FCC Form 683 Application for Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I Support Auction 904 Instructions OMB Control No. 3060-1256 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Filing Deadlines ........................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Auction Forfeiture ....................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Minimum Software Requirements .............................................................................................. 7 2. LOGGING IN ...................................................................................................................................... 8 3. NAVIGATION ..................................................................................................................................... 9 4. HELP AND COMMON QUESTIONS.................................................................................................... 10 5. DIVIDE WINNING BIDS PORTION OF FCC FORM 683 ........................................................................ 11 5.1 Answer Divide Winning Bid Question and Identify FRN(s) .......................................................... 11 5.2 Associate Winning Bids to FRN .................................................................................................. 12 5.3 Divide Winning Bids Summary................................................................................................... 13 5.4 Summary and Error Review ....................................................................................................... 13 5.5 Certify and Submit .................................................................................................................... 14 5.6 Updating an Existing Divide Winning Bids Application ............................................................... 14 6. LONG-FORM APPLICATION PORTION OF FCC FORM 683.................................................................. 15 6.1 Applicant Information ............................................................................................................... 17 6.2 Winning Bids Attachments ........................................................................................................ 22 6.3 Winning Bids Summary ............................................................................................................. 27 6.4 Agreements .............................................................................................................................. 28 6.5 Ownership ................................................................................................................................ 29 6.6 Application Summary ................................................................................................................ 32 6.7 Application Attachments ........................................................................................................... 33 6.8 Certify and Submit .................................................................................................................... 35 6.9 Updating an Existing Long-Form Application ............................................................................. 36 7. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF APPLICATION INFORMATION .................................................................... 37 8. MISCELLANEOUS ............................................................................................................................. 38 8.1 Access to View FCC Form 683 .................................................................................................... 38 8.2 Contact Information.................................................................................................................. 38 2 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 Instructions Notations Internal and external links to additional reference material use different colors and underlines depending on whether the link has been visited or based on the format being accessed (e.g., PDF, eBook (.mobi), or iBook (.epub)). " Links to external web-based references appear as blue hyperlinks (e.g., Auction 904 Procedures Public Notice, Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Order, etc.) " Italicized items in red indicate different screens in the FCC Form 683 filing interface " Terms in Green refer to buttons and links in the form that must be clicked to confirm a selection " Terms in Purple indicate where attachments may need to be uploaded 3 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 RURAL DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY FUND PHASE I (AUCTION 904) LONG-FORM APPLICATION (FCC FORM 683) FILING INSTRUCTIONS 1. INTRODUCTION The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I (Auction 904) long-form application, or FCC Form 683, is designed to obtain information from long-form applicants that will be used to determine whether a long-form applicant is qualified to be authorized to receive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction support. Long-form applicants must provide the information detailed below and in the Auction 904 Procedures Public Notice1 on FCC Form 683 in order to be authorized to receive support. 