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Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau Issues Public Notice Regarding Auction 97 (AWS-3) Qualified Bidders(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 -- The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau issued the following public notice: 1. In this Public Notice, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau ("Bureau") identifies70applicants found to be qualified to bid in the upcoming auction of Advanced Wireless Services ("AWS-3") licenses ("Auction 97"). Bidding in Auction 97 is scheduled to begin on Thursday, November 13, 2014. This Public Notice contains bidding instructionsand other important information regarding Auction 97. It also addresses the continuing obligations and auction procedures for all Auction 97 applicants, including those that have not qualified to bid. I. QUALIFIED AND NON-QUALIFIED BIDDERS A. Qualified Bidders 2. AttachmentA to this Public Noticelists the name of each of the 70qualified bidders and each qualified bidder's claimed bidding credit revenue range, if any. Designation of an applicant as qualified to bid in the auction indicates that the applicant has provided the certifications and information concerning its qualifications for participation in the auction and timely submitted a sufficient upfront payment as required by the Commission's competitive bidding rules. 3. In order to participate effectively in the auction, each qualified bidder should again review the auction rules, procedures, and other information described in the Auction 97 Procedures Public Notice and other public notices. These public notices and other documents related to Auction 97 are available on the Commission's auctions website at http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/97/. ThisPublic Notice provides additional guidance. B. Non-Qualified Bidders 4. Attachment B to this Public Noticelists each applicant that submitted a short-form application but did not qualify to bid in this auction. All applicants, including those who have been deemed ineligible to bid, remain subject to the Commission's rules prohibiting certain communications in connection with Commission auctions. II. REGISTRATION AND BIDDING ACCESS A. Registration Materials 5. All qualified bidders have been automatically registered for the auction. Registration materials will be sent to the contact person identified in the bidder's short-form applicationat the contact address listed in the application. Upon receipt, each qualified bidder should be in possession of the following: * At least two RSA SecurID(TM) tokens * Integrated Spectrum Auction System (ISAS) Bidder's Guide * FCC Auction Bidder Line telephone number 6. Each qualified bidder is solely responsible for ensuring the security of its computer systems and its registration materials and for ensuring that only authorized bidders place bids on its behalf. The Commission assumes no responsibility or liability for these matters. WARNING: Any unauthorized entity accessing or tampering with an FCC or other government computer system will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. 7. Any qualified bidder listed in Attachment A of this Public Notice that has not received the registration mailing by 12:00 noon Eastern Time (ET) on Thursday, November 6, 2014, must contact the Auctions Hotline directly at (717) 338-2868. Qualified biddersmust have these registration materials to submit bids. Receipt of the registration mailing is critical to participating in both the mock auction and the actual auction, and each qualified bidder must ensure that it has received all registration information. B. Registration Material Replacement 8. In the event that a bidder's SecurID(TM) tokens are lost or damaged, only a person who has been designated as an authorized bidder, the contact person, or the certifying official on the applicant's short-form application may request replacements. Any qualified bidder requiring replacement of these items must call Technical Support at (877) 480-3201, option nine; (202) 414-1250; or (202) 414-1255 (TTY). C. BiddingAccess 9. The Commission will conduct Auction 97electronically over the Internet. Each qualified bidder can access the Integrated Spectrum Auction System ("ISAS" or "FCC Auction System") at http://auctions.fcc.gov or http://auctions2.fcc.gov. A bidder choosing to bid electronically should review the Integrated Spectrum Auction System (ISAS) Bidder's Guide provided in the registration materials. We remind bidders that Apple(TM) Mac OS(TM) is not currently supported. 10. In addition to bidding electronically over the Internet, a qualified bidder will also have the option of bidding by telephone via the Auction Bidder Line. The Auction Bidder Line telephone number will be supplied in the registration materials sent toeach qualified bidder. Any bidder choosing to bid electronically may use the Auction Bidder Lineas an alternative method of bidding. When submitting bids by telephone, the bidder must allow sufficient time to bid by placing its calls well in advance of the close of a bidding round. 