Auction 72: 220 MHz

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

• Key Dates
• Licenses Offered
• Permissible Operations
• License Period and Construction Requirements
• Small Business Bidding Credits
• Tribal Land Bidding Credit
• Incumbents
• Licensing Rules

94 licenses in the Phase II 220 MHz Service: 93 Economic Area (EA) licenses and 1 Economic Area Grouping (EAG) license

The spectrum to be auctioned has been offered previously in one or more other auctions but was returned to the Commission as a result of license cancellation or termination. The following table describes the licenses.

*For the specific frequencies of licenses in each block refer to Public Notice DA 07-514, Attachment A – Part 2. Licenses in blocks A-E have 10 paired 5 kHz channels, and the I block license has 15 paired 5 kHz channels. None of the licenses offered in Auction No. 72 have contiguous channels except for the E block licenses.

Because of the history of licenses for Phase II 220 MHz Service, certain licenses available in Auction No. 72 are available for only part of a market. In addition, one license available for only part of a market also covers less bandwidth than noted in the table above. For a complete list of the licenses available in Auction No. 72, see Attachment A of Public Notice DA 07-514, released February 26, 2007.

Licenses will be issued for a ten-year term from the initial license grant date. Subject to 47 C.F.R. § 90.763 and other rules, a licensee may construct and operate any number of fixed stations, land mobile base stations, or paging base stations anywhere within its authorized EA or EAG and transmit on any of its authorized channels.

A licensee is required to construct a sufficient number of base stations to provide coverage to at least one-third of the population of its EA or EAG within five years of initial license grant and to at least two-thirds of the population of its EA or EAG within ten years of initial license grant. Alternatively, licensees may provide substantial service to their licensed areas at the appropriate 5 and 10 year benchmarks. In either case, notification of compliance with these construction requirements is mandatory under 47 C.F.R. § 1.946.

Licensees may obtain a renewal expectancy based on meeting applicable construction requirements and substantial compliance with other applicable Commission rules, policies, and the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. At the end of the 10-year term, licensees are required to submit an acceptable showing to the Commission demonstrating either that they have provided coverage to at least two-thirds of the population of their service areas or that they are otherwise providing “substantial service” to their service areas.

Failure by a licensee to meet the applicable construction requirement will result in automatic cancellation of its entire license.

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 provider or that have a wireline penetration rate equal to or below 85 percent is eligible to receive a tribal lands bidding credit as set forth in 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.2107(e) and 1.2110(f). A tribal lands 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 lands 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 lands bidding credit, it must, within 180 days from the close of the long-form filing window, amend its long form application to 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 lands bidding credit, including how the amount of the credit is calculated, can be found on the Commission’s auction web site and clicking on the Tribal Land Credits link.

A number of incumbent Phase I 220 MHz Service licensees are already licensed and operating on frequencies between 220 and 222 MHz. Such Phase I incumbents must be protected from harmful interference by Phase II 220 MHz Service licensees in accordance with the Commission’s rules. These limitations may restrict the ability of such Phase II licensees to use certain portions of the electromagnetic spectrum or provide service to certain areas in their geographic license areas. If any channels of an incumbent Phase I licensee authorized to operate in a particular EA or EAG are recovered by the Commission, such channels will automatically revert to the Phase II licensee authorized on those channels in that EA or EAG.

47 C.F.R. Parts 1, 17, and 90