Auction 57: Automated Maritime Telecommunications System

Summary

September 15, 2004 - September 15, 2004
Rounds:
3
Bidding Days:
1
Qualified Bidders:
4
Winning Bidders:
4 bidders won 10 licenses
Gross Bids:
$1,527,100
Net Bids:
$1,057,365
Reports Files
Top Licenses (by High Bid)
Summary of Round Results
Bidders Sorted by Total Net Bids and High Bids
Markets Data
Bidder Data
Spreadsheets Files
All Markets
All Bidders
Charts Files
Bidder Data
Licenses by Bidder
License Winner, Sorted by License
Maps & Band Plans
Automated Maritime Telecommunications System Map
AMTS
General Information

Tribal Land Bidding Credits

Fact Sheet

Date:

Auction 57 began on 9/15/2004 and closed on 9/15/2004.
Round 3 ( See PN DA 04-3012)

Licenses:

20 Automated Telecommunications System Area (AMTSA) licenses

Spectrum:

217/219 MHz band

Bandwidth:

Block A: 217.5 - 218.0/219.5 - 220.0 (total 1 MHz)
Block B: 217.0 - 217.5/219.0 - 219.5 (total 1 MHz)

Winning Bidders:
4 bidders won 10 licenses
Rounds:
3
Qualified Bidders:
4
Licenses Won:
10
Total Licenses:
20
Net Bids:
$1,057,365
Gross Bids:
$1,527,100

 

General information and associated licensing parameters are provided below. Public Notices provide specific information regarding this auction. This fact sheet includes:

Key Dates

EventDate
Pre-Auction Seminar
7/1/2004
Form 175 (Short Form) Application Filing Window Opens
7/1/2004; 12:00 noon ET
Form 175 (Short Form) Application Filing Deadline
7/19/2004; 6:00 pm ET
Upfront Payments Deadline
8/20/2004; 6:00 pm ET
Mock Auction
9/10/2004
Auction Start
9/15/2004
Auction Closed
9/15/2004

Licenses Offered

Auction No. 57 included 20 AMTS licenses in a specialized system of public coast stations in the 217/219 MHz band. A complete list of licenses for Auction No. 57 and their descriptions is provided in Attachment A of Public Notice DA 04-1513. The AMTSAs are based on, and composed of one or more of, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s 172 Economic Areas (EAs). In addition, the Commission treats Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Gulf of Mexico as EA-like areas. Each AMTSA also includes the adjacent waters under the jurisdiction of the United States.

The following table describes the licenses that will be auctioned in each of the AMTSAs:

BlockFrequency Bands (MHz)Total BandwidthPairingGeographic Area TypeNo. of Licenses
A217.5 - 218.0 / 219.5 - 220.01 MHz2 x 500 kHzAMTSA10
B217.0 - 217.5 / 219.0 - 219.51 MHz2 x 500 kHzAMTSA10
Note: The above table displays the band edges of spectrum blocks A and B using the twenty 25 kHz channels that comprise each block as listed in 47 C.F.R. § 80.385(a)(2). It should be noted that pursuant to 47 C.F.R. § 80.481, licensees are not required to use 25 kHz channelization and may choose any channelization scheme; however, regardless of the channelization scheme used, emissions at these band edges must be attenuated within the limitation that would be required under 47 C.F.R. § 80.211 if the licensee were using 25 kHz channels.

Permissible Operations

AMTS is a specialized system of coast stations providing integrated and interconnected marine voice and data communications, somewhat like a cellular phone system, for tugs, barges, and other vessels on waterways. Service to units on land is permitted, so long as marine-originating communications receive priority.

License Period

AMTS geographic area licenses are issued for a ten-year term beginning on the date of the initial authorization grant. Licensees have a renewal expectancy based on the provision of substantial service and substantial compliance with applicable Commission rules, policies, and the Communications Act. (See Third Report and Order, 13 FCC Rcd at 19871 ¶ 33).

Each AMTS geographic area licensee must provide "substantial service" within ten years, i.e., at the time of license renewal.

Bidding Credits

Bidding credits are available to small or very small businesses or consortia thereof, as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 80.1252. A bidding credit is a payment discount on a winning bid determined at the conclusion of the bidding process. The size of the bidding credit depends on the average of the aggregated annual gross revenues for each of the preceding three years of the bidder, its affiliates, its controlling interests, and the affiliates of its controlling interests: 

Small business bidding credits are not cumulative. A qualifying applicant receives either the 25 percent or the 35 percent bidding credit on its winning bid, but only one credit per license.

Tribal Land Credits

A winning bidder that intends to use its license(s) to deploy facilities and provide services to federally-recognized tribal lands that are unserved by any telecommunications carrier or that have a telephone service penetration rate equal to or below 70 percent is eligible to receive a tribal land bidding credit as set forth in 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.2107(e) and 1.2110(f). A tribal land bidding credit is in addition to, and separate from, any other bidding credit for which a winning bidder may qualify. A winning bidder need not qualify for a small business bidding credit to be eligible for a tribal lands bidding credit.

