53020 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 178 / Friday, September 12, 2008 / Notices 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[AU Docket No. 08–22; Report No. AUC– 

08–85–F (Auction 85); DA 08–1944] 

Auction of LPTV and TV Translator 

Digital Companion Channels 

Scheduled for November 5, 2008; 

Notice and Filing Requirements, 

Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront 

Payments and Other Procedures for 

Auction 85 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This document announces the 

procedures and minimum opening bids 

for the upcoming auction of LPTV and 

TV Translator Digital Companion 

Channels (Auction 85). This document 

is intended to familiarize prospective 

bidders with the procedures and 

minimum opening bids for the auction. 

DATES: Auction 85 is scheduled to begin 

on November 5, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, 

Auctions Spectrum and Access 

Division: For legal questions: Lynne 

Milne at (202) 418–0660. For general 

auction questions: Roy Knowles or 

Linda Sanderson at (717) 338–2868. 

Media Bureau, Video Division: For 

licensing information and service rule 

questions: Shaun Maher (legal) or 

Hossein Hashemzadeh (engineering) at 

(202) 418–1600. To request materials in 

accessible formats (Braille, large print, 

electronic files or audio format) for 

people with disabilities, send an e-mail 

to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer 

and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 

(202) 418–0530 or (202) 418–0432 

(TTY). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Auction 85 Procedures 

Public Notice, which was released on 

September 2, 2008. The complete texts 

of the Auction 85 Procedures Public 

Notice including attachments, as well as 

related Commission documents, are 

available for public inspection and 

copying from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET 

Monday through Thursday and from 8 

a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET on Fridays in the 

FCC Reference Information Center, 445 

12th Street, SW., Room CY–A257, 

Washington, DC 20554. The Auction 85 

Procedures Public Notice and related 

Commission documents may also be 

purchased from the Commission’s 

duplicating contractor, Best Copy and 

Printing, Inc. (BCPI), Portals II, 445 12th 

Street, SW., Room CY–B402, 

Washington, DC 20554, telephone 202– 

488–5300, facsimile 202–488–5563, or 

Web site: http://www.BCPIWEB.com. 

The Auction 85 Procedures Public 

Notice and related documents are also 

available on the Internet at the 

Commission’s Web site: http:// 

wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/85/. 

I. General Information 

A. Introduction 

1. The Wireless Telecommunications 

Bureau and the Media Bureau 

(collectively, the Bureaus) announce the 

procedures and minimum opening bid 

amounts for the upcoming auction of 

construction permits for Low Power 

Television (LPTV), including Class A 

Television (TV), and TV Translator 

digital companion channels. This 

auction, which is designated Auction 

85, is scheduled to commence on 

November 5, 2008. On July 17, 2008, in 

accordance with Section 309(j)(3) of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, the Bureaus released a public 

notice seeking comment on minimum 

opening bid amounts and the 

procedures to be used in Auction 85. In 

addition, the Bureaus proposed an 

additional settlement period for 

applicants to use engineering solutions, 

dismissal requests or settlements to 

resolve conflicts among their digital 

companion channel engineering 

proposals. No comments were 

submitted in response to the Auction 85 

Comment Public Notice, 73 FR 43230, 

July 24, 2008. 

i. Construction Permits To Be Offered in 

Auction 85 

2. Auction 85 will offer 44 

construction permits for specified 

LPTV, including Class A TV, and TV 

Translator digital companion channels. 

Participation in this auction will be 

limited to those applicants for 

construction permits identified in 

Attachment A of the Auction 85 

Procedures Public Notice. 

3. Attachment A specifies the MX 

Groups accompanied by their respective 

minimum opening bids and upfront 

payments. Attachment A also lists the 

names of the applicants for construction 

permits in each MX Group. For each MX 

Group identified in Attachment A, 

competing applications were filed 

during the relevant filing period. All 

applications within an identified MX 

Group are directly mutually exclusive 

with one another, and therefore, a single 

construction permit will be auctioned 

for each MX Group identified in 

Attachment A. 