11. Each authorized bidder must have its own SecurID(TM) tokento bid electronically or by telephone. An applicant with only one authorized bidder will be issued two SecurID(TM) tokens, while an applicant with two or three authorized bidders will be issued three tokens. For security purposes, the SecurID(TM) tokens and the instructions for using them are mailed only to the contact person at the contact address listed on the applicant's short-form application. Please note that each SecurID(TM) token is tailored to a specific auction. SecurID(TM) tokens issued for other auctions or obtained from a source other than the FCC will not work for Auction 97. 12. SecurID(TM) tokens can be recycled. We strongly encourage bidders to return the tokens to the Commission. We will provide pre-addressed envelopes to return the tokens once the auction is closed. D. Bidding Contingency Plan 13. Each bidder should develop comprehensive contingency plans that can be quickly implemented in case difficulties arise when participating in the auction. While the Commission will correct any problems within Commission controlled facilities, each bidder is solely responsible for anticipating and overcoming problems such as bidder computer failures or other technical issues, loss of or problems with data connections, telephone service interruptions, adverse local weather conditions, unavailability of its authorized bidders, or the loss or breach of confidential security codes. As referenced above, qualified bidders will receive the Auction Bidder Line telephone number in their registration materials. III. BIDDING TOOLS A. Mock Auction 14. The Bureau strongly encourages each qualified bidder to participate in the mock auction that will be conducted on Monday, November 10, 2014. The mock auction will allow a qualified bidder to familiarize itself with the FCC Auction System and to ask Commission auction staff and technical support staff questions about the system and auction conduct. The Bureau will conduct this auction over the Internet, and provide the option of bidding by telephone. 15. A qualified bidder can access the mock auction at http://auctions.fcc.gov or http://auctions2.fcc.gov. Bidders choosing to bid electronically should review the Integrated Spectrum Auction System (ISAS) Bidder's Guide provided in the registration materials. Any qualified bidder that wishes to place bids by telephone should use the Auction Bidder Line telephone number supplied in the Auction 97 registration materials. 16. The mock auction will include the G Block and H Block licenses - 910 licensesof the 1,614 licenses that will be offered in Auction 97 - and will follow the rules governing Auction 97. The mock auction will be identified as Mock Auction 74. The FCC Auction System will assume that each bidder submitted an upfront payment sufficient to give initial (maximum) eligibility of 173,003,200bidding units. The mock auction will simulate the start of the auction, and each bidder will be required to be active on 80 percent of its current bidding eligibility. If a bidder does not meet this requirement, an activity rule waiver will be automatically applied (if any waivers are available) or its current eligibility will be permanently reduced (if no waivers remain), possibly eliminating it from further bidding in the mock auction. A bidder should take advantage of the mock auction to practice taking actions it might wish to take during Auction 97. 17. The mock auction bidding schedule for Monday, November 10, 2014, will be as follows: See tables here: (http://www.fcc.gov/document/auction-97-aws-3-qualified-bidders) B. Watchlists 18. The FCC Auction System sets up for each qualified bidder a default watchlist, called "All Licenses,"which contains every licenseselected on the applicant's short-form application. A qualified bidder may create additional watchlists containing licenses of its own choosing, and licenses may appear in multiple watchlists. A bidder may access the FCC Auction System and begin creating its watchlists upon receipt of the SecurID(TM) tokens. Instructions for creating watchlists will be provided in the Integrated Spectrum Auction System (ISAS) Bidder's Guide. Please note that watchlists created in the mock auction will not display in Auction 97. C. Bidder Questions During the Mock Auction and Auction 97 19. Commission auction staff and technical support staff will be available during the mock auction and Auction 97. Only a person who has been designated as an authorized bidder, the contact person, or the certifying official on the applicant's short-form application should call on behalf of a bidder. When calling, the person should statethat he or she is calling on behalf of a bidder with a time-sensitive auction question. To place bids by telephone or to ask questions during the auction, a bidder must use the FCC Auction Bidder Line telephone number supplied in the registration materials. Otherwise, a bidder should refer to the contact information provided in Section VII, "Contact Information," below. D. Bidder Suggestions 20. The FCC Auction System includes a function for any bidder to submit suggestions to the Commission, but this is not an appropriate mechanism for asking time-sensitive questions that may need an immediate response, such as questions about auction procedures or other issues. Anytime-sensitive questions should be directed to the Auction Bidder Line or to the appropriate staff contact using the telephone number provided in Section VII, "Contact Information," below. IV. AUCTION INFORMATION