1.1 Filing Deadlines Each winning bidder is required to file a post-auction application for support, also referred to as FCC Form 683. FCC Form 683 is divided into two portions  the Divide Winning Bids portion and the long-form application portion. Each winning bidder is required to file an FCC Form 683 to become authorized to receive support. Prior to completing the long-form application portion, a winning bidder may assign its winning bids among related entities. If a winning bidder apportions its winning bids among one or more related entities, those entities will be required to file the long-form application portion of an FCC Form 683 for those winning bids as described below. A winning bidder will be responsible for completing the long-form application portion of FCC Form 683 for any winning bids that it does not assign to a related entity. The Divide Winning Bids filing window will open at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Wednesday, December 9, 2020, and close at 6:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 22, 2020. During this window, a winning bidder has the option of assigning each of its winning bids to related entities using the FCC Form 683. A winning bidder that wants to assign its winning bids to related entities must submit the Divide Winning Bids portion of the FCC Form 683 electronically via the Auction Application System. The Divide Winning Bids portion of the FCC Form 683 must be submitted and confirmed prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 22, 2020. A winning bidder that does not want to assign some or all of its winning bids to related entities need not participate in this process and may ignore this portion of FCC Form 683. A winning bidder that does not timely submit the Divide Winning Bids portion of the FCC Form 683 by this deadline will be required to complete the long-form application portion of FCC Form 683 for all its winning bids. After the Divide Winning Bids filing window has closed and Commission staff has verified that winning bids have been assigned to permissible entities, the long-form application filing window will be opened for applicants winning bidders that retained any of their bids, as well as all entities that are assigned winning bids by a winning bidder to submit the long-form application portion of FCC Form 683 via the Auction Application System. This filing window will open at 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, January 14, 2021, and close 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday, January 29, 2021. The long-form application portion of the FCC Form 683 must be submitted and confirmed prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on January 29, 1 See Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I Auction Scheduled for October 29, 2020; Notice and Filing Requirements and Other Procedures for Auction 904, AU Docket No. 20-34, Public Notice, 35 FCC Rcd 6077 (2020) (Auction 904 Procedures Public Notice). 4 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 2021. The information that must be submitted by this initial long-form application filing deadline includes: " Applicant information, including legal classification, name, jurisdiction of formation, address, contact information, and responsible individual " Whether the applicant has already been designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) for all of the eligible census blocks in a winning bid(s) " Whether the applicant is required to submit audited financial statements during the long-form application process and whether it seeks confidential treatment of those financial statements " For each state in which winning bids were made, an initial project overview that describes at a high-level the applicant s intended technology and system design " For each state in which winning bids were made, a project funding description that explains how necessary construction will be funded " Spectrum access description(s) demonstrating the applicant has sufficient access to spectrum in each state " Agreement information, including providing and/or updating information regarding any agreements relating to the applicant s participation in Auction 904 " Ownership information, including providing and/or updating information regarding parties that have an ownership or other interest in the applicant and associated Commission-regulated businesses " Various certifications, including certifications regarding the applicant s compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements; financial and technical qualifications; available funds; compliance with the relevant public interest obligations and ETC requirements; and spectrum access, if applicable There are also a number of filing deadlines for information that can be submitted after the initial long-form application filing window has closed. Each of these requirements will be discussed in more detail below. Starting at 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, January 14, 2021, long-form applicants will be able to submit this information in their FCC Form 683s. Specifically, the following information must be uploaded to the FCC Form 683, and the FCC Form 683 must be submitted and confirmed prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on the following dates: " Monday, February 15, 2021: o For each state in which winning bids were made, a detailed description of the technology and system that will be used to meet the Auction 904 public interest obligations, including a network diagram certified by a professional engineer meeting the relevant requirements o A letter for each applicable state from a bank acceptable to the Commission committing to issue an irrevocable stand-by letter of credit meeting the relevant requirements to the long-form applicant " Monday, June 7, 2021: o For each state in which winning bids were made, appropriate documentation of the long-form applicant s high-cost ETC designation and a letter from an officer of the company certifying that the ETC designation covers all the relevant areas o One year of audited financial statements if audited financial statements were not submitted in the short-form application by the long-form applicant or a related entity " No later than 10 business days after a public notice announcing the long-form 5 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 applicant is ready to be authorized to receive support in a state: o A letter of credit meeting the relevant requirements for each state where the long-form applicant is ready to be authorized o A bankruptcy opinion letter from legal counsel for each letter of credit meeting the relevant requirements