B. Rules and Disclaimers 

i. Relevant Authority 

4. Prospective applicants must 

familiarize themselves thoroughly with 

the Commission’s general competitive 

bidding rules, including recent 

amendments and clarifications, as well 

as Commission decisions in proceedings 

regarding competitive bidding 

procedures, application requirements, 

and obligations of Commission 

licensees. Broadcasters should also 

familiarize themselves with the 

Commission’s rules relating to the 

television broadcast service contained 

in 47 CFR 73.601–73.699 and 73.1001– 

73.4280. Prospective applicants must 

also be familiar with the rules relating 

to competitive bidding proceedings 

contained in 47 CFR 1.2001–1.2112 and 

broadcast auctions contained in 47 CFR 

73.3555, 73.5000–73.5009. Prospective 

bidders must also be thoroughly familiar 

with the procedures, terms and 

conditions (collectively, terms) 

contained in the Auction 85 Procedures 

Public Notice and the Commission’s 

decisions in proceedings regarding 

competitive bidding procedures, 

application requirements, and 

obligations of Commission licensees. 

ii. Prohibition of Collusion 

5. Applicants for Auction 85 are 

reminded that they remain subject to the 

Commission’s anti-collusion rule until 

the down payment deadline after the 

auction, which will be announced in a 

future public notice. This prohibition 

applies to all applicants listed in 

Attachment A regardless of whether 

such applicants become qualified 

bidders or actually bid. Applicants are 

also reminded that, for purposes of this 

prohibition, 47 CFR 1.2105(c)(7)(i) 

defines applicant as including all 

officers and directors of the entity 

submitting a short-form application to 

participate in the auction, all controlling 

interests of that entity, as well as all 

holders of partnership and other 

ownership interests and any stock 

interest amounting to 10 percent or 

more of the entity, or outstanding stock, 

or outstanding voting stock of the entity 

submitting a short-form application. 

6. Parties subject to the anti-collusion 

rule are prohibited from communicating 

with each other about bids, bidding 

strategies, or settlements unless such 

applicants have identified each other on 

their short-form applications (FCC Form 

175) as parties with whom they have 

entered into agreements pursuant to 47 

CFR 1.2105(a)(2)(viii). Thus, competing 

applicants must affirmatively avoid all 

communications with each other that 

affect or, in their reasonable assessment, 


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have the potential to affect, bids or 

bidding strategy, which may include 

communications regarding the postauction market structure. The anticollusion rule prohibits not only a 

communication about an applicant’s 

own bids or bidding strategy, but also a 

communication of another applicant’s 

bids or bidding strategy. While the anticollusion rule provisions do not 

prohibit business negotiations among 

auction applicants, applicants must 

remain vigilant so as not to 

communicate directly or indirectly 

information that affects, or could affect, 

bids or bidding strategy, or the 

negotiation of settlement agreements. 

7. The Bureaus also remind Auction 

85 applicants that they must not 

communicate indirectly to other 

applicants about bids or bidding 

strategy. Accordingly, Auction 85 

applicants 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 such 

applicants. Also, if the authorized 

bidders are different individuals 

employed by the same organization 

(e.g., law firm or engineering firm or 

consulting firm), a violation similarly 

could 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. Moreover, the 

Commission has found a violation of the 

anti-collusion rule where an applicant 

used the Commission’s bidding system 

to disclose its bidding strategy in a 

manner that explicitly invited other 

auction participants to cooperate and 

collaborate in specific markets, and has 

placed auction participants on notice 

that the use of its bidding system to 

disclose market information to 

competitors will not be tolerated and 

will subject bidders to sanctions. 

Applicants are cautioned that the 

Commission remains vigilant about 

prohibited communications taking place 

in other situations. For example, the 

Commission has warned that prohibited 

communications concerning bids and 

bidding strategies may include 

communications regarding capital calls 

or requests for additional funds in 

support of bids or bidding strategies to 

the extent such communications convey 

information concerning the bids and 

bidding strategies directly or indirectly. 

8. Applicants are also reminded that, 

regardless of compliance with the 

Commission’s rules, they remain subject 

to the antitrust laws, which are designed 

to prevent anticompetitive behavior in 

the marketplace. Compliance with the 

disclosure requirements of the 

Commission’s anti-collusion rule will 

not insulate a party from enforcement of 

the antitrust laws. 

9. If an applicant makes or receives a 

communication that appears to violate 

the anti-collusion rule, it must report 

such communication in writing to the 

Commission immediately and in no case 

later than five business days after the 

communication occurs. The 

Commission recently clarified that each 

applicant’s obligation to report any such 

communication continues beyond the 

five-day period after the communication 

is made, even if the report is not made 

within the five-day period. 