A. Auction Announcements 21. The Commission will post pertinent auction information as announcements in the FCC Auction System. Each bidder should routinely check for announcements each time itenters the FCC Auction System and should read this information carefully. B. Bidding Schedule 22. Auction 97 bidding will begin on Thursday, November 13, 2014, with the following schedule: See tables here: (http://www.fcc.gov/document/auction-97-aws-3-qualified-bidders) 23. The bidding schedule starting Friday, November 14, 2014, and continuing until further notice, will be: See tables here: (http://www.fcc.gov/document/auction-97-aws-3-qualified-bidders) 24. The Bureau will set the pace of the auction based upon monitoring of the bidding and assessment of the auction's progress. We will provide notice of all subsequent schedule changes by announcement in the FCC Auction System during the course of the auction. C. Bid Amounts 25. For each license in Auction 97,the FCC Auction System will provide a minimum opening bid amount, as previously announced, and up to eight additional bid amounts from which to choose (for a typical total of nine bid amounts). We caution each bidder to select its bid amounts carefully because each bidder assumes a binding obligation to pay the full bid amount, even if the bid was mistakenly or erroneously made. 26. The Bureau retains the discretion to change the minimum acceptable bid amounts, the minimum acceptable bid percentage, the bid increment percentage, the additional bid amounts, the dollar cap on bid increments, the number of acceptable bid amounts, and the parameters of the formulas used to calculate bid amounts if the Bureau determines that circumstances so dictate. Further, the Bureau retains the discretion to do so on a license-by-license basis. D. Round Results 27. Round results will be available approximately ten minutes after the close of each round. Auction 97 will be conducted using procedures that limit the disclosure of information on bidder interests and identities until after the close of bidding. 28. Two types of reports will be available to qualified bidders during the auction: (1) publicly available information, and (2) bidder-specific information available only to that bidder when logged in to the FCC Auction System. The public information will be available on the FCC Auction System results page and in downloadable files. When a bidder is logged in to the FCC Auction system, it will have a selection of "My Bid Reports" available on the FCC Auction System's bidding page.Information in "My Bid Reports" allows only the respective bidder to view all of its own actions in the current and previous rounds of the auction. Samples of the downloadable files are available on the web page for Auction 97 at http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/97/, via the "Sample Results Files" link in the "General Information" section of the page. Please note that the sample files provide the file formats. 29. Detailed instructions for reviewing and downloading round results are provided in the Integrated Spectrum Auction System (ISAS) Bidder's Guide. The bidder's guide is included with qualified bidders' registration materials and is available in electronic form through the "HELP" link in the FCC Auction System. V. APPLICANTS' CONTINUING OBLIGATIONS A. Prohibited Communications 30. The Bureau reminds applicants that section 1.2105(c) of the Commission's rules prohibits applicants for licenses in any of the same or overlapping geographic areas from communicating with one another about bids, bidding strategies, or settlements, which may include communications regarding post-auction market structure, unless each applicant has identified the other applicant on its short-form application as a party with which the applicant has entered into an agreement under section 1.2105(a)(2)(viii). The prohibition on certain communications applies to applicants that selected licenses in the same or overlappinggeographic areas. In Auction 97, the prohibition on certain communications would, for example, prohibit applicants that have selected any of the same or overlapping licenses on their short-form applications from communicating absent a disclosed agreement. An applicant is prohibited from communicating not only about its own bids or bidding strategy, but also from communicating about another applicant's bid or bidding strategy. 31. The prohibition on certain communications in sections 1.2105(c) took effectfor Auction 97as of the short-form application filing deadline at 6:00 p.m. ET on September 12, 2014, and will remain in effect until the post-auction down payment deadline,which will be announced in a public notice released shortly following close of bidding. The prohibition applies to each applicant regardless of whether such applicant has become a qualified bidder or actually bids. For further information on the prohibition, applicants should refer to the Auction 97 Procedures Public Notice. B. Maintenance of Anonymous Bidding 32. We remind applicants that, under the anonymous bidding procedures in effect for Auction 97, the Commission is withholding from public release until after the close of the auction, any information that may indicate a specific applicant's interests in the auction - including, among other things, license selections, upfront payments, and eligibility information - and the identities of bidders making bids or taking other bidding-related actions. Accordingly, communication to other applicants or public disclosure of such non-public information would appear to violate the Commission's anonymous bidding procedures and section 1.2105(c) of the Commission's rules. 