As discussed below, after each portion of an FCC Form 683, as applicable, has been submitted, a confirmation screen will appear. The confirmation screen will display the submission time and date, and, for the long-form application portion, a unique file number. Late applications or unconfirmed submissions will not be accepted. You may make changes that do not constitute major changes as described in Section 6.9,  Updating an Existing Long-Form Application to any portion of FCC Form 683 at any time during the applicable filing windows. Applicants are strongly encouraged to file early and are responsible for allowing adequate time for filing their applications. Information in an application will not be considered by the Commission unless you click on the CERTIFY & SUBMIT button on the Certify & Submit screen in the Auction Application System after providing or updating the information required in FCC Form 683. To reduce the risk of technical complications, do not click the CERTIFY & SUBMIT button more than once while waiting for your application submission to go through. Note: Certain information disclosed in the application will remain non-public. See Section 7,  Public Availability of Application Information for additional information. 1.2 Auction Forfeiture Winning bidders or long-form applicants that have been assigned winning bids during the Divide Winning Bids stage will be subject to a forfeiture in the event of a default before they are authorized to begin receiving support. A winning bidder or long-form applicant will be considered in default and will be subject to forfeiture if it fails to timely file a long-form application, fails to meet the document submission deadlines, is found ineligible or unqualified to receive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support by the Bureau on delegated authority, and/or otherwise defaults on its winning bids or is disqualified for any reason prior to the authorization of support. We expect long-form applicants to expeditiously complete their applications and respond in a timely manner to staff requests for additional or missing information. Any determination of default by the Bureau shall be final, and a winning bidder or long- form applicant shall have no opportunity to cure through additional submissions, negotiations, or otherwise. In the event of an auction default, a base forfeiture per violation of $3,000 may be imposed as adopted in paras. 114-17 of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Order. So that this base forfeiture amount is not disproportionate to the amount of a winning bidder s bid, the Commission has limited the total base forfeiture to 15% of the bidder s total assigned support for the bid for the support term. Notwithstanding this limitation, the total base forfeiture will also be subject to adjustment upward or downward based on the criteria set forth in the Commission s forfeiture guidelines.2 A violation is defined as any form of default with respect to the minimum geographic unit eligible for bidding. In other words, there shall be separate apparent violations for each census block group assigned in a bid. 2 See 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(B); 47 CFR § 1.80(b)(8), note to paragraph (b)(8). 6 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 1.3 Minimum Software Requirements You must complete and submit an application via the Internet using a personal computer or equivalent device. Currently, devices that use Apple® Mac OS® are not supported. Smart phones and tablets are also not currently supported. A web browser must be used to access the Auction Application System. The following web browsers are compatible with the Auction Application System: " Mozilla® Firefox®; " Google Chrome® 46.0.2490.80 or higher; or " Microsoft® Internet Explorer 9.0 or higher (compatibility mode is not supported; if you use an Internet Explorer browser, you must turn off compatibility mode in your browser s settings). However, for optimal performance, Commission staff recommends the use of either Mozilla® Firefox® or Google Chrome®. " A PDF viewer is also required. Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher is recommended (available at no cost at www.adobe.com). " The minimum screen resolution for the Auction Application System is 1024 x 768. 7 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 2. LOGGING IN To submit an FCC Form 683, open a web browser and navigate to auctions.fcc.gov (primary location) or auctions2.fcc.gov (secondary location). A long-form applicant must have an FCC Registration Number (FRN) and password to log in to the FCC s Auction Application System and complete FCC Form 683. During the filing window for completing the Divide Winning Bids portion of FCC Form 683, only winning bidders will be able to log in to FCC Form 683. During the filing window for completing the long-form application portion of FCC Form 683, winning bidders and long-form applicants that were assigned winning bids may log in to FCC Form 683. A winning bidder must log in using the same applicant FRN and password that was used in creating and filing the winning bidder s FCC Form 183 short-form application. A long-form applicant that was assigned winning bids by a winning bidder during the Divide Winning Bids stage must use the FRN that was identified for the long-form applicant entity during the Divide Winning Bids stage (i.e., such a long-form applicant should not use the winning bidder s FRN). On the Auction Application System screen, enter the winning bidder or long-form applicant s FRN and password, as applicable, and click the LOG IN button, which will take you to the My Auctions Page screen. On this screen, you may create a new or modify an existing FCC Form 683 by clicking on the Click here for FCC Form 683 link, which is under the  Connect America Fund/Rural Digital Opportunity Fund heading. This will take you to the Auction Application Manager screen. Select the Auction 904 link to begin, review, modify, or withdraw an application. Please allow up to several minutes for your application to load when you create a new application, or access a draft application you have already created to review or modify it, particularly if the long-form applicant has a large number of ownership entries. To avoid technical complications, do not click the link more than once while waiting for the application to load. 8 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 3. NAVIGATION You may access any of these screens by clicking the link for the application section you want to reach in the navigation pane on the right side of the screen titled  Application Sections. 