[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 94 (Monday, May 16, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30302-30304]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11432]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[GN Docket No. 12-268; AU Docket No. 14-252; WT Docket No. 12-269; DA
16-453]
Initial Clearing Target of 126 Megahertz Set for the Broadcast
Television Spectrum Incentive Auction; Bidding in the Clock Phase of
the Reverse Auction (Auction 1001) Will Start on May 31, 2016
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Incentive Auction Task Force and Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau announce the initial clearing target of 126
megahertz for the Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction and
that the bidding in the clock phase of the reverse auction is scheduled
to begin on May 31, 2016. This document also announces the mailing of
Final Confidential Status Letters, the number of forward auction
blocks, and details and dates regarding the availability of educational
and informational materials and bidding for reverse auction applicants
that are qualified to bid in the reverse auction clock phase.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wireless Telecommunications Bureau,
Auctions and Spectrum Access Division: For general auction questions,
contact Linda Sanderson at (717) 338-2868. For reverse auction legal
questions, contact Erin Griffith or Kathryn Hinton at (202) 418-0660.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Incentive Auction
Clearing Target Public Notice, GN Docket No. 12-268, AU Docket No. 14-
252, WT Docket No. 12-269, DA 16-453, released on April 29, 2016. The
complete text of the Incentive Auction Clearing Target Public Notice is
available for public inspection and copying from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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 complete text is also available
on the Commission's Web site at http://wireless.fcc.gov, the Auction
1001 Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/auctions/1001, or by using the
search function on the ECFS Web page at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/.
Alternative formats are available to persons with disabilities by
sending an email to [email protected] or by calling the Consumer &
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432
(TTY).
1. The Incentive Auction Task Force (Task Force) and the Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) announce the 126 megahertz initial
spectrum clearing target that has been set by the Auction System's
initial clearing target determination procedure and the associated band
plan for the initial stage of the incentive auction, as well as the
number of Category 1 and Category 2 generic license blocks in each
Partial Economic Area (PEA) that will be offered in the initial stage
during the forward auction (Auction 1002). The Task Force and Bureau
also announce that they will send a confidential letter (the Final
Confidential Status Letter) to inform each applicant that was permitted
to make an initial commitment in the reverse auction (Auction 1001) of
its status with respect to the clock phase of the reverse auction.
Finally, the Task Force and Bureau provide details and specific dates
regarding the availability of educational materials and the bidding in
the clock phase of the reverse auction.
I. Initial Clearing Target and Band Plan
2. The Auction System's initial clearing target determination
procedure has set an initial spectrum clearing target of 126 megahertz.
Under the band plan associated with this spectrum clearing target, 100
megahertz, or 10 paired blocks, of licensed spectrum will be offered in
the forward auction on a near-nationwide basis.
3. The generic license blocks offered in the initial stage during
the forward auction under this band plan will consist of a total of
4030 ``Category 1'' blocks (zero to 15 percent impairment) and a total
of 18 ``Category 2'' blocks (greater than 15 percent and up to 50
percent impairment). Approximately 97 percent of the blocks offered for
the forward auction will be ``Category 1'' blocks, and 99 percent of
the ``Category 1'' blocks will be zero percent impaired. Attached to
the Incentive Auction Clearing Target Public Notice as Appendix A is a
list indicating the number of ``Category 1'' and ``Category 2'' blocks
available in each PEA.
4. The initial clearing target was determined by the procedure the
Commission adopted in the Auction 1000 Bidding Procedures Public
Notice, 80 FR 61917, October 14, 2015. Based on the initial commitments
made by broadcast applicants seeking to bid in the clock phase of
Auction 1001, the procedure identified a provisional assignment of
eligible television stations to channels for each possible clearing
target with the primary objective of minimizing impairments to forward
auction licenses, consistent with the Commission's statutory obligation
to make all reasonable efforts to preserve stations' populations served
and coverage areas and its international arrangements with Canada and
Mexico. The initial clearing target announced is the highest possible
clearing target and associated band plan for which the provisional
assignment satisfies the optimization objectives and the near-
nationwide standard for impairments. If a subsequent stage is
necessary, the clearing target determination procedure will be applied
to select a new clearing target and corresponding band plan.
