Auction 11
Broadband PCS D, E, & F Block
Fact Sheet
| Date | Auction 11 began on
8/26/1996 and closed on 1/14/1997 .
|
| Licenses | 1479 licenses. 3 licenses in each of 493 Basic Trading Area (BTA)
|
| Spectrum | Block D: 1865-1870/1945-1950 MHz
Block E: 1885-1890/1965-1970 MHz
Block F: 1890-1895/1970-1975 MHz
|
| Bandwidth | Block D, E & F - 10.0 MHz ea. (2 x 5 MHz paired) in 493 BTAs
Total bandwidth: 30.0 MHz (30,000 kHz)
|
| Winning Bidders | 125 winners 1472 licenses
(93 small business bidders won 598 licenses)
(32 other bidders won 874 licenses)
|
| Rounds | 276 |
| Bidding Days | 85 |
| Qualified Bidders | 153 |
| Licenses Won | 1472 |
| Licenses Held By FCC | 7 |
| Net Revenues |
| Net Bids | $2,517,439,565.00 |
| Gross Bids | $2,715,885,604.00 |
|
General information and associated licensing parameters are provided below.
Public Notices provide specific information regarding this auction. This fact sheet includes:
| Event | Date |
| Pre-Auction Seminar |
8/8/1996
|
| Form 175 (Short Form) Application Filing Deadline |
8/1/1996; 5:30 pm ET
|
| Upfront Payments Deadline (Cashiers Check) |
8/12/1996; 11:59 pm ET
|
| Upfront Payments Deadline (Wire Transfer) |
8/12/1996; 6:00 pm ET
|
| Orders for Remote Bidding Software |
8/16/1996
|
| Mock Auction |
8/20/1996
|
| Auction Start |
8/26/1996
|
| Auction Closed |
1/14/1997
|
|
On August 26, 1996, the Commission began a simultaneous multiple round auction for the final 3 blocks of the Broadband PCS licenses. This auction offered a total of 1,479 licenses, three in each of 493 BTAs in the United States and territories, the most licenses offered in one auction to date. The D and E blocks were open to all entities. To bid on the F block license, the bidder needed to qualify as an entrepreneur.
Bidding On "F" Block Licenses
To bid on an F-block license, an applicant must qualify as an entrepreneur. For this purpose, 47 C.F.R. section 24.709(a) defines an entrepreneur as an applicant that, including its affiliates, its owners, and its owners’ affiliates, has:
- Gross revenues of less than $125 million in each of the last two years
- Total assets of less than $500 million at the time of the FCC Form 175 application is filed
See the
Auction #11 Bidder Information Package
for more detail.
Broadband Personal Communications Services (PCS) encompasses a variety of mobile and/or portable radio services, using such devices as small, lightweight, multifunction portable phones, portable fax machines, and advanced devices with two-way data capabilities that are competing with existing cellular, paging and other land mobile services.
Licenses are issued for a ten-year term from the initial license grant date.
Installment payments were offered on F-block licenses. See 47 C.F.R. section 24.709(a)(2), 24.709(b), 24.720(f) and the Auction #11 Bidder Information Package for more detail.
size of an F-block bidding credit depends on the annual gross revenues of the bidder and its affiliates, as averaged over the preceding three years.
- A bidder with gross annual revenues of not more than $15 million receives a 25 percent discount on its winning bids, and
- A bidder with gross annual revenues of not more than $40 million receives a 15 percent discount on its winning bids.
See 47 C.F.R. § 24.717. The bidding credits are not cumulative. The definitions required for calculation gross annual revenues are set out in 47 C.F.R. § 24.720(b), (f), and (l).
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