10. In addition, 47 CFR 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, 47 CFR 1.65 requires 

an auction applicant to notify the 

Commission of any substantial change 

to the information or certifications 

included in its pending short-form 

application. Applicants are therefore 

required by 47 CFR 1.65 to report to the 

Commission any communications they 

have made to or received from another 

applicant after the short-form 

application filing deadline that affect or 

have the potential to affect bids or 

bidding strategy unless such 

communications are made to or received 

from parties to agreements identified 

under 47 CFR 1.2105(a)(2)(viii). 

iii. Due Diligence 

11. Potential applicants are reminded 

that they are solely responsible for 

investigating and evaluating all 

technical and marketplace factors that 

may have a bearing on the value of the 

broadcast facilities they are seeking in 

this auction. Applicants should perform 

their individual due diligence before 

proceeding as they would with any new 

business venture. 

12. Applicants are strongly 

encouraged to conduct their own 

research prior to Auction 85 in order to 

determine the existence of pending 

administrative or judicial proceedings 

that might affect their decisions 

regarding participation in the auction. 

Potential bidders for any new television 

facility in this auction are also reminded 

that full service television stations are in 

the process of converting from analog to 

digital operation and that stations may 

have pending applications to construct 

and operate digital television facilities, 

construction permits and/or licenses for 

such digital facilities. All LPTV and TV 

translator stations are secondary to full 

service stations and are subject to 

displacement by such stations. Bidders 

should investigate the impact such 

applications, permits and licenses may 

have on their ability to operate facilities 

based on the construction permits 

offered in this auction. 

iv. Use of Integrated Spectrum Auction 

System 

13. The Commission will make 

available a browser-based bidding 

system to allow bidders to participate in 

Auction 85 over the Internet using the 

Commission’s Integrated Spectrum 

Auction System (ISAS or FCC Auction 

System). The Commission makes no 

warranty whatsoever with respect to the 

FCC Auction System. In no event shall 

the Commission, or any of its officers, 

employees or agents, be liable for any 

damages whatsoever (including, but not 

limited to, loss of business profits, 

business interruption, loss of business 

information, or any other loss) arising 

out of or relating to the existence, 

furnishing, functioning or use of the 

FCC Auction System that is accessible 

to qualified bidders in connection with 

this auction. Moreover, no obligation or 

liability will arise out of the 

Commission’s technical, programming 

or other advice or service provided in 

connection with the FCC Auction 

System. 

v. Environmental Review Requirements 

14. Permittees or licensees must 

comply with the Commission’s rules 

regarding implementation of the 

National Environmental Policy Act and 

other Federal environmental statutes. 

C. Auction Specifics 

i. Auction Date 

15. Bidding in Auction 85 will begin 

on Wednesday, November 5, 2008. 

16. 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 construction permits will be 

conducted on each business day until 

bidding has stopped on all construction 

permits. 

ii. Bidding Methodology 

17. The bidding methodology for 

Auction 85 will be simultaneous 

multiple round bidding. The 

Commission will conduct this auction 

over the Internet using the FCC Auction 


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System, and telephonic bidding will be 

available as well. All telephone calls are 

recorded. 

iii. Pre-Auction Dates and Deadlines 

18. Dates and Deadlines 

Auction Seminar .......... October 1, 2008. 

Upfront Payments (via 

wire transfer).

October 10, 2008; 

6 p.m. ET. 

Mock Auction ............... November 3, 

2008. 

Auction Begins ............. November 5, 

2008. 

iv. Requirements for Participation 

19. Those wishing to participate in 

the auction must: (1) Be listed on 

Attachment A; (2) submit a sufficient 

upfront payment and an FCC 

Remittance Advice Form (FCC Form 

159) before 6 p.m. ET, October 10, 2008, 

following the procedures and 

instructions set forth in Attachment B to 

the Auction 85 Procedures Public 

Notice; and (3) comply with all 

provisions outlined in the Public Notice 

and applicable Commission rules. 

II. Short-Form Application (FCC Form 

175) Requirements 

A. Minor Modifications to Short-Form 

Applications (FCC Forms 175) 

20. Since the deadline for filing shortform applications (FCC Forms 175) 

passed on June 30, 2006, Auction 85 

applicants may now make only minor 

changes to their applications. 