3 To expand a group of screens, click on the triangle (3ð) to the right of the section title. When you click on the relevant section, you will be redirected to that section of the application. When a cursor passes over a clickable item, the cursor will turn into a hand icon. A long-form applicant is required to complete certain sections of the form that will display automatically depending on the information it provided in earlier portions of the form. For example, a corporate applicant, unlike a general partnership applicant, must identify a corporate officer or director responsible for the application (the  responsible party ). If the long-form applicant is a general partnership, no additional information is needed regarding an additional responsible party, and screens requesting responsible party information will not appear. However, if the long-form applicant is a corporation, subsequent screens in FCC Form 683 will ask for responsible party information. 3 To reduce the risk of technical complications, you are encouraged to click buttons on the individual application pages/screens and in the navigation windowpane only once while navigating through the form. 9 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 4. HELP AND COMMON QUESTIONS Help in filling out FCC Form 683 is available in two ways through the Auction Application System: (1) by clicking on the Help link located in each section of the application and in the upper right corner of each screen, which will open Auction Application Online Filing Help; or (2) by clicking on the text of any Common Questions links appearing on the right side of the screen. The common questions may differ from screen to screen because the common questions are linked to the information that must be supplied on that application screen. If you need further information or guidance beyond what is provided by these sources, use the contact information provided in Section 8.2,  Contact Information, of these instructions. 10 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 5. DIVIDE WINNING BIDS PORTION OF FCC FORM 683 Winning bidders will have the option to assign winning bids to related entities prior to the opening of the filing window for the long-form application portion of FCC Form 683 using Divide Winning Bids screens. At this stage, only winning bidders will be able to log into an FCC Form 683 using the FRN that they used to file their short-form applications and complete this step. Winning bidders that intend to file a long-form application for all their winning bids (i.e., do not intend to assign their winning bids to other entities) do not need to participate in this process. In such circumstances, subject to one limited exception, the winning bidder must file the long-form application in its own name, be designated as the ETC to serve the relevant areas, be named in the requisite letter(s) of credit, and fulfill the public interest obligations associated with receiving Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support. For administrative convenience, if a winning bidder is a holding/parent company that has multiple operating companies in a state and intends to assign its winning bids to multiple operating companies in a state, it may choose one of those entities to be the lead operating company. In such circumstances, the winning bids should be assigned to that lead operating company, the long-form application should be filed in the name of the lead operating company, the letter of credit should be in the name of the lead operating company, and payments will be made to the study area code associated with the lead operating company. However, the long-form application must identify which operating companies will meet the public interest obligations for which census block groups and documentation must be submitted that demonstrates that each of the operating companies has an ETC designation covering the relevant census block groups. The following sections provide more detailed instructions on how to fill out and provide the information required on the Divide Winning Bids screens. 5.1 Answer Divide Winning Bid Question and Identify FRN(s) Winning bidders that participate in the Divide Winning Bids process must respond  Yes or  No to indicate whether the winning bidder is dividing its winning bids among one or more operating companies, members of a consortium, or other related entity.4 A related entity means an entity that is controlled by the winning bidder or is a member of (or an entity controlled by a member of) a consortium/joint venture of which the winning bidder is also a member. A controlling interest is defined as an individual or entity with positive or negative de jure or de facto control. Section 1.2105(a)(4)(i) of the Commission s rules defines de jure and de facto control. Thus, if a holding/parent company is a winning bidder in Auction 904, this company may designate one or more operating companies under its control to complete the long-form application to receive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support for some or all of the winning bids in a state. If a consortium/joint venture is a winning bidder in Auction 904, the entity may designate one or more members (or an entities controlled by members of) the consortium/joint venture to complete the long-form application to receive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support for some or all of the winning bids in a state. 