

and there will be no limit on the

number of bids that may be withdrawn

in either of these rounds. Withdrawals

during the auction will still be subject

to the bid withdrawal payments

specified in 47 CFR 1.2104(g). Bidders

should note that abuse of the

Commission’s bid withdrawal

procedures could result in the denial of

the ability to bid on a market. If a high

bid is withdrawn, the minimum

accepted bid in the next round will be

the prior round’s second highest bid

price, which may be less than, or equal

to, in the case of tie bids, the amount of

the withdrawn bid. To set additional

acceptable bids, the second highest bid

price also will be used in place of the

standing high bid in the formula used to

calculate the increment between bids.

The Commission will serve as a ‘‘place

holder’’ on the license until a new

acceptable bid is submitted on that

license.

119. Calculation. Generally, the

Commission imposes payments on

bidders that withdraw high bids during

the course of an auction. If a bidder

withdraws its bid and there is no higher

bid in the same or subsequent

auction(s), the bidder that withdrew its

bid is responsible for the difference

between its withdrawn bid and the net

high bid in the same or subsequent

auction(s). In the case of multiple bid

withdrawals on a single license, within

the same or subsequent auctions(s), the

payment for each bid withdrawal will

be calculated based on the sequence of

bid withdrawals and the amounts

withdrawn. No withdrawal payment

will be assessed for a withdrawn bid if

either the subsequent winning bid or

any of the intervening subsequent

withdrawn bids, in either the same or

subsequent auction(s), equals or exceeds

that withdrawn bid. Thus, a bidder that

withdraws a bid will not be responsible

for any withdrawal payments if there is

a subsequent higher bid in the same or

subsequent auction(s). This policy

allows bidders most efficiently to

allocate their resources as well as to

evaluate their bidding strategies and

business plans during an auction while,

at the same time, maintaining the

integrity of the auction process. The

Bureau retains the discretion to

scrutinize multiple bid withdrawals on

a single license for evidence of anticompetitive strategic behavior and take

appropriate action when deemed

necessary.

120. In the Part 1 Fifth Report and

Order, the Commission modified

§ 1.2104(g)(1) of the Commission’s rules

regarding assessments of interim bid

withdrawal payments. As amended,

§ 1.2104(g)(1) provides that in instances

in which bids have been withdrawn on

a license that is not won in the same

auction, the Commission will assess an

interim withdrawal payment equal to 3

percent of the amount of the withdrawn

bids. The 3 percent interim payment

will be applied toward any final bid

withdrawal payment that will be

assessed after subsequent auction of the

license. Assessing an interim bid

withdrawal payment ensures that the

Commission receives a minimal

withdrawal payment pending

assessment of any final withdrawal

payment. The Part 1 Fifth Report and

Order provides specific examples

showing application of the bid

withdrawal payment rule.

vii. Round Results

121. Information relating to the bids

during Auction No. 40 will be disclosed

after each round of bidding closes,

including all bids and withdrawals

placed in each round, the identity of the

bidder placing each bid or withdrawal,

and the net and gross amounts of each

bid or withdrawal.

122. Bids placed during a round will

not be published until the conclusion of

that bidding period. After a round closes

the Bureau will post the results of the

round for public access. Reports

reflecting bidders’ identities and bidder

identification numbers for Auction No.

40 will be available before and during

the auction. Thus, bidders will know in

advance of this auction the identities of

the bidders against which they are

bidding.

viii. Auction Announcements

123. The FCC will use auction

announcements to announce items such

as schedule changes and stage

transitions. All FCC auction

announcements will be available by

clicking a link on the FCC Automated

Auction System.

ix. Maintaining the Accuracy of FCC

Form 175 Information

124. As noted in Part II.G., 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 certain revision of exhibits.

Filers must make these changes on-line,

and submit a letter summarizing the

changes to: Margaret Wiener, Chief,

Auctions and Industry Analysis

Division, Wireless Telecommunications

Bureau, Federal Communications

Commission, 445 12th Street, SW.,

Room 4–A669, Washington, DC 20554.

125. A separate copy of the letter

should be mailed to Erik Salovaara,

Auctions and Industry Analysis

Division, Wireless Telecommunications

Bureau, Federal Communications

Commission, 445 12th Street, SW.,

Room 4–B457, Washington, DC 20554.

Questions about other changes should

21156 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices

be directed to Erik Salovaara at (202)

418–0660.

V. Post-Auction Procedures

A. Down Payments and Withdrawn Bid

Payments

126. After bidding has ended, the

Commission will issue a public notice

declaring the auction closed, identifying

winning bidders, down payments and

any withdrawn bid payments due.