B. Maintaining Current Information in 

Short-Form Applications (FCC Form 

175) 

21. 47 CFR 1.65 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. 

III. Pre-Auction Procedures 

A. Auction Seminar 

22. On Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 

the FCC will sponsor a seminar for 

Auction 85 at the FCC headquarters, 

located at 445 12th Street, SW., 

Washington, DC. The seminar will 

provide attendees with information 

about pre-auction procedures, auction 

rules and conduct, and the FCC Auction 

System. The seminar will also provide 

an opportunity for prospective bidders 

to ask questions of FCC staff concerning 

the auction, auction procedures, and 

other matters related to this auction. 

B. Minor Corrections to Applications 

23. The Commission will issue a 

future public notice identifying: (1) 

Those applications which are complete; 

(2) those applications rejected; and (3) 

those applications which have minor 

defects that may be corrected, and the 

deadline for resubmitting corrected 

applications. Mutually exclusive 

commercial applications will proceed to 

auction. 

C. Upfront Payments—Due October 10, 

2008 

24. In order to be eligible to bid in the 

auction, applicants must submit an 

upfront payment accompanied by an 

FCC Remittance Advice Form (FCC 

Form 159). Applicants in Auction 85 

have access to an electronic version of 

the FCC Form 159 that can be printed 

and sent by facsimile to U.S. Bank in St. 

Louis, Missouri. All upfront payments 

must be received in the proper account 

at U.S. Bank before 6 p.m. ET on 

October 10, 2008. 

i. Making Auction Payments by Wire 

Transfer 

25. Wire transfer payments must be 

received before 6 p.m. ET on October 

10, 2008, consistent with instructions 

set forth in the Auction 85 Procedures 

Public Notice. 

ii. FCC Form 159 

26. A completed FCC Remittance 

Advice Form (FCC Form 159, Revised 

07/05) must be sent by facsimile to U.S. 

Bank to accompany each upfront 

payment. Proper completion of FCC 

Form 159 (Revised 2/03) is critical to 

ensuring correct crediting of upfront 

payments. Detailed instructions for 

completion of FCC Form 159 are 

included in Attachment B of the 

Auction 85 Procedures Public Notice. 

The FCC Form 159 can be completed 

electronically, but must be filed with 

U.S. Bank via facsimile. 

iii. Upfront Payments and Bidding 

Eligibility 

27. The Commission has delegated to 

the Bureaus the authority and discretion 

to determine appropriate upfront 

payment(s) for each auction. Upfront 

payments help deter frivolous or 

insincere bidding, and provide the 

Commission with a source of funds in 

the event that the bidder incurs liability 

during the auction. 

28. Applicants that are former 

defaulters must pay upfront payments 

50 percent greater than non-former 

defaulters. For purposes of this 

calculation, the applicant includes the 

applicant itself, its affiliates, its 

controlling interests, and affiliates of its 

controlling interests, as defined by 47 

CFR 1.2110. 

29. Applicants must make upfront 

payments sufficient to obtain bidding 

eligibility on the construction permits 

on which they will bid. The Bureaus 

proposed, in the Auction 85 Comment 

Public Notice, that the amount of the 

upfront payment would determine a 

bidder’s initial bidding eligibility, the 

maximum number of bidding units on 

which a bidder may place bids. Under 

the Bureaus’ proposal, in order to bid on 

a particular construction permit, a 

qualified bidder must have a current 

eligibility level that meets or exceeds 

the number of bidding units assigned to 

one or more of the construction permits 

listed in Attachment A for which it has 

submitted an engineering proposal. At a 

minimum, therefore, an applicant’s total 

upfront payment must be enough to 

establish eligibility to bid on at least one 

of the construction permits designated 

for that applicant in Attachment A 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 construction 

permits designated for the applicant in 

Attachment A, but only enough to cover 

the maximum number of bidding units 

that are associated with construction 

permits on which the bidder wishes to 

place bids and hold provisionally 

winning bids at any given time. 

30. In calculating its upfront payment 

amount, an applicant should determine 

the maximum number of bidding units 

on which it may wish to be active (bid 

on or hold provisionally winning bids 

on) in any single round, and submit an 

upfront payment amount covering that 

number of bidding units. In order to 

make this calculation, an applicant 

should add together the upfront 

payments for all construction permits 

on which it seeks to be active in any 

given round. Applicants should check 

their calculations carefully, as there is 

no provision for increasing a bidder’s 

eligibility after the upfront payment 

deadline. 

