Federal Communications Commission DA 20-120 DA 20-120 February 5, 2020 CLOSE OF CLOCK PHASE BIDDING IN AUCTION 103 (UPPER 37 GHz, 39 GHz, AND 47 GHz) SCHEDULE FOR ASSIGNMENT PHASE MOCK AUCTION AVAILABILITY OF ASSIGNMENT PHASE USER GUIDE AND ONLINE TUTORIAL ASSIGNMENT PHASE BIDDING BEGINS FEBRUARY 18, 2020 AU Docket No. 19-59 1. On January 30, 2020, bidding in the clock phase of the incentive auction of Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service (UMFUS) licenses in the Upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz bands (Auction 103) concluded with the net revenue requirement being met. 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 103. 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, in which they can place bids for specific frequency blocks. This Public Notice along with information necessary to participate in the assignment phase will be sent by overnight delivery to winning clock phase bidders. 2. We remind applicants that the rule prohibiting certain communications set forth in section 1.2105(c) of the Commission’s rules applies to each party that filed a short-form application (FCC Form 175-A and/or FCC Form 175) in Auction 103. See 47 CFR § 1.2105(c)(1); see also Incentive Auction of Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service Licenses in the Upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz Bands for Next-Generation Wireless Services; Notice and Filing Requirements, Minimum Opening Bids, Upfront Payments, and Other Procedures for Auction 103; Bidding in Auction 103 Scheduled to Begin December 10, 2019, Public Notice, 34 FCC Rcd 5532, 5547, paras. 41, 43 (2019) (Auction 103 Procedures Public Notice). Accordingly, an applicant must not disclose its 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 103. The prohibition on certain communications relating to Auction 103 applies until the deadline for winning bidders in Auction 103 to submit down payments. Auction 103 Procedures Public Notice, 34 FCC Rcd at 5548, para. 45; see also 47 CFR § 1.2105(c)(1). I. OVERVIEW OF UPCOMING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR BIDDERS PARTICIPATING IN THE 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 Tuesday, February 11, 2020, and 12 noon ET on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, to download their assignment phase bidding options (based on 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 Wednesday, February 12, 2020, bidders will have access to the bidding system for the assignment phase mock auction. On Thursday, February 13, 2020, we will conduct a mock auction for the assignment phase of Auction 103, according to the schedule announced below. The first round of the assignment phase bidding will begin on Tuesday, February 18, 2020. 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 procedures for the assignment phase. We 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, we have provided the “Auction 103 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 have also made available an online tutorial for bidding in the assignment phase. The tutorial explains the structure of the assignment phase, the process for determining winning assignments and associated payments, and the calculation of final auction payments. Also available is a file formats document that provides, for each assignment phase bidding system data file, a description of the file, the data fields that are included (with definitions of the data elements in each field), the data type, examples, and notes. Sample data files are also provided. The user guide, tutorial, file formats, and sample files are available in electronic form in the “Education” section of the Auction 103 website at www.fcc.gov/auction/103 and will remain available and accessible on the Auction 103 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. During the preview period beginning on 10:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, bidders eligible to participate in the assignment phase will be able to log in to the assignment phase bidding system using a link for the system that will be sent by overnight delivery to each bidder to access the information described below. 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 (i) the same bidders won the same number of blocks in each of the PEAs in the group, and (ii) all of the PEAs in the group are in the same Regional Economic Area Grouping (REAG) and are either subject to the small market bidding credit cap or not subject to the cap. Auction 103 Procedures Public Notice, 34 FCC Rcd at 5597, para. 223. The same assignment will be made for all of the PEAs in the group. 8. Bidding Options. Bidders can download a list of their bidding options provided in the “My Bids and Options” download. This file provides information about all 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 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 Tuesday, February 18, 2020. The top-20 PEAs will be assigned first—one PEA per assignment round—in order from PEA001 to PEA020. Id. at 5596-97, para. 222. Once the top-20 PEAs have been assigned, the remaining PEAs 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 for PEAs in order from PEA021 to PEA416 (except when PEAs that would otherwise be in a later round are grouped with PEAs in earlier rounds). 10. Access to the actual assignment phase data will be suspended during the mock auction but will become available again at 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday, February 14, 2020—the day before bidding in the assignment phase begins. During the mock auction, bidders will 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 Thursday, February 13, 2020. 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 103. 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-20 PEAs, with bidding conducted in six REAGs during each round, so that more PEAs are available for bidding 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 in five mock assignment rounds. 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 Wednesday, February 12, 2020. The mock auction bidding schedule for Thursday, February 13, 2020, 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 – 3