[Federal Register: February 28, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 39)]
[Notices]
[Page 10034-10035]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28fe06-79]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[Report No. AUC-06-65-C (Auction No. 65); DA 06-376]
Auction of 800 MHz Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service Licenses;
Comment Sought on Additional Payment Component of Default Payments for
Auction No. 65
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This document seeks comments on additional payment component
of default payments for the auction of new nationwide commercial Air-
Ground Radiotelephone Service licenses in the 800 MHz band (Auction No.
65), scheduled to commence on May 10, 2006.
DATES: Comments are due on or before March 7, 2006 and reply comments
are due on or before March 14, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments and reply comments must be sent by electronic mail
to the following address: auctions65@fcc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For legal questions: Brian Carter at
(202) 418-0660. For general auction questions: Jeff Crooks at (202)
418-0660. For service rules questions: Erin McGrath or Richard
Arsenault (legal); or Jay Jackson or Moslem Sawez (technical) at (202)
418-0620.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Supplemental
Auction No. 65 Comment Public Notice released on February 21, 2006. The
complete text of the Supplemental Auction No. 65 Comment Public Notice,
including attachments and related Commission documents is available for
public inspection and copying from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through
Thursday or from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Friday at the FCC Reference
Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-A257,
Washington, DC 20554. The Supplemental Auction No. 65 Comment 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 you may
contact BCPI at its Web site: http://www.BCPIWEB.com. When ordering
documents from BCPI please provide the appropriate FCC document number
for example, DA 06-376. The Supplemental Auction No. 65 Comment Public
Notice and related documents are also available on the Internet at the
Commission's Web site: http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/65/.
1. On January 10, 2006, in the Auction No. 65 Comment Public
Notice, 71 FR 3513, January 23, 2006, the Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau (``Bureau'') announced the auction of new nationwide commercial
Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service licenses in the 800 MHz band and
sought comment on procedures for the auction of these licenses (Auction
No. 65). Auction No. 65 is scheduled to commence on May 10, 2006.
2. After the release of the Auction No. 65 Comment Public Notice,
the Commission released the CSEA/Part 1 Report and Order, 71 FR 6214,
February 7, 2006, in which it modified Sec. 1.2104(g)(2) of its rules.
This provision, which is part of the Commission's general competitive
[[Page 10035]]
bidding rules, governs default payments that must be paid by winning
bidders that default on a down payment or final payment obligation or
are disqualified after the close of an auction. Under the modified
rule, the Commission will, as part of its determination of competitive
bidding procedures in advance of a particular auction, establish the
amount of the additional payment component of such default payments for
that auction. Because Sec. 1.2104(g)(2) was modified after the release
of the Auction No. 65 Comment Public Notice, the Bureau did not seek
comment therein on the appropriate level of this payment for Auction
No. 65, nor did it establish the amount of this payment in the Auction
No. 65 Procedures Public Notice released on February 21, 2006.
Therefore, as explained below, the Commission seeks comment in this
Public Notice on the appropriate level of this payment for Auction No.
65.
3. Section 1.2104(g)(2) provides that if, after the close of an
auction, a winning bidder defaults on a down payment or final payment
obligation or is disqualified (e.g., fails to submit a timely long-form
application), the bidder is liable for a default payment. This payment
consists of 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 license 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. Until recently this
additional payment for non-combinatorial auctions has been set at 3
percent of the defaulter's bid or of the subsequent winning bid,
whichever is less.
4. Pursuant to the modification of Sec. 1.2104(g)(2) adopted in
the CSEA/Part 1 Report and Order, the 3 percent limit on the additional
default payment for non-combinatorial auctions has been increased to 20
percent. Thus, the Commission will, for each non-combinatorial auction,
establish an additional default payment from 3 percent up to a maximum
of 20 percent. As the Commission has indicated, the level of this
payment in each case will be based on the nature of the service and the
inventory of the licenses being offered.
5. For Auction No. 65, the Bureau proposes to establish an
additional default payment of 20 percent. In this auction, licenses in
three band plans will be available, but the only licenses that will be
awarded will be those that comprise the band plan that receives the
highest aggregate bid. Consequently, a bid on a single license may
determine not only the winner of that license but also the winning band
plan, and thus affect the ability of other bidders to win other
licenses in the auction. By contrast, a bid on a license in an auction
using the Commission's standard simultaneous multiple round auction
format (``SMR'') may determine only the winner of that license. Because
of the particular interdependence among bids in Auction No. 65 and the
potential effects of one winning bidder's default on bidders for other
licenses, the Commission believes that the detrimental effects of a
default may be significantly greater than in a standard SMR auction.
Accordingly, the Commission proposes a higher additional default
payment in order to deter such defaults. The Commission seeks comment
on this proposal.
6. Comments are due on or before March 7, 2006, and reply comments
are due on or before March 14, 2006. All filings must be addressed to
the Commission's Secretary Attn: WTB/ASAD, Office of the Secretary,
Federal Communications Commission. Parties who file comments by paper
must file an original and four copies of each filing. U.S. Postal
Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail should be addressed to
445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. Filings can be sent by hand
or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first-
class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. The Bureau also requires
that all comments and reply comments be filed electronically to the
following address: auction65@fcc.gov. The electronic mail containing
the comments or reply comments must include a subject or caption
referring to ``Auction No. 65 Comments'' and the name of the commenting
party. The Bureau requests that parties format any attachments to
electronic mail as Adobe[supreg] Acrobat[supreg] (pdf) or
Microsoft[supreg] Word documents. Copies of comments and reply comments
will be available for public inspection between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
eastern time (e.t.) Monday through Thursday or 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
e.t. on Fridays in the FCC Reference Information Center, Room CY-A257,
445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554, and will also be posted on
the Web page for Auction No. 65 at http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/65/
.
7. This proceeding has been designated as a ``permit-but-disclose''
proceeding in accordance with the Commission's ex parte rules. Persons
making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda
summarizing the presentations must contain summaries of the substance
of the presentations and not merely a listing of the subjects
discussed. More than a one or two sentence description of the views and
arguments presented is generally required. Other rules pertaining to
oral and written ex parte presentations in permit-but-disclose
proceedings are set forth in Sec. 1.1206(b) of the Commission's rules.
Federal Communications Commission.
Gary D. Michaels,
Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, WTB.
[FR Doc. 06-1836 Filed 2-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P