31. If an applicant is a former 

defaulter, it must calculate its upfront 

payment for all construction permits by 

multiplying the number of bidding units 

on which they wish to be active 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. If a former defaulter fails 

to submit a sufficient upfront payment 

to establish eligibility to bid on at least 

one of the construction permits 

associated with that applicant in 

Attachment A, the applicant will not be 

eligible to participate in the auction. 


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iv. Applicant’s Wire Transfer 

Information for Purposes of Refunds of 

Upfront Payments 

32. To ensure that refunds of upfront 

payments are processed in an 

expeditious manner, the Commission is 

requesting that such requests include all 

pertinent information listed in the 

Auction 85 Procedures Public Notice. 

Applicants can provide the information 

electronically through the FCC Auction 

System. 

D. Auction Registration 

33. Approximately ten days before the 

auction, the Bureaus will issue a public 

notice announcing all qualified bidders 

for the auction. Qualified bidders are 

those applicants with timely-submitted 

short-form applications that are deemed 

complete and timely upfront payments 

that are sufficient to make them eligible 

to bid. 

E. Remote Electronic Bidding 

34. The Commission will conduct this 

auction over the Internet, and 

telephonic bidding will be available as 

well. Only qualified bidders are 

permitted to bid. Each applicant should 

indicate its bidding preference— 

electronic or telephonic—on its shortform application. In either case, each 

authorized bidder must have its own 

SecurID token, which the Commission 

will provide at no charge. 

F. Mock Auction—November 3, 2008 

35. All qualified bidders will be 

eligible to participate in a mock auction 

on Monday, November 3, 2008. The 

mock auction will enable bidders to 

become familiar with the FCC Auction 

System prior to the auction. 

Participation by all bidders is strongly 

recommended. Details will be 

announced by public notice. 

IV. Auction Event 

36. The first round of bidding for 

Auction 85 will begin on Wednesday, 

November 5, 2008. The initial bidding 

schedule will be announced in a public 

notice listing the qualified bidders, 

which is to be released approximately 

10 days before the start of the auction. 

A. Auction Structure 

i. Simultaneous Multiple Round 

Auction 

37. In the Auction 85 Comment Public 

Notice, the Bureaus proposed to auction 

all construction permits in Auction 85 

in a single auction using the 

Commission’s standard simultaneous 

multiple-round (SMR) auction format. 

This type of auction offers every 

construction permit for bid at the same 

time and consists of successive bidding 

rounds in which eligible bidders may 

place bids on individual construction 

permits. A bidder may bid on, and 

potentially win, any number of 

construction permits. Typically, bidding 

remains open on all construction 

permits until bidding stops on every 

construction permit. The Bureaus 

received no comment on this issue. 

ii. Eligibility and Activity Rules 

38. The Bureaus will use upfront 

payments to determine the initial 

(maximum) eligibility (as measured in 

bidding units) for Auction 85. The 

amount of the upfront payment 

submitted by a bidder determines initial 

bidding eligibility, the maximum 

number of bidding units on which a 

bidder may be active. As noted earlier, 

each construction permit is assigned a 

specific number of bidding units listed 

in Attachment A. Bidding units for a 

given construction permit do not change 

as prices rise during the auction. A 

bidder’s upfront payment is not 

attributed to specific construction 

permits. Rather, a bidder may place bids 

on any of the construction permits 

designated for that applicant as long as 

the total number of bidding units 

associated with those construction 

permits does not exceed its current 

eligibility. Eligibility cannot be 

increased during the auction; it can only 

remain the same or decrease. Thus, in 

calculating its upfront payment amount, 

an applicant must determine the 

maximum number of bidding units it 

may wish to bid on or hold 

provisionally winning bids on in any 

single round, and submit an upfront 

payment amount covering that total 

number of bidding units. At a 

minimum, an applicant’s upfront 

payment must cover the bidding units 

for at least one of the licenses it selected 

on its short-form application. The total 

upfront payment does not affect the 

total dollar amount a bidder may bid on 

any given construction permit. 

39. In order to ensure that an auction 

closes within a reasonable period of 

time, an activity rule requires bidders to 

bid actively throughout the auction, 

rather than wait until late in the auction 

before participating. Bidders are 

required to be active on a specific 

percentage of their current bidding 

eligibility during each round of the 

auction. 

