*Pages 1--5 from Microsoft Word - 46620.doc* PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 445 TWELFTH STREET, S. W. WASHINGTON, D. C. 20554 DA 05- 389 News media information 202/ 418- 0500 Fax- On- Demand 202/ 418- 2830 Internet: http:// www. fcc. gov ftp. fcc. gov Released: February 14, 2005 ALLTEL CORPORATION AND CINGULAR WIRELESS LLC SEEK FCC CONSENT TO TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF ALLTEL NEWCO LLC WT Docket No. 05- 57 PLEADING CYCLE ESTABLISHED Petitions to Deny Due: March 16, 2005 Oppositions Due: March 28, 2005 Replies Due: April 4, 2005 ALLTEL Corporation (“ ALLTEL”) and Cingular Wireless LLC (“ Cingular”) (collectively, the “Applicants”) have filed an application seeking consent pursuant to Sections 214 and 310( d) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 1 to transfer control of licenses and authorizations from Cingular to ALLTEL. To effectuate this proposed transfer of control, Cingular has also filed a series of pro forma applications seeking consent to the assignment of licenses from subsidiaries of Cingular to ALLTEL Newco LLC (“ ALLTEL Newco”), another wholly- owned subsidiary of Cingular. ALLTEL Newco currently holds no FCC authorizations, but will acquire Personal Communications Service (“ PCS”) and Cellular Radiotelephone licenses in Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas as a result of the pro forma assignments by Cingular. The consummation of the pro forma assignments will occur immediately prior to the consummation of the transfer of control of ALLTEL Newco from Cingular to ALLTEL. The proposed transfer of control of licenses from Cingular to ALLTEL fulfills in part the government- ordered divestiture of certain commercial mobile radio service properties as a condition of the approval of Cingular’s merger with AT& T Wireless Services, Inc. 2 1 47 U. S. C. §§ 214, 310( d). Most of the applications were amended subsequent to their initial submission. When searching for these applications on the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau’s Universal Licensing System (“ ULS”) at http:// wireless. fcc. gov/ uls/, the amended versions of the applications will appear with an “AM” as the purpose code. 2 See Application of AT& T Wireless Services, Inc. and Cingular Wireless Corp. for Consent to Transfer Control of Licenses and Authorizations, WT Docket No. 04- 70, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 19 FCC Rcd. 21,522 (2004). 1 I. SECTION 310( d) APPLICATION The following applications for consent to the pro forma assignment of various cellular and PCS licenses from subsidiaries of Cingular to ALLTEL Newco have been assigned the file numbers listed below. File No. Licensee Lead Call Sign 0001966108 3 New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC WQBT341 0001966198 Houston Cellular Telephone Company, L. P. WQBT358 0001966537 New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC WQBT351 0001966782 New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC KNKN627 0001966783 New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC KNKN833 0001966853 New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC WQBT350 0001966858 Houston Cellular Telephone Company, L. P. KNKN472 0001966943 New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC WQBT313 0001966952 Houston Cellular Telephone Company, L. P. KNKA606 0001966963 New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC WQBT315 0001966967 New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC WQBT352 0001966987 New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC KNKA369 0001967013 New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC KNLG405 The following application for consent to transfer control of various cellular and PCS licenses from Cingular to ALLTEL has been assigned the file number listed below. File No. Licensee Lead Call Sign 50004CWTC05 4 ALLTEL Newco LLC KNKA606 II. SECTION 214 AUTHORIZATION The following application for consent to transfer control of Cingular’s international Section 214 has been assigned the file number listed below. File No. Authorization Holder Authorization Number 3 ULS File No. 0001966108 has been designated as the lead application, and all pleadings and other submissions filed in this matter that pertain generally to the transaction and not to a particular application will be available through this file number in ULS at http:// wireless. fcc. gov/ uls/. 