4 As noted above, only winning bidders that intend to assign their winning bids are required to participate in the Divide Winning Bids process. 11 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 Note: A winning bidder may assign winning bids to only the operating companies or consortium/joint venture members that were either (a) named in the short-form application or (b) formed after the short-form application filing deadline (i.e., July 15, 2020), and are controlled by the winning bidder or one or more of its members. The Auction Application System will not permit a winning bidder to assign its winning bids to another winning bidder. If you respond  No, no further action is needed on this page. Winning bidders that do not divide their bids amongst related entities will be required to submit the long-form application portion of FCC 683 for all their winning bids by the long-form application filing deadline. In such circumstances, subject to the limited exception described above for multiple operating companies within a state, the winning bidder must file the long-form application in its own name, be designated as the ETC to serve the relevant areas, be named in the requisite letter(s) of credit, and fulfill the public interest obligations associated with receiving Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support. If you respond  Yes, you must enter the FRN of each such entity by clicking the ADD button. The winning bidder s FRN will be automatically populated into the form. If a related entity does not have an FRN, the entity may obtain an FRN by registering through the Commission Registration System (CORES), which can be accessed on the Commission s website at: www.fcc.gov/cores. Upon registration, the entity will be assigned an FRN. After adding all the relevant FRNs, click the SAVE & CONTINUE button to proceed. 5.2 Associate Winning Bids to FRN For each winning bid that you wish to assign to another entity, you must associate that entity s FRN with the winning bid. You may assign winning bids to more than one entity, but you may not assign a single winning bid to more than one entity. Thus, you may not apportion among multiple entities either 1) eligible census blocks within a winning bid for a census block group, or 2) separate census block groups within a winning package bid.5 Subject to the limited exception described above for multiple operating companies within a state, the entity seeking authorization for Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support for a winning bid must file the long-form application in its own name, must be designated as the ETC to serve the relevant areas, must be the entity that is named in the letter(s) of credit, and must be the entity that fulfills the public interest obligations associated with receiving Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support. To associate a winning bid with an entity, select the checkbox next to each winning bid that you want to associate with a single entity, select the entity s FRN from the dropdown menu below the list of winning bids, and click the ASSOCIATE SELECTED WINNING BIDS TO FRN button. To associate all the winning bids with one entity, click the SELECT ALL BIDS button above the list of winning bids. 5 For example, assume a winning bidder has three winning bids package bid A, package bid B, and single bid (i.e., one census block group) C. The winning bidder could assign package bid A to one related entity, package bid B to another related entity, and single bid C to a third entity. The winning bidder could not assign some census block groups from package bid A to one related entity and then the remaining census block groups from package bid A to another entity. The entire package bid must be assigned to one related entity. Similarly, the winning bidder could not assign some eligible census blocks from single bid C to one entity and then the remaining eligible census blocks from single bid C to another related entity. The entire census block group covered by the single winning bid must be assigned to one related entity. 12 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 You can filter the list of winning bids that appear on the screen by selecting an FRN of a related entity and/or a state and clicking the SHOW FILTERED button. To associate all the filtered winning bids with one entity, click the SELECT ALL FILTERED BIDS button above the list of winning bids, select the entity s FRN from the dropdown menu below the list of winning bids, and click the ASSOCIATE SELECTED WINNING BIDS TO FRN button. To clear your selected filters, click the Clear All Filters link. To add or remove FRNs for related entities, click the Add or remove FRNs link, and you will be brought back to the Dividing Winning Bids Question screen. After associating all the winning bids, click the CONTINUE button. 5.3 Divide Winning Bids Summary The Divide Winning Bids Summary screen displays the winning bids you have associated with another entity or kept with yourself (the winning bidder). You can filter the list of winning bids that appear by selecting an FRN of a related entity and/or a state and clicking the SHOW FILTERED button. To clear your selected filters, click the Clear All Filters link. You can also sort this information by any column in ascending or descending order by clicking on the column title. After reviewing the Divide Winning Bids Summary screen, click the CONTINUE button to proceed. 