40. A bidder’s activity level in a 

round is the sum of the bidding units 

associated with any construction 

permits covered by that bidder’s new 

and provisionally winning bids. A 

bidder is considered active on a 

construction permit in the current 

round if it is either the provisionally 

winning bidder at the end of the 

previous bidding round or if it submits 

a bid in the current round. 

41. A bidder is required to be active 

on 100 percent of its current eligibility 

during each round of the auction. That 

is, a bidder must either place a bid and/ 

or be the provisionally winning bidder 

during each round of the auction. 

Failure to maintain the requisite activity 

level will result in the use of an activity 

rule waiver, if any remain, or a 

reduction in the bidder’s eligibility, 

possibly curtailing or eliminating the 

bidder’s ability to place bids in the 

auction. 

iii. Activity Rule Waivers 

42. Each bidder in the auction will be 

provided with three activity rule 

waivers. The Bureaus received no 

comments on this issue. 

iv. Auction Stopping Rules 

43. For Auction 85, the Bureaus will 

employ a simultaneous stopping rule 

approach. A simultaneous stopping rule 

means that all construction permits 

remain available for bidding until 

bidding closes simultaneously on all 

construction permits. More specifically, 

bidding will close simultaneously on all 

construction permits after the first 

round in which no bidder submits any 

new bids or applies a proactive waiver. 

44. Auction 85 will begin under the 

simultaneous stopping rule approach, 

and the Bureaus will retain the 

discretion to employ the other proposed 

versions of the stopping rule. Moreover, 

the Bureaus will retain the discretion to 

use the modified stopping rule with or 

without prior announcement during the 

auction. 

v. Auction Delay, Suspension, or 

Cancellation 

45. The Bureaus may delay, suspend, 

or cancel the auction in the event of 

natural disaster, technical obstacle, 

administrative or weather necessity, 

evidence of an auction security breach 

or unlawful bidding activity, or for any 

other reason that affects the fair and 

efficient conduct of competitive 

bidding. In such cases, the Bureaus, in 

their 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 Bureaus to delay or suspend 

the auction. 


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B. Bidding Procedures 

i. Round Structure 

46. The initial schedule of bidding 

rounds will be announced in the public 

notice listing the qualified bidders, 

which is released approximately 10 

days before the start of the auction. Each 

bidding round is followed by the release 

of round results. Multiple bidding 

rounds may be conducted in a given 

day. Details regarding round results 

formats and locations will also be 

included in the qualified bidders public 

notice. 

47. The Bureaus have the 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 Bureaus may 

increase or decrease the amount of time 

for the bidding rounds, the amount of 

time between rounds, or the number of 

rounds per day, depending upon the 

bidding activity level and other factors. 

ii. Reserve Price and Minimum Opening 

Bids 

48. The specific minimum opening 

bid amounts for each construction 

permit available in Auction 85 are set 

forth in Attachment A. 

iii. Bid Amounts 

49. The Bureaus proposed that in each 

round, eligible bidders will be able to 

place a bid on a given construction 

permit in any of up to nine different 

amounts. The FCC Auction System 

interface will list the nine acceptable 

bid amounts for each construction 

permit. 

iv. Provisionally Winning Bids 

50. At the end of each bidding round, 

a provisionally winning bid will be 

determined based on the highest bid 

amount received for each construction 

permit. A provisionally winning bid 

will remain the provisionally winning 

bid until there is a higher bid on the 

same construction permit at the close of 

a subsequent round. Provisionally 

winning bids at the end of the auction 

become the winning bids. Bidders are 

reminded that provisionally winning 

bids count toward activity for purposes 

of the activity rule. 

51. The Bureaus will use a random 

number generator to select a single 

provisionally winning bid in the event 

of identical high bid amounts being 

submitted on a construction permit in a 

given round (i.e., tied bids). 

52. The tied bid with the highest 

random number wins the tiebreaker, 

and becomes the provisionally winning 

bid. Bidders regardless of whether they 

hold a provisionally winning bid, can 

submit higher bides in subsequent 

rounds. However, if the auction were to 

end with no other bids being placed, the 

winning bidder would be the one that 

placed the provisionally winning bid. 