4 This application is attached to File No. 0001966108. As described above, Cingular proposes to assign various wireless licenses to ALLTEL Newco immediately prior to consummating the proposed transfer of control of ALLTEL Newco to ALLTEL. Because these assignments have not been consummated, these licenses are not shown as belonging to ALLTEL Newco in ULS. Thus, this transfer of control application was filed manually with a request for waiver of the ULS electronic filing requirement, pursuant to section 1.913( b) of the Commission’s rules. 47 C. F. R. § 1.913( b). We grant the Applicants’ request for waiver of the ULS filing requirement. 2 ITC- ASG- 20041223- 00509 Cingular Wireless LLC ITC- 214- 20011031- 00547 III. EX PARTE STATUS OF THIS PROCEEDING Pursuant to section 1.1200( a) of the Commission’s rules, 5 the Commission may adopt modified or more stringent ex parte procedures in particular proceedings if the public interest so requires. We announce that this proceeding will be governed by permit- but- disclose ex parte procedures that are applicable to non- restricted proceedings under section 1.1206 of the Commission’s rules. 6 Parties making oral ex parte presentations are directed to the Commission’s statement re-emphasizing the public’s responsibility in permit- but- disclose proceedings and are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation must contain the presentation’s substance and not merely list the subjects discussed. 7 More than a one- or two- sentence description of the views and arguments presented is generally required. 8 Other rules pertaining to oral and written presentations are set forth in section 1.1206( b) as well. 9 We urge parties to use the Electronic Comment Filing System (“ ECFS”) to file ex parte submissions. 10 IV. GENERAL INFORMATION The applications referenced herein have been found, upon initial review, to be acceptable for filing. The Commission reserves the right to return any application if, upon further examination, it is determined to be defective and not in conformance with the Commission’s rules or policies. Final action on these applications will not be taken earlier than thirty- one days following the date of this Public Notice. 11 Interested parties must file petitions to deny no later than March 16, 2005. Persons and entities that file petitions to deny become parties to the proceeding. They may participate fully in the proceeding, including seeking access to any confidential information that may be filed under a protective order, seeking reconsideration of decisions, and filing appeals of a final decision to the courts. Oppositions to such pleadings must be filed no later than March 28, 2005. Replies to such pleadings must be filed no later than April 4, 2005. All filings concerning matters referenced in this Public Notice should refer to DA 05- 389 and WT Docket No. 05- 57, as well as the specific file numbers of the individual applications or other matters to which the filings pertain. Under the Commission’s current procedures for the submission of filings and other documents, 12 5 47 C. F. R. § 1.1200( a). 6 Id. § 1.1206. 7 See Commission Emphasizes the Public’s Responsibilities in Permit- But- Disclose Proceedings, Public Notice, 15 FCC Rcd. 19,945 (2000). 8 See 47 C. F. R. § 1.1206( b)( 2). 9 Id. § 1.1206( b). 10 See discussion infra Part IV. 11 See 47 U. S. C. § 309( b). 12 See Implementation of Interim Electronic Filing Procedures for Certain Commission Filings, Order, 16 FCC Rcd. 3 applications are also available electronically through the Commission’s ECFS, which may be accessed on the Commission’s Internet website at http:// www. fcc. gov. In addition, applications filed under Parts 22, 24, 27, 90, and 101 of the Commission’s rules are available electronically through ULS, which may be accessed on the Commission’s Internet website. Additional information regarding the transaction will be available on the FCC's Office of General Counsel's website, http:// www. fcc. gov/ ogc, which will contain a fully indexed, unofficial listing and electronic copies of all materials in this docket. Alternate formats of this public notice (computer diskette, large print, audio recording, and Braille) are available to persons with disabilities by contacting Brian Millin at (202) 418- 7426 (voice), (202) 418- 7365 (TTY), or send an e- mail to access@ fcc. gov. For further information, contact Erin McGrath, Mobility Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at (202) 418- 2042, or Susan Singer, Spectrum and Competition Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at (202) 418- 1340. -FCC- 5