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 97-2583

December 9, 1997

800 MHz SMR Auction Closes

WINNING BIDDERS IN THE AUCTION OF 525

SPECIALIZED MOBILE RADIO LICENSES

Down Payments Due December 23, 1997

FCC Form 601s Due December 23, 1997

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

On December 8, 1997 the Federal Communications Commission completed its auction of 525 licenses of the Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) service in the 800 MHz band, raising net high bids totalling $96,232,060 for the U.S. Treasury. Each of the 14 winning bidders is listed in Attachment A.

This public notice provides detailed information concerning winning bidders, down payments, bid withdrawal and default payments, FCC Form 601 filing requirements, requests for rule waivers and licensing matters. Key information appears in the following attachments:

Attachment A:	Lists the winning bidders, the licenses won by each winning bidder and the net high winning bid amount.

Attachment B:	Lists the down payments owed by winning bidders based on down payments and withdrawn bid payments.

Attachment C:	Lists withdrawn bid payments owed by all bidders.

Attachment D:	Provides detailed information about how winning bidders should complete their required FCC Form 601 license applications.

Attachment E:	Provides instructions for registering and filing the FCC Form 601 electronically.

Attachment F:	Provides instructions for accessing the FCC Network using Windows 95.

Attachment G:	Provides instructions for accessing the FCC Network using Windows 3.1 or 3.11.

Bidders should note that this auction involves rules and procedures different in some respects from those used in previous Commission auctions. Some Part 90 rules, relevant to this bidding process, were revised after the latest release of the Code of Federal Regulations, in book form, on October 1, 1996.

Effective immediately, the Commission changed the market codes for this auction, Auction No. 16, from E001 through E 175 to BEA001 through BEA175. Please use the new market codes when completing the requisite forms.

Down payments. The Commission's rules require that within ten business days after the release of this Public Notice, in this case, December 23, 1997, winning bidders in the 800 MHz SMR auction must have on deposit with Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, enough funds to cover all required (1) down payments on winning bids and (2) payments for withdrawn bids. If a bidder's upfront payment is not sufficient to meet both of these requirements, the bidder must deposit additional funds. See 47 § 1.2107(b).

The amount now due from each bidder, if any, is set out in the last column of Attachment B. Note that if a bidder's upfront payment covers the required total of down payments and withdrawn bid payments (as reflected in Attachment B), no payment or FCC Form 159 is necessary at this time. Each winning bidder's down payment must be a total of twenty (20) percent of its net winning bid(s) plus any withdrawal payments.

Final payments. After the termination of the pleading cycle, the Commission will issue a public notice announcing that it is prepared to award or grant the license. Within ten business days after the date of this public notice, winning bidders will be required to make full payment of the balance of their winning bids. See 47 C.F.R. § 90.907(b) (as amended July 10, 1997). The license will be issued only at that time.

Method of payment. All payments must be made in U.S. dollars, must be in the form of a wire transfer. No personal checks, credit card payments, or other forms of payment will be accepted. All payments must be accompanied by a completed FCC Remittance Advice Form (FCC Form 159). A completed copy of the FCC Form 159 will be sent by the Billings and Collections Branch to each winning bidder by December 12, 1997 to facilitate submission of the correct down payment. Nonetheless, winning bidders are solely responsible for the submission of the correct down payment.

Wire transfer payments must be received by Mellon Bank by 6:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Tuesday, December 23, 1997. Bidders making payments by wire transfer should coordinate with their bankers ahead of time, then allow sufficient time for the wire transfer to be initiated and for the transmission to be completed prior to the deadline. To submit funds by wire transfer, bidders will need the following information:

ABA Routing Number: 043000261

Receiving Bank: Mellon Pittsburgh

BNF: FCC/AC-9116106

OBI Field: (Skip one space between each information item)

"AUCTIONPAY"

TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NO. (same as FCC Form 159, Block 26)

PAYMENT TYPE CODE (same as FCC Form 159, Block 20A: "AW8D")	FCC CODE 1 (same as FCC Form 159, Block 23A: "16")

PAYOR NAME (same as FCC Form 159, Block 2)

LOCKBOX NO. 358850

Bidders making payments by wire transfer must fax a completed FCC Form 159 to Mellon Bank at 412-236-5702 at least one hour before placing the order for the wire transfer (but on the same business day).