Unlike other bidding credits that are requested prior to the auction, a winning bidder applies for the tribal land bidding credit after winning the auction when it files its long-form application (FCC Form 601). In order for a winning bidder to be awarded a tribal land bidding credit, it must provide specific certifications regarding the servicing of tribal lands and is subject to specific performance criteria as set forth in 47 C.F.R. § 1.2110(f).

Additional information on the tribal land bidding credit, including how the amount of the credit is calculated, can be found on the Commission's web site by going to Tribal Land Credits.

Incumbents

Geographic area licensees must locate their stations at least 120 kilometers from the station of co-channel site-based AMTS licensees. Shorter separations between stations will be considered by the Commission on a case-by-case basis upon submission of a technical analysis indicating that at least 18 dB protection will be provided to a site-based licensee’s predicted 38 dBu signal contour. Geographic area licensees must also coordinate to minimize interference at or near their geographic area borders, and must cooperate to resolve any instances of interference in accordance with the provisions of 80.70(a).

Incumbents are prohibited from renewing, transferring, assigning, or modifying their licenses in any manner that extends their system’s service area or results in their acquiring additional frequencies, unless there is consent from each affected geographic area licensee. If an incumbent fails to construct, discontinues operations, or otherwise has its license terminated, the spectrum covered by the incumbent’s authorization will automatically revert to the geographic area licensee.

In addition, AMTS licensees that cause interference to television reception or to the U.S. Navy SPASUR system must cure the problem or discontinue operations. Also, law enforcement tracking operations are currently authorized on a primary basis in certain markets in AMTSAs 3, 4, 6, 9 and 10 on a frequency in block A. These operations are scheduled to be converted to non-AMTS frequencies by 2007.

Licensing Rules

47 C.F.R. Part 80

Releases P

9/17/2004
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA-04-3012)
Automated Maritime Telecommunications System Spectrum Auction Closes; Winning Bidders Announced
Down Payments Due: October 1, 2004, FCC Forms 601 and 602 Due: October 1, 2004, Final Payments Due: October 18, 2004, Ten-Day Petition to Deny Period.

8/27/2004
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 04-2721)
Automated Maritime Telecommunications System Spectrum Auction; 4 Qualified Bidders
This Public Notice identifies four applicants found to be qualified to bid in the upcoming auction for 20 licenses in the AMTS auction.

8/4/2004
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 04-2468)
Automated Maritime Telecommunications System Spectrum Auction
Status of FCC Form 175 Applications to Participate in the Auction, Auction No. 57.

6/30/2004
ERRATUM
Erratum to Automated Maritime Telecommunications System Spectrum Auction Scheduled for September 15, 2004; Correction to Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments and Other Auction Procedures
pdf - Word
See DA 04-1513

5/26/2004
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 04-1513)
Automated Maritime Telecommunications System Spectrum Auction Scheduled for September 15, 2004
This Public Notice announces the procedures and minimum opening bids for the upcoming auction of licenses in the Automated Maritime Telecommunications System ("AMTS") spectrum scheduled for September 15, 2004.
See Erratum

4/5/2004
PUBLIC NOTICE (DA 04-954)
Automated Maritime Telecommunications System (AMTS) Spectrum Auction Scheduled for September 15, 2004
This Public Notice seeks comment on reserve prices or minimum opening bids and other auction procedures.

No results here for this auction.

No results here for this auction.

Auction Seminar

This seminar was held on July 1, 2004. You may view the presentations below.

Presentation Videos & Slides

Welcome and Opening Remarks
Craig Bomberger, Associate Division Chief, Auctions & Spectrum Access Division

Pre-Auction Process
Linda Sanderson, Auctions Marketing Specialist, ASAD
pdf - ppt

Overview of AMTS Service Rules and Due Diligence
Scot Stone, Assistant Division Chief, Public Safety & Critical Infrastructure Division & Ghassan Khalek, Electronics Engineer, Public Safety & Critical Infrastructure Division
pdf - ppt

Overview of Tribal Land Bidding Credit
Michael Connelly, Attorney Advisor, Mobility Division
pdf - ppt

Overview of Auction Rules and Electronic Filing of Form 175
Howard Davenport, Attorney, ASAD
pdf - ppt

Overview of Auction Rules and Electronic Filing of Form 175
Howard Davenport, Attorney, ASAD
pdf - ppt
LaVonia Connelly, Auction Automation Specialist. Spectrum Management Resources & Technologies Division
Form 175 Screen Shots: 
pdf

Wire Transfer & Payment Process
Gail Glasser, Financial Management Specialist, Auctions Accounting Group
pdf - ppt

Overview of Auction Process & FCC Automated Auction System
Roy Knowles, Wireless Telecommunications Analyst, ASAD
pdf - ppt
Auctions Bidding System Screen Shots:
pdf

Education