PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 1919 M STREET N.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 News media information 202/418-0500 Recorded listing of releases and texts 202/418-2222. December 8, 1995 QUALIFIED BIDDERS AND BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS FOR DECEMBER 18, 1995 BROADBAND PCS C BLOCK AUCTION Report No. AUC-95-05, Auction No. 5 This Public Notice identifies applicants who have been found qualified to bid in the auction for 493 Basic Trading Area ("BTA") licenses to provide Broadband Personal Communications Services ("PCS") in the 1895-1910 MHz and the 1975-1990 MHz bands, scheduled to begin December 18, 1995. This Notice also provides bidding instructions and other important information regarding the auction. Qualified bidders. Attachment A lists each entity that has filed a timely short-form application to participate in the auction (FCC Form 175) that has been accepted for filing, and has timely submitted an amount sufficient to qualify it to bid on at least one license for which it has applied. Attachment A also lists the upfront payment submitted by each qualified bidder. Attachment B lists the BTA licenses that were listed on the qualified bidders' FCC Form 175s. In order to participate effectively in the auction, qualified bidders should re-familiarize themselves with the auction rules and other information contained in the Supplemental Bidder Package, particularly pages 33-43 and 57-59. The following information provides additional guidance. Registration. Qualified bidders are now in the process of being automatically registered for the auction. For security reasons, the Commission will confirm registration by two separate mailings of registration materials, both sent to the contact person at the address identified in the bidder's FCC Form 175. The first mailing will include the bidder's identification number. The second mailing will include the login name and login password, and telephonic bidding telephone number. Also, additional information will be included in both mailings, including remote bidding system software, mock auction registration and other general information. By noon, Wednesday, December 13, 1995, each bidder should be in possession of the following information:  FCC account number (self-assigned on the FCC Form 175, and listed on Attachment A)  Bidder identification number (supplied by FCC mailing)  Login name (supplied by FCC mailing)  Login password (supplied by FCC mailing)  Telephone numbers for bidding (supplied by FCC mailing)  Mock auction applicant names and FCC account numbers (for qualified electronic filers only) and general information (there will not be a mock auction for manual filers / telephonic bidders) Remote bidding system software for the C Block auction Any applicant listed as a qualified bidder in Attachment A to this Public Notice, who has not received both registration mailings by noon, Wednesday, December 13, 1995, should contact the FCC's auction contractor, Hudson & Marshall, Inc., at (202) 408-1322. It is each applicant's responsibility to ensure that all registration information has been received. Lost login names, login passwords and bidder identification numbers can be replaced only at the FCC Auction Headquarters, located at 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002. If a replacement is necessary, either an authorized representative or the certifying official (as designated on the applicant's FCC Form 175) must appear in person with two forms of identification, one of which must be a photo identification. Electronic bidding. Each qualified bidder that wishes to bid electronically must have purchased electronic bidding software by Friday, December 8. Bidders may duplicate the software for backup or for use by authorized representatives at different locations. However, the FCC Remote Bidding System will not accept electronic bids from qualified bidders who are not registered purchasers of the bidding software. The FCC Remote Bidding System requires access to a 900 telephone line. Bidders should verify in advance that the telephone systems they will be using to submit electronic bids permit access to 900 telephone numbers, and should consult their telephone administrators if they need assistance. Bidder's will be charged $2.30/minute for on-line use of the FCC Remote Bidding System during bid submission for the C block auction. Bidding schedule. One round of bidding will be conducted on each of the first two days of the auction. The schedule for Monday, December 18, and Tuesday, December 19, 1995 will be as follows: December 18th: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. EST Bid Submission Period 3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EST Submission Round Results 3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST Bid Withdrawal Period 4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST Withdrawal Round Results December 19th: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. EST Bid Submission Period 3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EST Submission Round Results 3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST Bid Withdrawal Period 4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST Withdrawal Round Results The Commission will announce the schedule for bidding for the third and fourth days of the auction on the second day of the auction. The Commission may conduct two rounds of bidding on the third and fourth days of the auction. The FCC will set the pace of the auction based upon its monitoring of the bidding and its assessment of the auction's progress. Generally, at the end of each week of the auction, the FCC will announce the bidding schedule for the following week. Auction stages. The FCC will also give ample notice of stage transitions. Stage transitions increase the minimum required activity levels (from 60 to 80 percent, and from 80 to 95 percent of total eligibility). Bidders who are inattentive to these stage transitions may inadvertently lose either activity rule waivers or, if waivers are exhausted, activity units. Minor Amendments to FCC Form 175s. There appears to be an inconsistency in our rules concerning the time in which bidders are required to amend their FCC Form 175s to reflect changes in ownership. Compare, 47 C.F.R  1.65(a) (amendments to applications must be made within 30 days) with Fourth Memorandum Opinion and Order in PP Docket 93-253, FCC 94-264 (Rel. October 19, 1994) at  56 (amendments to FCC Form 175 must be filed with the Commission within two business days of such change). It is the staff's view that amendments should be made within a reasonable period of time during the course of the auction. That is, applicants should have a sufficient amount of time to prepare any amendments, but should also be required to give timely notice of any ownership changes to other applicants. It is the staff's position that ten business days is a reasonable period of time in which applicants must amend their FCC Form 175s. Electronic filers should make modifications to their FCC Form 175s electronically, and submit a letter to Kathleen O'Brien Ham, Chief, Auctions Division (with a carbon copy to Sue McNeil), briefly summarizing the changes. Manual filers should file their amended FCC Form 175s with the Office of the Secretary, and submit a letter to Kathleen O'Brien Ham, Chief, Auctions Division (with a carbon copy to Sue McNeil), briefly summarizing the changes. In both cases, the amendments should be incorporated into the amended exhibits (i.e., if an applicant amends an ownership exhibit, the applicant should not submit the amendment only, but should resubmit the entire exhibit). Messages and announcements. The FCC will post pertinent auction information as messages and announcements on the FCC Remote Bidding System, on its Internet site and on its Bulletin Board System (BBS). Bidders should read this information carefully. Bidder questions during the auction. FCC auction officials, technical support staff and others will be available during the course of the auction to answer questions from bidders. Help can be obtained through the following telephone numbers: FCC Bidder Line Use telephonic bid number supplied in registration mailing FCC Technical Support Hotline (202) 414-1260 News Media contact: Stacey Reuben-Mesa at (202) 418-0654 FCC Auctions contact: Louis Sigalos, Sue McNeil or Jamie Hedlund at (202) 418-0660. - FCC -