53. All bidding will take place 

remotely either through the FCC 

Auction System or by telephonic 

bidding. There will be no on-site 

bidding during Auction 85. Please note 

that 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. The length of a call to place a 

telephonic bid may vary; please allow a 

minimum of ten minutes. 

54. A bidder’s ability to bid on 

specific construction permits is 

determined by two factors: (1) The 

construction permits designated for that 

applicant; and (2) the bidder’s 

eligibility. The bid submission screens 

will allow bidders to submit bids on 

only those construction permits 

designated for that bidder on 

Attachment A. 

55. In each round, eligible bidders 

will be able to place bids on a given 

construction permit in any of nine 

different bid amounts. For each 

construction permit, the FCC Auction 

System will list the nine acceptable bid 

amounts in a drop-down box. Bidders 

use the drop-down box to select from 

among the acceptable bid amounts. The 

FCC Auction System also includes an 

upload function that allows bidders to 

upload text files containing bid 

information. 

56. Until a bid has been placed on a 

construction permit, the minimum 

acceptable bid amount for that 

construction permit will be equal to its 

minimum opening bid amount. Once 

there are bids on a construction permit, 

minimum acceptable bids for a 

construction permit for the following 

round will be determined. 

57. During a round, an eligible bidder 

may submit bids for as many 

construction permits as it wishes 

(providing that it is eligible to bid), 

remove bids placed in the current 

bidding round, or permanently reduce 

eligibility. If a bidder submits multiple 

bids for the same construction permit in 

the same round—multiple bids on the 

exact same construction permit—the 

system takes the last bid entered as that 

bidder’s bid for the round. Bidders 

should note that the bidding units 

associated with construction permits for 

which the bidder has removed bids do 

not count towards the bidder’s current 

activity. 

v. Bid Removal and Bid Withdrawal 

58. Before the close of a bidding 

round, a bidder has the option of 

removing any bids placed in that round. 

By removing selected bids in the FCC 

Auction 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 removed does 

not count toward bidding activity. Once 

a round closes, a bidder may no longer 

remove a bid. 

vi. Round Results 

59. Reports reflecting bidders’ 

identities for Auction 85 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. 

60. Bids placed during a round will 

not be made public until the conclusion 

of that round. After a round closes, the 

Bureaus will compile reports of all bids 

placed, current provisionally winning 

bids, new minimum acceptable bid 

amounts for the following round, 

whether the construction permit is FCC 

held, and bidder eligibility status 

(bidding eligibility and activity rule 

waivers), and post the reports for public 

access. 

vii. Auction Announcements 

61. The Commission will use auction 

announcements to announce items such 

as schedule changes. All auction 

announcements will be available by 

clicking a link in the FCC Auction 

System. 

V. Post-Auction Procedures 

62. Shortly after bidding has ended, 

the Commission will issue a public 

notice declaring the auction closed, 

identifying the winning bidders, and 

establishing the deadlines for 

submitting down payments, long-form 

applications, and final payments, the 

long-form application (FCC Forms 301– 

CA or 346). 

A. Down Payments 

63. 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 

Commission for Auction 85 to 20 

percent of the net amount of its winning 

bids (gross bids less any applicable new 

entrant bidding credits). 


ebenthall on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 178 / Friday, September 12, 2008 / Notices 53025 

B. Final Payments 

64. Each winning bidder will be 

required to submit the balance of the net 

amount of its winning bids within 10 

business days after the applicable 

deadline for submitting down payments. 

C. Long-Form Application 

65. Within thirty days after the release 

of the auction closing notice, winning 

bidders must submit electronically a 

properly completed long-form 

application (FCC Forms 301–CA or 346), 

and required exhibits for each 

construction permit won through 

Auction 85. A winning bidder claiming 

new entrant status must include an 

exhibit demonstrating its eligibility for 

the bidding credit. Further filing 

instructions will be provided to auction 

winners at the close of the auction. 

D. Default and Disqualification 

66. Any winning 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 

final payment within the prescribed 

period of time, or is otherwise 

disqualified) will be subject to the 

payments described in 47 CFR 

1.2104(g)(2). The payments include both 

a deficiency payment, equal to the 

difference between the amount of the 

bidder’s bid and the amount of the 

winning bid the next time a 

construction permit covering the same 

spectrum is won in an auction, plus an 

additional payment equal to a 

percentage of the defaulter’s bid or of 

the subsequent winning bid, whichever 

is less. 

