PUBLIC NOTICE

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

1919 M STREET, N.W.

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554

News Media Information: (202) 418-0500 Fax-On-Demand: (202) 418-2830

Internet: http://www.fcc.gov

ftp.fcc.gov

DA 97-2153

October 3, 1997

AUCTION OF 800 MHZ SPECIALIZED MOBILE RADIO

SERVICE LICENSES

Status of Applications to Participate in Auction

Report No. AUC-97-16-E (Auction No. 16)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received 96 timely-filed FCC Form 175 applications to participate in an auction scheduled to begin on Tuesday, October 28, 1997, for 525 licenses in the upper 200 channels of 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio Service ("SMR"). The applications have been reviewed for completeness and compliance with the Commission's rules, and have been classified into the following categories:

ACCEPTED FOR FILING................................................. 55 Applications

INCOMPLETE.................................................................... 41 Applications

Accepted: Applications classified as accepted for filing are listed alphabetically in Attachment A. These applicants will become qualified bidders upon receipt of the required upfront payment by October 14, 1997, as discussed below. With respect to their applications, they need take no further action except as may be necessary to keep their applications up-to-date. See 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.65 and 1.2106. Applicants are also advised that Attachment A includes FCC account numbers which are automatically created by the FCC software system for each applicant.

Incomplete: Applications classified as incomplete are listed alphabetically in Attachment B. These applicants will become qualified bidders only if they: (1) resubmit their applications by 5:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 14, 1997, to correct the minor deficiencies indicated, and (2) make the required upfront payments by October 14, 1997, as discussed below. They must also keep their applications up-to-date as required. See 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.65 and 1.2106. Applicants are also advised that Attachment B includes FCC account numbers which are automatically created by the FCC software system for each applicant.

Waiver requests: Some applications included waiver requests (either in the waiver data field or in exhibits) that may affect the applicant's qualifications to hold 800 MHz SMR licenses in particular markets. Applications denoted with an asterisk (*) in the Attachments have pending waiver request(s). Acceptance of the applications for filing is conditioned on our resolution of the waiver request(s).

Confidentiality requests: Applications containing a request for confidential treatment of certain information are accepted conditioned on the disposition of the confidentiality requests. Ultimately, however, applicants may be required to make this information publicly available.

RESUBMISSION FILING DEADLINE

Corrected FCC Form 175 applications must be filed no later than 5:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 14, 1997. This will be the only opportunity to cure FCC Form 175 defects; late resubmissions will not be accepted.

Applicants who filed their FCC Form 175 applications electronically must resubmit their corrected applications electronically. Applicants who filed their FCC Form 175 applications manually may resubmit their corrected applications either manually or electronically, but must resubmit electronically if they wish to bid electronically.

Manual Resubmission: Manual resubmissions, whether mailed, hand-delivered or sent by private courier, must be delivered to:

Attn: FCC Form 175 Processing, Auction No. 16

Federal Communications Commission

Auctions & Industry Analysis Division

1270 Fairfield Road

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325-7245

NOTE: Manual resubmissions delivered to unauthorized locations or received after the deadline will not be considered properly filed, and will be returned without consideration.

Manual resubmissions must consist of a new FCC Form 175, complete in all respects including exhibits, correcting the identified deficiencies and signed with an original signature. See 47 C.F.R. § 1.2105(b)(3). In addition, corrected applications consisting of more than five pages must include either three microfiche copies of the complete application or a 3.5-inch diskette containing ASCII text (.TXT) files of all exhibit documentation attached to the FCC Form 175.

Electronic Resubmission of Manual Applications: Manual filers may resubmit their corrected FCC Form 175 applications electronically, either to correct deficiencies or in order to become eligible to bid electronically. In either case, however, manual filers must first obtain log-in codes that will let them access and amend their applications on-line. To do so, either the certifying official or one of the authorized representatives (as shown on the FCC Form 175) must appear in person during normal business hours at the FCC Auction Headquarters, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C., with two forms of identification, one of which must include a photograph.

UPFRONT PAYMENT DEADLINE

Upfront payments and accompanying FCC Remittance Advice (FCC Form 159s) for this auction are due at Mellon Bank, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by 6:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, October 14, 1997. Payments must be made by wire transfer. No other payment method is acceptable for this auction. See the Public Notice announcing the 800 MHz SMR auction, DA 97-1672, released on August 6, 1997 for detailed remittance and upfront payment instructions.

Applicants who have filed applications classified by this public notice as incomplete must submit timely upfront payments in order for the Commission to review their resubmitted applications. If such an application remains incomplete following its resubmission, it will be dismissed; the upfront payment will be refunded automatically if the applicant has provided its Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and wire transfer instructions.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Qualified bidders: A final public notice listing all applicants qualified to bid in the auction will be released after upfront payments have been received, resubmitted FCC Form 175 applications have been processed and reviewed, and payments and applications have been correlated. The final public notice will also include instructions for monitoring the auction on-line and how to access the bid tracking tool software.

Reserve Price or Minimum Opening Bid: A decision will be issued by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau formally advising all applicants of the reserve price or minimum opening bid established for this auction on Monday, October 6, 1997.

Anti-collusion rule: As of the Monday, September 29, 1997 FCC Form 175 filing deadline, applicants are generally prohibited from communicating with other applicants for licenses in the same markets regarding bids, bidding strategies or settlements. The only exception is where applicants entered into a bidding agreement before the September 29, 1997 FCC Form 175 deadline and disclosed the existence of the agreement on their application. Both applicants to the agreement must disclose this information in order for the agreement to be valid and to permit communication during the auction. More particularly, the Commission's anti-collusion rule provides that, applicants may not cooperate, collaborate, discuss or disclose the substance of their bids or bidding strategies with other bidders until after the high bidder makes the required down payment. 47 C.F.R. § 1.2105(c)(1)(emphasis added). In addition, applicants are reminded that they are subject to the antitrust laws, which are designed to prevent anti-competitive behavior in the marketplace. Winning bidders will be required to disclose in their long-form applications the specific terms, conditions and parties involved in all bidding consortia, joint ventures, partnerships, and other arrangements entered into relating to the competitive bidding process. Bidders found to have violated the anti-collusion rule may be subject to sanctions. See 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.2105(c), 1.2107(d), and 1.209(d).

Ex parte rule: Applicants should also be aware that the Commission has generally exempted auction proceedings from the strict requirements of the ex parte rule (47 C.F.R. § 1.1208). See "Commission Announces that Mutually Exclusive 'Short-Form' Applications (Form 175) to Participate in Competitive Bidding Process ('Auctions') Are Treated as Exempt for Ex Parte Purposes," Public Notice, 9 FCC Rcd 6760 (1994).

Mock auction: Likewise, all applicants whose FCC Form 175 applications have been accepted for filing are eligible to participate in a mock electronic auction on Thursday, October 23, 1997. When software for the mock auction is posted for downloading, its availability will be announced by public notice available on-line.

Remote bidding software: Applicants are reminded that qualified bidders who filed (or amend) their FCC Form 175 applications electronically are eligible to bid either electronically or telephonically, whereas manual filers may bid only by telephone. To order the remote bidding software, applicants should complete the software order form attached to this public notice as Attachment C. To ensure timely delivery of remote bidding software before the auction begins, the Commission must receive software orders by 5:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 15, 1997.

For additional information regarding this public notice, please contact: Alice Elder or Ruby Hough, Auctions & Industry Analysis Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at (202) 418-0660.

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