5.4 Summary and Error Review The Summary screen summarizes the information provided in the previous Divide Winning Bids screens. This screen will appear prior to the Certify & Submit screen and allows you to review the information you entered on previous screens and to check for inconsistencies or omissions in the information entered. The Summary screen lists the sections of the Divide Winning Bids portion of the FCC Form 683 and displays any error and warning messages for each section. If errors are detected, you can click on the application section link and section name, and then make any necessary corrections. An error or warning message will be removed once it is corrected. When all errors have been corrected, click the CONTINUE TO CERTIFY button. You will not be able to proceed to the Certify & Submit screen if any error messages appear on the Error Summary screen, but you may submit an application with warning messages. Each winning bidder is solely responsible for providing complete and accurate information in the Divide Winning Bids portion of the FCC Form 683. The automated check for errors is provided to assist winning bidders in completing the Divide Winning Bids portion of the FCC Form 683. However, the automated check may not catch all errors, and a winning bidder cannot rely on the automated check to determine the completeness or the accuracy of submitted information. In addition, although you will be able to proceed to the Certify & Submit screen even if you receive a warning message, you should try to address or correct any issues identified in a warning before submitting your application, if possible. You should not assume that the ability to certify and submit the Divide Winning Bids portion of the FCC Form 683 with a warning message indicates that the subject of the warning will not affect whether the winning bidder will be deemed to have permissibly divided its winning bids. If the automated check does not reveal certain inconsistencies or omissions, each application section will display the message  No errors with a green checkmark. Once this happens, you may then click the CONTINUE TO CERTIFY button. 13 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 5.5 Certify and Submit The Certify & Submit screen provides several certifications required of all winning bidders that complete the Divide Winning Bids portion of FCC Form 683. The Certify & Submit screen also requests that the winning bidder s certifying official be identified and sign the application. The Divide Winning Bids portion of the FCC Form 683 must be certified by a person with the authority to bind the winning bidder. Applicants are reminded that submission of an FCC Form 683 constitutes a representation by the person certifying that he or she is an authorized representative of the winning bidder with the authority to bind the winning bidder and has read the form s instructions and certifications. Submission of an FCC Form 683 also constitutes a representation by the person certifying that the contents of the application, its certifications, and any attachments are true, complete, and correct. Submission of a false certification may result in penalties, including monetary forfeitures, license forfeitures, ineligibility to participate in future auctions, and/or criminal prosecution. 6 Once the Certify & Submit screen has been filled out, click on the CERTIFY & SUBMIT button to submit the Divide Winning Bids portion of the application. Information in this portion of an application will not be considered by the Commission unless the winning bidder s certifying official clicks the CERTIFY & SUBMIT button on this screen. Please allow up to several minutes for processing once you click the CERTIFY & SUBMIT button. To avoid technical complications, do not click the CERTIFY & SUBMIT button more than once while waiting for the system to process your submission. After the Divide Winning Bids portion of the FCC Form 683 has been submitted, a confirmation screen will be displayed that states the submission time and date. The winning bidder is strongly encouraged to print or save a copy of the confirmation page for its records. The winning bidder may view and print copies of the submitted Divide Winning Bids portion of its application by clicking the Print link in the upper right of the screen. The Divide Winning Bids portion of the FCC Form 683 must be submitted and confirmed prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 22, 2020. Late applications or unconfirmed submissions will not be accepted. 5.6 Updating an Existing Divide Winning Bids Application The Review or Modify Existing Long-Form Applications section of the Auction Application Manager screen displays any application created or submitted within an application filing window. This screen shows which auction the application was filed for, the application status, the date and time the application was last modified, and the date and time the application was last submitted. It may be used as a reference to confirm the date and time of the most recent submission of the application. To review or continue working on the Divide Winning Bids portion of an existing application, click the auction number for the application you want to review or modify (i.e., click on  904 for your Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction application). To submit any changes made to FCC Form 683, go to the Certify & Submit screen and click the CERTIFY & SUBMIT button. After the revised application has been submitted, a confirmation page will display the submission time and date. A winning bidder is strongly encouraged to print or save a copy of the confirmation page for its records. You may view and print copies of the Divide Winning Bids portion of the FCC Form 683 by clicking on the Print link in the upper right of the screen. 6 18 U.S.C. § 1621. 