II. Final Confidential Status Letters for Reverse Auction Applicants
5. The Bureau will send to the contact person for each applicant
that was permitted to make an initial commitment in Auction 1001 a
Final Confidential Status Letter to inform the applicant of its status.
The letter will notify the applicant, for each station included in the
application, either that (1) the station is qualified to participate in
the clock phase of the reverse auction; (2) the station is not
qualified because no initial commitment was made for that station; (3)
the station is not qualified because the commitment(s) made by the
applicant for that station could not be accommodated; or (4) the
station is not qualified because the Auction System determined that the
station is not needed to meet the initial or any subsequent clearing
target.
6. Applicants with one or more qualified stations will be deemed
qualified bidders for the clock phase of Auction 1001 and will be
automatically registered for the auction. The initial commitment is the
station's unconditional, irrevocable offer to fulfill the terms of the
commitment, which if accepted by the Commission, becomes a
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binding obligation on the applicant. In determining the initial
clearing target, the Auction System assigned each qualified station to
an initial relinquishment option corresponding to an initial commitment
made for the station. Qualified bidders will need to log in to the
bidding system when it becomes available during the preview period to
see the initial relinquishment option each qualified station is
assigned to at the start of the clock phase of the reverse auction.
They will also receive instructions with the Final Confidential Status
Letter for participating in the mock auction and for placing bids in
the clock phase of the reverse auction, using their previously received
RSA SecurID[supreg] tokens.
7. Receipt of the registration mailing is critical to participating
in both the mock auction and the clock phase of the reverse auction.
Therefore, any applicant that has not received the Final Confidential
Status Letter package by 12:00 noon Eastern Time (ET) on Wednesday, May
4, 2016, should contact the Auctions Hotline at (717) 338-2868. The
contact person for each applicant is responsible for ensuring that each
authorized bidder receives all of the information and materials.
8. If the Final Confidential Status Letter indicates that the
Auction System has determined that a station is not qualified, the
applicant will not be permitted to make any bids for that station in
the reverse auction clock phase. Applicants without any qualified
stations will not be deemed qualified bidders and will receive along
with the Final Confidential Status Letter instructions for returning
their RSA SecurID[supreg] tokens. The Task Force and Bureau remind all
full power and Class A broadcast television licensees, including
applicants that are not deemed qualified bidders, that they remain
subject to the Commission's rules prohibiting certain communications in
connection with Commission auctions until the completion of the forward
auction as announced by the Commission by public notice. A party that
is subject to the prohibition remains subject to the prohibition
regardless of developments during the auction process. In addition,
though communicating whether or not a party filed an application does
not violate the rules, communicating that a party ``is not bidding'' in
the auction could constitute an apparent violation that needs to be
reported. In other words, an applicant that is not qualified to bid may
nevertheless violate the prohibition by communicating its status to
another covered party, regardless of the reason that it is not
qualified.
III. Important Upcoming Events and Dates for Auction 1001
9. FCC Incentive Auction Reverse Auction Bidding System User Guide.
The Task Force and Bureau will make available an ``FCC Incentive
Auction Reverse Auction Bidding System User Guide,'' which will
describe the features of the Auction System that will be used to bid in
the clock phase of the reverse auction. This user guide will be emailed
to each authorized bidder on May 5, 2016. It will also be made
available on the Commission's Auction 1001 Web page through a link in
the ``Education'' section on May 5, 2016. Once posted, the user guide
will remain available and accessible on the Auction 1001 Web page
(www.fcc.gov/auctions/1001) for reference.
10. Online Bidding Tutorial. An online tutorial regarding bidding
in the clock phase of the reverse auction will be available on May 18,
2016. The online tutorial will be accessible from the Auction 1001 Web
page through a link in the ``Education'' section. Once posted, the
tutorial will remain available and accessible on the Auction 1001 Web
page for reference.
