Federal Communications Commission DA 19-298 DA 19-298 April 17, 2019 CLOSE OF CLOCK PHASE BIDDING; INFORMATION CONCERNING THE ASSIGNMENT PHASE OF AUCTION 102 (24 GHz), INCLUDING SCHEDULE FOR MOCK AUCTION AVAILABILITY OF ASSIGNMENT PHASE USER GUIDE AND ONLINE TUTORIAL ASSIGNMENT PHASE BIDDING BEGINS MAY 3, 2019 AU Docket No. 18-85 1. On April 17, 2019, bidding in the clock phase of the auction of 24 GHz Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service licenses (Auction 102) concluded. By this Public Notice, the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) in conjunction with the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) provides information regarding the assignment phase of Auction 102. Bidders that won at least one generic block of spectrum in one Partial Economic Area (PEA) in the clock phase of the auction are eligible—but not required—to participate in the assignment phase, which allows bidders to place bids for specific frequency blocks. This Public Notice along with important information necessary to participate in the assignment phase will be sent by overnight delivery to winning clock phase bidders. 2. We remind all applicants in Auction 101 and/or Auction 102 that they remain subject to the Commission’s prohibition on certain communications by auction applicants and its limited information disclosure procedures. See 47 CFR § 1.2105(c); Auctions of Upper Microwave Flexible Use Licenses for Next-Generation Wireless Services; Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and Other Procedures for Auctions 101 (28 GHz) and 102 (24 GHz); Bidding in Auction 101 Scheduled to Begin November 14, 2018, Public Notice, 33 FCC Rcd 7575, 7596-606, paras. 50-84 (2018) (Auctions 101 and 102 Procedures Public Notice). Accordingly, applicants in either auction must not disclose their status as a winning or non-winning bidder or any other non-public bidding information covered by the prohibition until after the close of Auction 102. The prohibition on certain communications relating to Auctions 101 and 102 continues to apply until the deadline for winning bidders in Auction 102 to submit down payments. See 47 CFR § 1.2105(c)(1); Auctions 101 and 102 Procedures Public Notice, 33 FCC Rcd at 7599, para. 61. I. OVERVIEW OF UPCOMING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR BIDDERS CHOOSING TO PARTICIPATE IN ASSIGNMENT PHASE 3. Bidders eligible to participate in the assignment phase will be able to log in to the assignment phase bidding system between 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Friday, April 26, 2019 and 12 noon ET on Monday, April 29, 2019, to download their assignment phase bidding options (which correspond to their clock phase winnings), view the sequence and timing for the assignment rounds for all PEAs, and identify the assignment rounds in which they will be eligible to participate. At 1:00 p.m. ET on Monday, April 29, 2019, bidders will have access to the bidding system for the assignment phase mock auction. On Tuesday, April 30, 2019, we will conduct a mock auction for the assignment phase of Auction 102, according to the schedule announced below. The first round of the assignment phase bidding will begin on Friday, May 3, 2019. 4. The mock auction will give clock phase winning bidders an opportunity to become familiar with the assignment phase bidding system and to ask Commission staff questions about the bidding system and the conduct of the assignment phase. WTB and OEA strongly recommend that all clock phase winning bidders participate in the mock auction for the assignment phase. 5. To help bidders prepare for the assignment phase, today we make available the “Auction 102 Assignment Phase Bidding System User Guide,” which describes the system and provides detailed instructions for bidding and viewing results and payment information from the assignment phase. We also make available today an online tutorial on bidding in the assignment phase, which explains the structure of the assignment phase, the process for determining winning assignments and associated payments, and the calculation of final auction payments. Both the user guide and tutorial are available in electronic form in the “Education” section of the Auction 102 website at www.fcc.gov/auction/102 and will remain available and accessible on the Auction 102 website for reference. We recommend that bidders eligible to participate in the assignment phase thoroughly review the user guide and tutorial. II. ASSIGNMENT PHASE BIDDING SYSTEM AVAILABILITY AND DATA 6. Bidders eligible to participate in the assignment phase will be able to log in to the assignment phase bidding system for a preview period using a link for the system that will be sent by overnight delivery to each bidder. Bidders will be able to access the system during the preview period between 10:00 a.m. ET on Friday, April 26, 2019 and noon ET on Monday, April 29, 2019. Below is a list of the information that will be available to bidders in the system before bidding in the assignment phase begins. See Auctions 101 and 102 Procedures Public Notice, 33 FCC Rcd at 7586, para. 23 & n.55. As noted above, bidders can access an online tutorial on bidding in the assignment phase in the “Education” section of the Auction 102 website (www.fcc.gov/auction/102). The assignment phase is designed to give highest priority to assigning bidders within a PEA contiguous blocks of spectrum to the extent possible and to simplify the bidding process. As described in more detail below, before the assignment phase begins, eligible bidders will be able to access information about their bidding options for each PEA in which they had clock phase winnings, the grouping of PEAs for bidding in each assignment round, and the sequencing of the assignment rounds. 