127. Within ten business days after

release of the auction closing notice,

each winning bidder must submit

sufficient funds (in addition to its

upfront payment) to bring its total

amount of money on deposit with the

Government to 20 percent of its net

winning bids (actual bids less any

applicable small business bidding

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

addition, by the same deadline all

bidders must pay any bid withdrawal

payments due under 47 CFR 1.2104(g),

as discussed in ‘‘Bid Removal and Bid

Withdrawal,’’ Part IV.B.vi. (Payments

are applied first to satisfy any

withdrawn bid liability, before being

applied toward down payments.)

B. Long-Form Application

128. Within ten business days after

release of the auction closing notice,

winning bidders must electronically

submit a properly completed long-form

application (FCC Form 601) and

required exhibits for each license won

through Auction No. 40. Winning

bidders that are small businesses must

include an exhibit demonstrating their

eligibility for small business bidding

credits. See 47 CFR 1.2112(b),

24.709(c)(2)(i). Further filing

instructions will be provided to auction

winners at the close of the auction.

C. Tribal Land Bidding Credit

129. A winning bidder that intends to

use its license(s) to deploy facilities and

provide services to federally-recognized

tribal lands that are unserved by any

telecommunications carrier or that have

a telephone service penetration rate

equal to or below 70 percent is eligible

to receive a tribal land bidding credit as

set forth in 47 CFR 1.2107 and

1.2110(e). A tribal land bidding credit is

in addition to, and separate from, any

other bidding credit for which a

winning bidder may qualify.

130. Unlike other bidding credits that

are requested prior to the auction, a

winning bidder applies for the tribal

land bidding credit after winning the

auction when it files its long-form

application (FCC Form 601). When

filing the long-form application, the

winning bidder will be required to

advise the Commission whether it

intends to seek a tribal land bidding

credit, for each market won in the

auction, by checking the designated

box(es). After stating its intent to seek a

tribal land bidding credit, the applicant

will have 90 days from the close of the

long-form filing window to amend its

application to select the specific tribal

lands to be served and provide the

required tribal government

certifications. Licensees receiving a

tribal land bidding credit are subject to

performance criteria as set forth in 47

CFR 1.2110(e).

131. For additional information on the

tribal land bidding credit, including

how the amount of the credit is

calculated, applicants should review the

Commission’s rule making proceeding

regarding tribal land bidding credits and

related public notices. Relevant

documents can be viewed on the

Commission’s web site by going to http:/

/www.fcc.gov/wtb/auctions and clicking

on Information on Tribal Land Bidding

Credits.

D. Default and Disqualification

132. Any high bidder that defaults or

is disqualified after the close of the

auction (i.e., fails to remit the required

down payment within the prescribed

period of time, fails to submit a timely

long-form application, fails to make full

payment, or is otherwise disqualified)

will be subject to the payments

described in 47 CFR 1.2104(g)(2). In

such event the Commission may reauction spectrum associated with the

license or offer it to the next highest

bidder (in descending order) at their

final bid. See 47 CFR 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 1.2109(d).

E. Refund of Remaining Upfront

Payment Balance

133. All applicants that submitted

upfront payments but were not winning

bidders for a license in Auction No. 40

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.

134. Qualified bidders that have

exhausted all of their activity rule

waivers, have no remaining bidding

eligibility, and have not withdrawn a

high bid during the auction must submit

a written refund request. If you have

completed the refund instructions

electronically, then only a written

request for the refund is necessary. If

not, the request must also include wire

transfer instructions and a Taxpayer

Identification Number (TIN). Send

refund request to: Federal

Communications Commission,

Financial Operations Center, Auctions

Accounting Group, Shirley Hanberry,

445 12th Street, SW., Room 1–A824,

Washington, DC 20554.

135. Bidders are encouraged to file

their refund information electronically

using the refund information portion of

the FCC Form 175, but bidders can also

fax their information to the Auctions

Accounting Group at (202) 418–2843.

Once the information has been

approved, a refund will be sent to the

party identified in the refund

information. NOTE: Refund processing

generally takes up to two weeks to

complete. Bidders with questions about

refunds should contact Tim Dates or

Gail Glasser at (202) 418–1995.

Federal Communications Commission.

Margaret Wiener,

Chief, Auctions and Industry Analysis

Division, WTB.

[FR Doc. 01–10492 Filed 4–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL EMERGENCY

MANAGEMENT AGENCY

[FEMA–3164–EM]

Maine; Amendment No. 3 to Notice of

an Emergency Declaration Declaration

AGENCY: Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice amends the notice

of an emergency declaration for the

State of Maine, (FEMA–3164–EM),

dated March 20, 2001, and related

determinations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 16, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Madge Dale, Response and Recovery

Directorate, Federal Emergency

Management Agency, Washington, DC

20472, (202) 646–3772.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The notice

of an emergency declaration for the

State of Maine is hereby amended to

include the following area among those

areas determined to have been adversely

affected by the catastrophe declared an

emergency by the President in his

declaration of March 20, 2001: