On January 31, 2019, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Office of Economics and Analytics (“WTB” and “OET”) released a Public Notice (“Notice”) announcing the upfront payment deadline and the remaining pre-auction dates and deadlines for Auction 102, the auction of UMFUS licenses in the 24 GHz band. The Notice also provides important information and reminders about the pre-auction process and instructions for submitting upfront payments.
Important Dates
- Bidding in Auction 102 is scheduled to begin on March 14, 2019.
- Auction 102 Upfront Payments are due February 19, 2019 before 6 pm ET.
- Bidding tutorial – no later than February 15, 2019.
- Mock Auction – March 11, 2019.
The above dates and deadlines will not be affected in the event of any future partial government shutdown. Attachment A to the Notice provides the instructions for making upfront payments via wire transfer for Auction 102. Attachment B provides the instructions for submitting FCC Remittance Advice (FCC Form 159) for Auction 102.
Upfront Payments
Upfront payments for Auction 102 will be due by February 19, 2019 before 6:00 pm ET. Each Auction 102 application whose application has been previously deemed to be complete must submit a sufficient upfront payment before 6:00 pm ET that is received in the Commission’s account at the US Treasury on February 19, 2019 in order to become a qualified bidder.
The Commission released an updated list of licenses to be offered in Auction 102 and announced an adjustment to the categories and number of generic license blocks available for bidding in Auction 102, available in Attachment A at the following link: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/102. The amount of the upfront payment determines a bidder’s initial bidding eligibility in terms of bidding units. For Auction 102, the FCC assigned each generic block in a Partial Economic Area (“PEA”) a specific number of bidding units, equal to one bidding unit per 10 dollars of the upfront payment. Upfront payments are not attributed to a specific area – a bidder may bid on any combination of blocks in the license area(s) it selected on its Form 175, provided that the total number of bidding units associated with the bids does not exceed its current eligibility. An upfront payment calculator will be available shortly after the release of today’s Notice.
Payments by Wire Transfer
Upfront payments for Auction 102 must be wired to the Commission’s account at the US Treasury. Any amounts on deposit from Auction 101 will not be applied to an Auction 102 upfront payment. Wire transfer payments must be received before 6:00 pm ET on February 19, 2019 – no other payment method is acceptable.
Form 159
Each applicant must submit an accurate and complete FCC Remittance Advice Form (Form 159) to the FCC in connection with any upfront payment submission. If an applicant’s upfront payment consist of more than one wire transfer, a Form 159 must be submitted for each separate payment. At least one hour before placing the order for the wire transfer and on the same business day, an applicant must print and fax a completed Form 159 to the Commission at (202) 418-2843, OR scan and send as an attachment to [email protected].
Additional Information
- A public notice announcing all applicants qualified to bid in Auction 102 will be released after the upfront payment deadline for Auction 102, and will announce additional dates and details, including the bidding round schedules.
- The FCC reminds applicants they are required to maintain the accuracy and completeness of information pending in short-form applications, and that all applicants are prohibited from certain communications regarding either Auction 101 or 102 under the Anti-Collusion rules, regardless of whether they actually bid in Auction 101 and/or 102.
- The Commission will release information about specific applicants following the close of Auction 102.
- The FCC updated the Assignment Phase Technical Guide, available under the “Education” tab at www.fcc.gov/auction/102.
Applicants are encouraged to closely review the Public Notice.
Please Contact Us if you have any questions.