Proper completion of FCC Form 159 is critical to ensuring correct credit of bidder deposits. Bidders must use the same applicant Taxpayer Identification Number used when filing FCC Form 175. Please note that for bidders who win multiple licenses, the FCC will provide, under separate cover, a completed FCC Form 159. Questions concerning the calculation and submission of down payments should be directed to Gail Glasser at 202-418-1995.

Withdrawn bid payments. To prevent insincere bidding, the Commission adopted bid withdrawal payments for bidders who withdraw high bids during the course of an auction. The withdrawal payments are listed in the last column of Attachment C. As a general rule the bid withdrawal payment is either (1) the difference between the gross withdrawn bid and the subsequent gross winning bid, or (2) the difference between the net withdrawn bid and the subsequent net winning bid for that license, whichever is less. In those cases where the amount of the withdrawal payment cannot yet be determined because there was no winning bid, the withdrawing bidder is required to make a three percent deposit of the net amount bid on the licenses(s); when it becomes possible to calculate and assess the payment, we will notify these bidders. See Implementation of Section 309(j) of the Communications Act -- Bidding, PP Docket No. 93-253, Fifth Report and Order, 9 FCC Rcd 5532, 5563 at n. 51 (1994); see also C.H. PCS, Inc., DA 96-1825 (rel. Nov. 4, 1996) (requiring a three percent deposit). A bidder's upfront payment will be applied toward its withdrawn bid payment.

Refund of excess upfront payments. Upfront monies on deposit which are in excess of the required down payment and withdrawal payment amounts will be refunded to the payor of record. Refunds will be processed promptly and automatically. Bidders who prefer refunds to be sent by wire transfer must fax the necessary wire transfer instructions to Regina Dorsey or Linwood Jenkins at 202-418-2843. Any questions concerning refunds should be referred to Regina Dorsey or Linwood Jenkins at 202-418-1995.

FCC FORM 601

By 5:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 23, 1997, winning bidders must submit a completed long-form license application or applications covering each license for which they were the winning high bidder. Applications may be filed either electronically or manually, though we encourage electronic filing. Attachment D sets out instructions for completing the FCC Form 601. This form replaces FCC Form 600 in conjunction with our development of the new universal licensing system for filing and processing of applications in wireless services.

Electronic filing. Detailed instructions for registering and filing the Form 601 electronically are set out in Attachment E.

Manual filing. Manual filers must complete the FCC Form 601 Main Form and Schedule B and attach any exhibits. Manual filers are requested to submit a "clean" (i.e., without lines, markings, footnotes, tables, charts, etc.) original application which does not contain any information in spreadsheet format. Manual filers must mail or deliver the original application to:

Office of the Secretary

Attn: 800 SMR Form 601 Processing

Federal Communications Commission

1919 M Street, N.W., Room 222

Washington, D.C. 20554

Copies of the FCC Form 601 can be obtained by calling the Commission's Forms Distribution Center at 1-800-418-3676 (outside Washington, D.C.) or 202-418-3676 (in the Washington area). Copies of the FCC Form 601 can also be obtained via the Internet (go to http://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html) or by Fax-On-Demand (202-418-2830). If applicants have any questions concerning availability of the FCC Form 601, they should call the FCC Records Management Branch at 202-418-0210.

All manually filed FCC Form 601s shall be submitted on one original paper copy and with a 3.5-inch floppy disk containing all attachments, and any other supporting documentation. Manual filers should review each exhibit file to ensure that the information contained in the exhibit is complete.

Failure to sign a manually-filed FCC Form 601 will result in dismissal of the application. Only original signatures will be accepted for manually-filed applications.