11. Bidding Preview Period. The Auction System will be available
during a preview period that will open at 10:00 a.m. ET on May 23,
2016, and close at 6:00 p.m. ET on May 24, 2016. During this preview
period, authorized bidders can log in and view the list of stations for
which they may make bids in the clock phase, each station's bidding
status, the initial relinquishment option assigned to the station, and,
where applicable, available bid options with associated vacancy ranges
and next round clock price offers.
12. Clock Phase Workshop. On May 24, 2016, from 10:00 a.m. ET to
1:00 p.m. ET, the Task Force, in conjunction with the Media and
Wireless Telecommunications Bureaus (the Bureaus), will host a public
workshop on the bidding system that will be used for bidding in the
clock phase of Auction 1001. Details about the workshop and remote
viewing will be released at a later date. After the event, a recording
of the clock phase workshop will be accessible from the Auction 1001
Web page through a link in the ``Education'' section. Once posted, the
clock phase workshop will remain available and accessible on the
Auction 1001 Web page for reference.
13. Mock Auction and Mock Auction Preview Period. The Task Force
and Bureaus will conduct one mock auction for all bidders qualified to
bid in the clock phase of Auction 1001 beginning on May 25, 2016, and
ending on May 26, 2016. The schedule of rounds for the mock auction is
as follows. On May 25, 2016: Mock Bidding Round 1 (10:00 a.m.--12:00
p.m. ET) and Mock Bidding Round 2 (3:00 p.m.--5:00 p.m. ET). On May 26,
2016: Mock Bidding Round 3 (10:00 a.m.--11:00 a.m. ET); Mock Bidding
Round 4 (1:00 p.m.--2:00 p.m. ET); and Mock Bidding Round 5 (4:00
p.m.--5:00 p.m. ET).
14. The mock auction will allow qualified bidders to become
familiar with the clock phase bidding system and to ask Commission
auction and technical support staff questions about the system and
auction conduct. The Auction System will provide each bidder with a
number and variety of stations for the mock auction similar to what the
bidder will have during the actual clock phase of the reverse auction.
The station(s) assigned to a bidder in the mock auction will be
hypothetical, rather than the bidder's actual station(s) that it is
qualified to bid for in the clock phase of the reverse auction, and the
price offers that bidders see in the mock auction will not be the same
as the actual price offers they see in the reverse auction itself. The
mock auction will simulate the start of the auction, and each bidder
will be allowed to submit bids for the stations shown. If a bidder does
not make bids for a station, the station will be eliminated from
further bidding in the mock auction. A bidder should take advantage of
the mock auction to practice taking actions it may wish to take during
actual bidding in the clock phase of Auction 1001 and to further
familiarize itself with the bidding software.
15. The Task Force and Bureaus will conduct the mock auction over
the Internet and provide the option of bidding by telephone. During a
preview period that will open on the first day of the mock auction, May
25, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. ET and remain open until 10:00 a.m. ET,
authorized bidders will be able to log in and view the list of stations
for which they may make bids during the mock auction. A qualified
bidder will be able to access the mock auction during the preview
period at the link provided in the materials that accompany the Final
Confidential Status Letter. That link will also be used to bid in the
mock auction. The Task Force and Bureaus strongly recommend that all
qualified bidders participate in the mock auction.
16. Clocks Rounds Start Date and Round Schedule. Bidding in the
clock phase of Auction 1001 will begin on May 31, 2016, on the
following schedule: May 31, 2016: Bidding Round (10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
ET) and June 1, 2016: Bidding Round (10:00 a.m.-2:00
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p.m. ET). Starting on June 2, 2016, and continuing until further
notice, the schedule will be: Bidding Round (10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. ET)
and Bidding Round (3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. ET). The Bureau may adjust the
number and length of bidding rounds based upon its monitoring of the
bidding and assessment of the reverse auction's progress. The Bureau
will provide notice of any adjustments by announcement in the Auction
System during the course of the auction.
Federal Communications Commission.
Gary D. Michaels,
Deputy Chief, Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, WTB.
[FR Doc. 2016-11432 Filed 5-13-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P