33. This prohibition would include communication of any such non-public information by an applicant to the public, financial analysts, or the press, as well as any such communication by an applicant to another applicant for one or more licenses covering geographic areas also covered by the applicant's license selections on its short-form application. Examples of communications that would raise concern, given the anonymous bidding procedures in effect for Auction 97, include an applicant's statement to the press about its upfront payment or bidding eligibility, and an applicant's statement that it is, or is no longer, interested in bidding in the auction. C. Disclosure Obligations and Possible Sanctions 34. Section 1.2105(c)(6) requires any applicant that makes or receives a communication that appears to violate section 1.2105(c) to report such communication in writing to the Commission immediately, and in no case later than five business days after the communication occurs. 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. 35. In addition, section 1.65 of the Commission's rules requires an applicant to report to the Commission any communication of a bid or bidding strategy after the short-form filing application deadline that results in a bidding arrangement, agreement, or understanding. 36. Any party reporting a prohibited communication must take care to ensure that any such report does not itself give rise to a violation of section 1.2105(c). For example, a party's report of a prohibited communication could violate the rule by communicating prohibited information to other applicants through the use of Commission filing procedures that would allow such materials to be made available for public inspection. To minimize the risk of inadvertent dissemination of a party's report of a prohibited communication, section 1.2105(c)(6) of the Commission's rules requires such a report to be filed consistent with the instructions set forth in the public notice detailing the procedures for bidding in a given auction. For Auction 97, a party should file only a single report concerning a prohibited communication, as specified in the Auction 97 Procedures Public Notice. Any such report must be filed immediately, and in no case later than five business days after the communication occurs, with the Chief of the Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and either submitted by e mail [email protected] or delivered to the following address: Margaret W. Wiener, Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW, Room 6423, Washington, DC 20554. 37. A party seeking to report such a prohibited communication should consider submitting its report with a request that the report or portions of the submission be withheld from public inspection. Any such report must include a cover sheet to avoid the inadvertent dissemination of information contained in the report. Partiesare encouraged to consult with the Auctions and Spectrum Access Division staff about the procedures for submitting such a report. The Auction 97 Procedures Public Notice provides additional guidance on procedures for submitting application-related information. 38. Any applicant that isa winning bidder will be required to disclose in its long-form application the specific terms, conditions, and parties involved in any agreement or arrangement entered into relating to the competitive bidding process, including any agreement relating to the post-auction market structure. 39. Any applicant found to have violated section 1.2105(c) of the Commission's rules may be subject to sanctions. In addition, we remind each applicant that it is subject to the antitrust laws, which are designed to prevent anti-competitive behavior in the marketplace. If an applicant is found to have violated the antitrust laws or the Commission's rules in connection with its participation in the competitive bidding process it may be subject to forfeiture of its upfront payment, down payment, or full bid amount, and it may be prohibited from participating in future auctions, among other sanctions. D. Submission of Auction-Related Filings 40. As noted above, an applicant seeking to amend its short-form application during the auction must make modifications electronically and submit a letter, briefly summarizing the changes, by e-mail to the attention of Margaret Wiener, Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, at the following address: [email protected]. The e-mail summarizing the changes must include a subject or caption referring to Auction 97 and the name of the applicant. 