67. The percentage of the applicable 

bid to be assessed as an additional 

payment for defaults in a particular 

auction is established in advance of the 

auction. The Bureaus have set the 

additional default payment for this 

auction at twenty percent (20%) of the 

applicable bid. 

68. Finally, in the event of a default, 

the Commission may re-auction the 

construction permit or offer it to the 

next highest bidder (in descending 

order) at its final bid amount. 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 

authorizations held by the applicant. 

E. Refund of Remaining Upfront 

Payment Balance 

69. All applicants that submit upfront 

payments but after the close of the 

auction are not winning bidders for a 

construction permit in Auction 85 may 

be entitled to a refund of their 

remaining upfront payment balance 

after the conclusion of the auction. All 

refunds will be returned to the payor of 

record, as identified on the FCC Form 

159, unless the payor submits written 

authorization instructing otherwise. 

70. Bidders that drop out of the 

auction completely may be eligible for 

a refund of their upfront payments 

before the close of the auction. Qualified 

bidders that have exhausted all of their 

activity rule waivers and have no 

remaining bidding eligibility may also 

be eligible for a refund of their upfront 

payment before the close of the auction. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Gary D. Michaels, 

Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access 

Division, WTB. 

[FR Doc. E8–21350 Filed 9–11–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

Formations of, Acquisitions by, and 

Mergers of Bank Holding Companies 

The companies listed in this notice 

have applied to the Board for approval, 

pursuant to the Bank Holding Company 

Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.) 

(BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR Part 

225), and all other applicable statutes 

and regulations to become a bank 

holding company and/or to acquire the 

assets or the ownership of, control of, or 

the power to vote shares of a bank or 

bank holding company and all of the 

banks and nonbanking companies 

owned by the bank holding company, 

including the companies listed below. 

The applications listed below, as well 

as other related filings required by the 

Board, are available for immediate 

inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank 

indicated. The applications also will be 

available for inspection at the offices of 

the Board of Governors. Interested 

persons may express their views in 

writing on the standards enumerated in 

the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). If the 

proposal also involves the acquisition of 

a nonbanking company, the review also 

includes whether the acquisition of the 

nonbanking company complies with the 

standards in section 4 of the BHC Act 

(12 U.S.C. 1843). Unless otherwise 

noted, nonbanking activities will be 

conducted throughout the United States. 

Additional information on all bank 

holding companies may be obtained 

from the National Information Center 

website at www.ffiec.gov/nic/. 

Unless otherwise noted, comments 

regarding each of these applications 

must be received at the Reserve Bank 

indicated or the offices of the Board of 

Governors not later than October 9, 

2008. 

A. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago 

(Burl Thornton, Assistant Vice 

President) 230 South LaSalle Street, 

Chicago, Illinois 60690-1414: 

1. Tompkins Bancorp, Inc., Avon, 

Illinois; to acquire 100 percent of the 

voting shares of Community Bank of 

Galesburg, Galesburg, Illinois. 

B. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas 

(W. Arthur Tribble, Vice President) 2200 

North Pearl Street, Dallas, Texas 75201- 

2272: 

1. Lone Star First Holdings, Inc., 

Dallas, Texas; to become a bank holding 

company by acquiring 100 percent of 

the voting shares of Kent County State 

Bank, Jayton, Texas. 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, September 9, 2008. 

Robert deV. Frierson, 

Deputy Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. E8–21300 Filed 9–12–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6210–01–S 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention 

The National Center for Chronic 

Disease Prevention and Health 

Promotion, Office on Smoking and 

Health; Interagency Committee on 

Smoking and Health 

Notice of Cancellation: This notice 

was published in the Federal Register 

on August 15, 2008, Volume 73, 

Number 159, page 47952. The meeting 

previously scheduled to convene on 

September 16, 2008 has been cancelled. 

For Further Information Contact: Ms. 

Monica L. Swann, Management and 

Program Analyst, Office on Smoking 

and Health, Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, 

M/S K50, Atlanta, GA 30341; telephone 

(770) 488–5278, fax (770) 488–5767; Email mswann@cdc.gov. 

The Director, Management Analysis 

and Services Office, has been delegated 

the authority to sign Federal Register 

notices pertaining to announcements of 

meetings and other committee 

management activities, for both the 

Centers for Disease Control and 


ebenthall on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES