[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 192 (Thursday, October 3, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61350-61352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-24303]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[AU Docket No. 13-53; DA 13-1986, DA 13-1978]
Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I Auction (Auction 902); Short-Form
Application Filing Window Rescheduled To Open on September 30, 2013;
Updated List of Eligible Areas; Petition for Reconsideration of Auction
902 Procedures Public Notice Granted in Part
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Wireless Telecommunications and Wireline
Competition Bureaus (Bureaus) announce the rescheduling of the filing
window for short-form applications and release an updated list of
eligible areas for Auction 902.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wireless Telecommunications Bureau,
Auctions and Spectrum Access Division: For Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
questions: Patricia Robbins at (202) 418-0660. To request materials in
accessible formats (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio
format) for people with disabilities, send an email to [email protected]
or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530
or (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Auction 902 Public
Notices released on September 25 and 27, 2013. The complete text of the
Auction 902 Public Notices, including attachments and related
Commission documents, are available for public inspection and copying
from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) Monday through Thursday
or from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET on Fridays in the FCC Reference
Information Center, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC
20554. The Auction 902 Public Notices, including attachments and
related Commission documents, also may be purchased from the
Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc.
(BCPI), 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554,
telephone 202-488-5300, fax 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 13-1986 and DA 13-1978 for the Auction 902 Public Notices. The
Auction 902 Public Notices, including attachments and related
Commission documents, also are available on the Internet at the
Commission's Web site: http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/902/, or by
using the search function for AU Docket No. 13-53 on the Commission's
Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) Web page at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/.
Short-Form Application Filing Window Rescheduled To Open on September
30, 2013
1. The Bureaus announce that the filing window for short-form
applications to participate in Auction 902, the reverse auction that
will award up to $50 million in one-time Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I
support, will now open at 12 noon Eastern Time (ET) on September 30,
2013. This filing window was previously scheduled to open on September
25, 2013, but the opening has been delayed to provide time for
implementing revisions to the list of census blocks to be eligible for
support in this auction. The Auction 902 filing window will remain open
on a 24 hour basis from 12 noon ET on September 30, 2013, until 6:00
p.m. ET on October 9, 2013. All other dates and deadlines for Auction
902 remain as previously announced.
2. An online tutorial, which provides information about pre-auction
procedures, completing short-form applications, auction conduct, the
FCC Auction System, auction rules, and Mobility Fund rules, available
at http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/902/ will be updated prior to the
opening of the short-form application filing window to reflect this new
opening date.
List of Eligible Areas Updated
3. The Bureaus release an updated list of eligible areas for
Auction 902. The updated list (1) reflects changes to the
[[Page 61351]]
eligible areas for Auction 902 based on authorizations of support and
default determinations from the initial auction of Mobility Fund Phase
I support (Auction 901), and (2) incorporates 40 additional census
blocks in northwestern New Mexico based on a partial grant of a
petition for reconsideration.
4. The updated list of bidding areas is released as Attachment A to
the Auction 902 Public Notice released on September 27, 2013. An
updated version of the file containing detailed information about the
census blocks of all of the bidding areas is available on the Auction
902 Web site at http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/902.
Changes Based on Auction 901 Authorizations and Defaults
5. The eligible areas for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I (Auction
902) have been updated to reflect Auction 901 support authorizations
and default determinations. In the list of bidding areas released with
the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice, 78 FR 56875, September 16,
2013, the Bureaus identified with an asterisk the items with one or
more census blocks that were the subject of a winning bid in Auction
901 for which the relevant long-form application remained pending. The
Bureaus explained that, if any winning bids from Auction 901 covering
blocks that would otherwise be eligible for Auction 902 could not be
authorized prior to Auction 902, then such eligible blocks would be
made available in the auction. The Bureaus explained that they would
exclude certain blocks if they were to authorize Auction 901 support in
those blocks prior to Auction 902.
6. The Bureaus announce the removal of certain census blocks for
which support has been authorized for Auction 901 winning bids, as
these areas will not be available for support in Auction 902. Also, for
those blocks on which Auction 901 winning bidders have defaulted, the
Bureaus removed the asterisks in the list that previously identified
the relevant census blocks as having received winning bids in Auction
901, and these areas will be eligible for bidding in Auction 902. Some
Auction 901 long-form applications remain pending, and the Bureaus plan
to update the list of Auction 902 eligible areas prior to the date of
the auction to reflect any further Auction 901 authorizations of
support or default determinations.
Addition of Certain Blocks in Northwestern New Mexico
7. The Bureaus grant in part a petition for reconsideration of the
Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice and they add certain census blocks
in northwestern New Mexico to the list of eligible areas for Auction
902. Specifically, the Bureaus add census blocks that were drive
tested, but only to the extent that such blocks are on Tribal lands,
are populated, and are not served, as demonstrated in the record, by
other carriers.
8. The petitioner sought reconsideration of the Bureaus'
determination in the Auction 902 Procedures Public Notice, that the
petitioner had submitted drive test data that was not sufficiently
verifiable to justify the addition of the census blocks requested. In
support of its request that several thousand census blocks in
northwestern New Mexico be added to the list of eligible areas for
Auction 902, the petition for reconsideration provides additional
information regarding the drive tests that the petitioner previously
had conducted in support of its comments, including a certified
statement from a radiofrequency engineer who conducted the drive tests.
The petitioner also supplied two lists of census blocks, one listing
census blocks containing roads on which it had conducted tests and the
second listing untested areas. Three commenters jointly oppose the
petition, contending that the petitioner did not test one network at
all, and thus that it is probable that the petitioner's drive test
failed to identify the presence of 4G 700 MHz operations in certain
census blocks. The petitioner concedes that it did not test this
network. The joint filers also argue that the Bureaus should not
consider the petitioner's additional information. Another commenter
asserts that it provides service to certain census blocks in these
areas using the 850 MHz band. This commenter claims that the petitioner
did not test the 850 MHz frequency. The petitioner does not respond to
this comment.
9. The Bureaus find that it is in the public interest to consider
the additional information provided in the petition for
reconsideration. The Bureaus note that the petition does not present
wholly new evidence or newly discovered evidence, but rather more fully
explains the drive tests that the petitioner already conducted.
However, in light of the Commission's goal of promoting provision of 3G
or better mobile voice and broadband services to Tribal lands that lack
such services, the Bureaus believe that consideration of the
information in the petition is warranted.
10. The Bureaus grant the petition as to certain census blocks in
which the petitioner conducted drive tests that show no 3G or 4G
service. The Bureaus are not, however, persuaded by the petitioner's
argument that nearby census blocks untested by the petitioner should be
presumed to have a similar lack of 3G or better service. Such an
assumption is not sufficient to rebut the Mosaik data indicating that
3G or better service is available in those areas. The Bureaus also will
not add census blocks where other carriers show that they provide 3G or
better mobile voice and broadband service. The petitioner admits that
it did not conduct testing of one network, and thus it fails to rebut
that carrier's showing regarding its service coverage, which includes
maps, an explanation of methodologies for determining coverage, and
certifications as to the veracity of the material provided. In
addition, the petitioner's earlier uncertified statement that it tested
another carrier's 850 MHz frequencies is insufficient to rebut the
evidence submitted by that carrier regarding its service coverage,
which includes a map, an explanation of methodologies for determining
coverage, and certifications as to the veracity of the material
provided. Finally, Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support is only
available in populated census blocks on Tribal lands. The Bureaus
therefore will not add census blocks that have a population of zero,
and they will not add census blocks that are beyond the external
borders of the Navajo Nation (and that are not otherwise identified as
Tribal lands in the 2010 Census data). The Bureaus also note that some
of the census blocks that the petitioner requested were already
included in the list of eligible areas. In sum, the Bureaus add 40
census blocks that the petitioner drive tested, that are not served by
other carriers, as demonstrated in the record, and that are both
located on Tribal lands and populated. A list of those 40 census blocks
is provided as Attachment B to the Auction 902 Public Notice released
on September 27, 2013.
Eligible Areas Map and GIS Data
11. The interactive map of eligible areas has been updated to
reflect these changes to the eligible areas for Auction 902. The link
to the interactive map is available on the Auction 902 Web site at
http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/902/, and the map itself is at http://www.fcc.gov/maps/tribal-mobility-fund-phase-1-eligible-areas. The
Bureaus are also making available geographic information system (GIS)
data for the eligible areas. The GIS data, which is simply another
format of the eligible census block data, is being provided as a
downloadable shapefile that is
[[Page 61352]]
available on the Auction 902 Web site at http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/902/.
Federal Communications Commission.
Gary D. Michaels,
Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, WTB.
[FR Doc. 2013-24303 Filed 10-2-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P