41. A party wishing to submit a request, complaint, or other information concerning Auction 97 should, in addition to following other procedures prescribed by the Commission's rules, send a copy by e mail to the attention of Margaret Wiener, Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, at the following address: [email protected]. The Commission occasionally receives complaints regarding specific bidders and requests to suspend bidding during an auction. While the Commission reserves the right to take appropriate action during an auction to preserve the integrity of the auction process, it is generally our practice to address any such allegations only after a winning bidder has submitted its long-form application, when there is greater opportunity for investigation of such allegations, if warranted. The Commission will not investigate any complaints or allegations that are not accompanied by full contact information, including name, address, and telephone number, for the complaining party or parties. 42. Finally, parties wishing to make suggestions concerning Auction 97 or future auctions should present such ideas using the suggestion feature of the FCC Auction System. (As mentioned above, this feature is not an appropriate mechanism for asking time-sensitive questions that need an immediate response.) Commission staff considers all suggestions, but may not always provide an individualized response. E. Duty to Maintain Accurate Information in Short-Form Applications 43. Each applicant must maintain the accuracy and completeness of information furnished in its short-form application (FCC Form 175), including any attachments. Sections 1.65(a) and 1.2105(c) of the rules require an applicant in a competitive bidding proceeding to furnish additional or corrected information within five days after a significant occurrence, or to amend its short-form application no more than five days after the applicant becomes aware of the need for amendment. The Commission has established a five-day reporting requirement to facilitate the auction process by making the information available promptly to all participants and enabling the Bureau to act expeditiously on those changes when such action is necessary. Therefore, an applicant must amend its short-form application to furnish additional or corrected information as promptly as possible, and in no case more than five business days after the applicant becomes aware of the need for amendment or five business days after the reportable event occurs, whichever is later. 44. An applicant seeking to provide additional or updated information must modify its short-form application electronically and submit a letter briefly summarizing the change by e-mail to the attention of Margaret Wiener, Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, at the following address: [email protected]. The e mail summarizing the change must include a subject or caption referring to Auction 97 and the name of the applicant. The Bureau requests that parties format any attachments to e mail as Adobe(TM) Acrobat(TM) (pdf) or Microsoft(TM) Word documents. An applicant must not submit application-specific material through the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System ("ECFS"). Questions about changes should be directed to the Auctions and Spectrum Access Division at (202) 418-0660. 45. The FCC Auction System generally prevents an applicant from making changes to its short-form application for other than administrative changes (e.g., changing certain contact information or the name of an authorized bidder)outside of the initial and resubmission filing windows. As of the release of this Public Notice, an applicant may now update its form to reflect any reportable changes. Any applicant that may have had any reportable changes since the close of the resubmission window on October 15, 2014, including any applicant that submitted an amendment by email as instructed in the Auction 97 Procedures Public Notice, must update its short-form application in the FCC Auction System to reflect those reportable changeswithin five business daysafter the date of this Public Notice. 46. As described in the Commission's rules, an applicant may make only minor corrections to its short-form application (e.g., deletion and addition of authorized bidders or contact information). A major modification (e.g., license selection change, newly claimed or increased bidding credit, or changing control of the applicant) will not be accepted. Any change affecting anapplicant's eligibility for a bidding credit, insofar as it results in the reduction or loss of the credit originally claimed on the Form 175 application, must be reported immediately, and no later than five business days after the change occurs. Each applicant must clearly state the nature of the change in an amendment to its short-form application and in the summary letter referenced above. In cases of diminished bidding credit eligibility, the Commission will make appropriate adjustments in the bidding credit prior to the computation of any down and final payment amounts due. 47. When amending short-form applications, applicants must avoid any statements or disclosures that may violate section 1.2105(c) of the Commission's rules, particularly in light of the limited information disclosure procedures in place for Auction 97. Applicants should avoid including any information in their short-form applications that might convey information regarding license selections, such as using applicant names that refer to licenses being offered, referring to certain licenses or markets in describing bidding agreements, or including any information in attachments that may otherwise disclose applicants' license selections. Therefore, a party seeking