Short-Form Applications for AWS-3 Auction Below Numbers in AWS-1, 700 MHz Auctions
The FCC Wireless Bureau said it received 80 short-form applications to bid in the AWS-3 auction, which starts Nov. 13. Thirty-three have submitted complete applications to bid in the long-awaited auction, the bureau said Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1vy0koH). Among carriers with complete applications are Verizon and T-Mobile. AT&T filed an application that was deemed incomplete. Sprint did not file an application. The FCC provided lists of applications deemed complete (http://bit.ly/1pr7I0i) and incomplete (http://bit.ly/1rGEDkJ).
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Those with applications not deemed complete have until 6 p.m. EDT Oct. 15 to correct defects in their applications. Short-form applications were due at the FCC Sept. 12. A qualified bidder is one that has a complete application and submits a down payment. The FCC will reveal the identities of qualified bidders in the weeks after the Oct, 15 deadline, the bureau said.
In contrast, the FCC got 175 short-form applications to take part in the AWS-1 auction in 2006, and 104 of them won at least one license. In 2008 in the 700 MHz auction, 214 bidders qualified to participate and 101 won at least one license.
"Potential bidders are solely responsible for investigating and evaluating all technical and marketplace factors that may have a bearing on the value of the licenses being offered in Auction 97,” the bureau said. “We strongly encourage each potential bidder to conduct its own research prior to the beginning of bidding in order to determine the existence of pending proceedings, pleadings, applications, or authorizations that might affect its decisions regarding participation in the auction."
The notice reminded potential bidders the FCC has strict rules on communications among them, which kicked in Sept. 12. In a footnote, the bureau observed that one company eventually paid a $75,000 fine for impermissible communications, “even though the applicant never made an upfront payment for the auction and was not listed as a qualified bidder.”