7. Grouping of PEAs for Bidding. Bidders will be able to view whether any PEAs have been grouped for purposes of bidding in the assignment phase. PEAs will be grouped for bidding in the same assignment round if the same bidders won the same number of blocks in each of the PEAs in the group, and if all of the PEAs in the group are in the same Regional Economic Area Grouping (REAG) and either subject to the small market bidding credit cap or not subject to the cap. Id. at 7656, para. 272. The same assignment will be made for all of the PEAs in the group. 8. Bidding Options. Bidders can download their full list of bidding options provided in the “My Bids and Options” download. This file provides information about all of the bidding options available to the bidder for all assignment rounds in which it can bid, based on its winnings in the clock phase. This file can also be used to upload bids. Each bidder’s bidding options for a PEA will be all of the contiguous license assignment options consistent with the bidder’s clock phase winnings. 9. Detailed Schedule of Rounds. The full schedule of assignment rounds will be available for viewing in the system. The assignment rounds will begin on Friday, May 3, 2019. The top-40 PEAs will be assigned first—in decreasing order of weighted pops—one PEA (or PEA group) per assignment round. Id. at 7656, paras. 270-71. Once the top-40 PEAs have been assigned, the remaining PEAs within each of the six REAGs will be assigned, with parallel bidding taking place for a PEA (or a grouping of PEAs) in as many as six REAGs during the same assignment bidding round. Within each REAG, bidding will take place in order of decreasing weighted pops. 10. Access to the actual assignment phase data will be suspended during the mock auction but will become available again at 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, May 2, 2019—the day before bidding in the assignment phase begins. During the mock auction, bidders will continue to log in using the same link that they use for the assignment phase bidding. III. ASSIGNMENT PHASE MOCK AUCTION 11. The assignment phase mock auction will be conducted on Tuesday, April 30, 2019. The mock auction will allow winning clock phase bidders to become familiar with the assignment phase bidding system and to ask Commission staff questions they may have in advance of the actual assignment phase of Auction 102. 12. Bidding in the assignment phase mock auction will not predict actual bidding in the assignment phase of the auction. For the mock auction, the bidding system will use only non-top-40 PEAs, with bidding conducted in six REAGs during each round, so that a larger number of bidders can participate in each mock assignment round. Instead of being assigned the PEAs in which it has clock phase winnings, each clock phase winning bidder will be randomly assigned mock winnings in PEAs that will provide an opportunity to bid for 4 PEAs or PEA groups. Each bidder’s assigned mock PEAs will determine the assignment rounds in which it may bid in the mock auction. Each bidder will have the same bidding credit for which it claimed eligibility in the actual auction. 13. Each winning bidder will be able to access its assigned mock auction data in the assignment phase bidding system starting at 1:00 p.m. ET on Monday, April 29, 2019. The mock auction bidding schedule for Tuesday, April 30, 2019, will be as follows: Mock Assignment Round 1 10:00 a.m. – 10:40 a.m. ET Mock Assignment Round 2 11:00 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. ET Mock Assignment Round 3 12:00 p.m. – 12:40 p.m. ET Mock Assignment Round 4 2:00 p.m. – 2:40 p.m. ET Mock Assignment Round 5 3:00 p.m. – 3:40 p.m. ET Mock Assignment Round 6 4:00 p.m. – 4:40 p.m. ET IV. BIDDER QUESTIONS DURING THE ASSIGNMENT PHASE, INCLUDING THE MOCK AUCTION 14. Commission auction staff will be available to respond to bidders’ questions during the assignment phase mock auction and the actual assignment phase bidding rounds. Only a person who has been designated as an authorized bidder, the contact person, or the certifying official on the qualified bidder’s FCC Form 175 should call on behalf of a bidder. To place bids by telephone or to ask time-sensitive questions during the auction, an authorized bidder must use the FCC Auction Bidder Line telephone number supplied in the registration materials and have his or her login information and RSA SecurID® token available. Bidders can also use the messaging function of the bidding system for non-time-sensitive questions or suggestions. V. CONTACT INFORMATION 15. For further information on the mock auction and assignment phase procedures, contact the Auctions Hotline at (717) 338-2868. Press contact: Cecilia Sulhoff at (202) 418-0587. For technical support questions, contact the FCC Auctions Technical Support Hotline at (877) 480-3201, option nine; (202) 414-1250; or TTY: (202) 4141255. The hours of operation for the Technical Support Hotline are 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. – FCC – 4