Applications for Multiple Licenses. Electronic or manual filers applying for multiple licenses are not required to submit a separate Form 601 application for each market if all filing requirements associated with the application (name and address information, all ownership and eligibility attachments, and waiver requests) are identical except for the market designator, channel block and market name. Under these circumstances, applicants may submit one FCC Form 601 Main Form and Schedule B.

Electronic or manual filers whose name and address, ownership, eligibility, and waiver requests are identical for some licenses but different for others may utilize this streamlined filing procedure only for those licenses that have identical filing information. For those licenses with unique information, a separate application must be submitted.

Application processing and grant. Within thirty (30) days after the Commission gives public notice that the FCC Form 601s are acceptable for filing, petitions to deny may be filed. 47 C.F.R. § 1.2108(b). An applicant may file an opposition to any petitions to deny within ten days after the original pleading is filed. See 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.4, 1.45(a), 1.2108(c). A reply to the opposition may be filed within five days after the time for filing oppositions has expired. 47 C.F.R. § 1.4, 1.45(b). After the FCC reviews an applicant's FCC Form 601 and any associated filings, a determination will be made as to whether there are any reasons why the license should not be granted. If there are none, the Commission will issue a public notice announcing that it is prepared to grant the license, conditioned on an applicant's timely payment of the remaining balance(s) of its winning bids within ten business days of the issuance of the Commission's public notice. See 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.2108(d)(1) and 1.2109(a).

Bidder default. If a winning bidder fails to submit the remaining balance by the payment deadline, the bidder will be deemed to have defaulted, its application will be dismissed, and it will be subject to the default payment specified in 47 C.F.R. § 90.905(c). See also Public Notice, "Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Will Strictly Enforce Default Payment Rules," DA 96-481, 11 FCC Rcd 10853 (1996). Should the winning bidder default, the Commission will deduct any amount overdue from any upfront payments or down payments that the winning bidder currently has on deposit with the Commission. Specifically, the defaulting bidder will be required to reimburse the Commission the amount of the difference between its winning bid and the amount of the winning bid the next time the license is offered, if the subsequent winning bid is lower. In addition, defaulting winning bidders will be subject to a default payment of three percent of the subsequent winning bid or three percent of the defaulting bid, whichever is less. If the default occurs within ten business days after the bidding has closed, the Commission retains the discretion to offer the license to the second highest bidder, or if that bidder declines the offer, to offer the license to other bidders (in descending order of their bid amounts) at the final bid levels. See 47 C.F.R. § 90.905(c).

Anti-collusion rules. To ensure the integrity of its auctions, the Commission's anti-collusion rules generally prohibit bidders for the same EA from discussing bids or bidding strategies during the course of the auction. The prohibition begins when short-form applications to participate in the auction are filed; it ends when the winning bidders submit their down payments. See 47 C.F.R § 1.2105(c).

Post-Auction forum. To continually enhance the Commission's auctions process, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau will sponsor a post-auction forum for bidders who participated in the recently completed 800 MHz SMR auction. The purpose of this forum is to receive feedback from bidders on the auctions process and their experience. In addition, bidders are encouraged to use this forum to present specific recommendations for improving the operational components of the auctions process. Among the general topics to be discussed are information dissemination, application processing and payment, and the overall conduct of the auction. Key FCC staff will be available to answer questions.

The post-auction forum will be held on Thursday, January 22, 1998 at 1:00 p.m. at the Federal Communications Commission, 1919 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., Room 856. Space is limited. Interested parties are encouraged to call the Auctions Division of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at (888) 225-5322 (press option #2 at the prompt) to register.

For further information, contact:

News Media: Audrey Spivack at 202-418-0654

Auctions Technical Support Hotline: 202-414-1250

Office of the Managing Director (down payment and refund questions):

Regina Dorsey or Linwood Jenkins at 202-418-1995

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Auctions and Industry Analysis Division:

Alice Elder at 202-418-0660

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Commercial Wireless Division (FCC Form 601	questions):

Wilbert Nixon or Linda Chang at 202-418-7240

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