to submit information that might reflect non-public information, such as an applicant's license selections, upfront payment amount, or bidding eligibility, should consider submitting any such information along with a request that the filing or portions of the filing be withheld from public inspection until the end of the prohibition of certain communications pursuant to section 1.2105(c). F. Ex Parte Rule 48. Applicants should also be aware that the Commission has generally treated mutually exclusive short-form applications as exempt proceedings and, therefore, not subject to the ex parte prohibitions that pertain to restricted proceedings. G. Due Diligence 49. We remind each potential bidder that it is solely responsible for investigating and evaluating all technical and marketplace factors that may have a bearing on the value of the licenses being offered in Auction 97. The Commission makes no representations or warranties about the use of this spectrum for particular services. We strongly encourage each potential bidder to conduct its own research prior to the beginning of bidding in Auction 97 in order to determine the existence of pending proceedings, pleadings, applications, or authorizations that might affect its decisions regarding participation in the auction. Each potential bidder is solely responsible for identifying associated risks and for investigating and evaluating the degree to which such matters may affect its ability to bid on, otherwise acquire, or make use of any specific license available in Auction 97. In addition, each potential bidder should perform sufficient technical analyses to assure itself that, should it be a winning bidder for any Auction 97license, it will be able to build and operate facilities that will comply fully with the Commission's technical and legal requirements. 50. Each participant must continue such research throughout the auction. For further details regarding due diligence, please refer to Section I.C.8 in the Auction 97 Procedures Public Notice. VI. POST-AUCTION INFORMATION 51. Shortly after bidding has ended, the Commission will release a public notice declaring the auction closed, identifying the winning bidders, and establishing the deadlines for submitting down payments and final payments. In the Auction 97 Procedures Public Notice, the Bureau exercised its discretion under section 1.2107(b)to set the down payment deadline for Auction 97 to be the later of January 7, 2015 or ten business days following the release of the auction closing public notice. Consequently, the Bureau set the final paymentdeadline to be the later of January 21, 2015 orten business days after the deadline for submitting down payments for Auction 97. 52. Each winning bidder must electronically file a complete and accurate long-form application (FCC Form 601) and an ownership disclosure information report (FCC Form 602)within ten business days after the release of the auction closing public notice. Each winning bidder must include with its long-form application a detailed explanation of the terms, conditions and parties involved in any bidding agreement into which it has entered, including any agreement relating to the post-auction market structure. Any winning bidder claiming eligibility to receive a bidding credit will be subject to the more extensive reporting requirements contained in section 1.2112(b) of the Commission's rules. In addition, any winning bidder with a foreign ownership interest will be required to comply with section 310(b) of the Communications Act, as amended, at the long-form application review stage. Further instructions regarding these post-auction procedures are contained in the Auction 97 Procedures Public Notice and will be provided in the public notice announcing the winning bids. VII. CONTACT INFORMATION 53. For further information concerning Auction 97, please contact: General AuctionInformation General Auction Questions Auction Process and Procedures Auction 97 Process and Procedures Auction 97 Legal Information Auction Rules, Policies, Regulations Reports of section 1.2105(c) Violations and Application Major Modifications Licensing Information Service Rules, Policies, Regulations Licensing Issues, Engineering Issues Due Diligence, Incumbency Issues Technical Support Electronic Filing FCC Auction System (Hardware/Software Issues) Auction Payments Instructions for Wiring Payments FCC Auctions Hotline (888) 225-5322, option two; or (717) 338-2868 Auctions and Spectrum Access Division (202) 418-0660 Jeff Crooks (Analyst) Linda Sanderson (Project Manager) Auctions and Spectrum Access Division (202) 418-0660 Valerie Barrish (Attorney) Broadband Division (202) 418-2487 Genevieve Ross (Attorney) Janet Young (Engineer) FCC Auctions Technical Support Hotline (877) 480-3201, option nine; or (202) 414 1250 (202) 414-1255 (TTY) Hours of service: 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday FCC Auctions Accounting Group (202) 418-0578 Gail Glasser (202) 418-2945 Theresa Meeks 54. To request materials in accessible formats (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format) for people with disabilities, send an e-mail to [email protected] call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 or (202) 418-0432 (TTY) TNS 24KuanRap-101108 30FurigayJof-4930084 30FurigayJof (c) 2014 Targeted News Service |