14 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 6. LONG-FORM APPLICATION PORTION OF FCC FORM 683 After the Divide Winning Bids filing window has closed and Commission staff has verified that winning bids have been assigned to permissible entities, all winning bidders that have retained some or all their winning bids, as well as all entities that were assigned winning bids during the Divide Winning Bids process described above, must submit the long-form application portion of the FCC Form 683. You must provide information or responses to questions on a series of screens within the long-form application portion of the FCC Form 683 or update pre-filled information to the extent necessary. Below is an overview of the different screens and the information that must be submitted on each. The sections following this summary provide more detailed instructions on how to fill out and provide the information required on each screen. Overview " Applicant Information screens: o Provide or update (to the extent necessary) pre-filled information about the long-form applicant, including its legal classification, contact information, and responsible party (if applicable) o Identify the winning bids for which the long-form applicant has already been designated as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) for all the eligible census blocks in a winning bid(s) o Identify whether the long-form applicant is required to submit audited financial statements during the long-form application process and whether it seeks confidential treatment of those statements " Winning Bids Attachments screen: o Upload the required information for specific winning bids, including information related to ETC designation, the initial project overview, the technology and system design, project funding, spectrum access, and letters of credit o Associate attachments with all winning bids or all winning bids in a state " Winning Bids Summary screen: o Provides a summary of the winning bids associated with the long-form application, including the state, items (i.e., census block groups), ETC designation status, and status of support " Agreements screens: o Identify and provide or update (to the extent necessary) pre-filled information, if applicable, about each auction-related agreement to which the long-form applicant is a party " Ownership screens: o Provide or update (to the extent necessary) pre-filled information regarding parties that have an ownership or other interest in the long-form applicant and associated Commission-regulated businesses 15 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 " Application Summary screen: o Review the results of the system s automated check for certain inconsistencies and omissions in the application " Application Attachments screen: o Upload required information that is not related to specific winning bids, including information related to agreements, audited financial statements, and indirect ownership " Certify & Submit screen: o Review and make the required certifications o Submit the application Prefilled Information If the long-form applicant is the winning bidder that filed the FCC Form 183 short-form application, the FCC Auction Application System will prefill certain categories of information from the winning bidder s FCC Form 183 short-form application into its FCC Form 683 long-form application. Such information will not be prefilled in a long-form applicant s FCC Form 683 long-form application if that long-form applicant was not a winning bidder and was instead assigned winning bids during the Divide Winning Bids stage. The long-form applicant is solely responsible for ensuring that all information contained in a submitted application is accurate, updated and complete. Information will prefill in the following sections of each winning bidder s FCC Form 683 long- form application: Applicant Information (including legal classification, applicant name, jurisdiction of formation, applicant s address, responsible party, and contact person), Agreements, and Ownership. All long-form applicants that have filed an FCC Form 175 or FCC Form 602 may also have ownership information that has been prefilled from that form, regardless of whether the applicant was a winning bidder. Moreover, any attachments that were uploaded to a winning bidder s FCC Form 183 short-form application using the Agreement or Indirect Ownership attachment  Types will be uploaded to the FCC Form 683. You will not be able to delete these attachments, so if you have any changes to these attachments you should upload a new attachment using the relevant attachment  Type and explain the changes. Please note that any other attachments that a winning bidder may have submitted with the FCC Form 183 will NOT be carried over to the FCC Form 683. To the extent that any information required for FCC Form 683 was provided in an attachment to a winning bidder s short-form application and no FCC Form 683 data field exists to provide that information, such information should be provided as an attachment to the winning bidder s FCC Form 683. If an FCC Form 683 data field is provided, responsive information must be inserted in the proper data field of the form, not in an attachment. Attachments that apply to the entire application, and are not specific to any specific winning bid, can be uploaded at any screen by clicking on the Attachments link at the top of the screen. 16 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 6.1 Applicant Information On the Applicant Information screens, you must provide or update (to the extent necessary) the information listed below. Following this list, more guidance is provided on how to fill out some of these items. " the long-form applicant s legal classification (e.g., corporation, general partnership, etc.) " the long-form applicant s name " jurisdiction of formation " the long-form applicant s address (physical location; a P.O. Box is not permitted) " the name, title, and contact information of the long-form applicant s responsible individual (unless the long-form applicant selects general partnership as its legal classification/entity type) " the name, address, telephone and fax number, and email address of a contact person who will communicate with the Commission regarding the long-form applicant s FCC Form 683 " whether the long-form applicant is an ETC for all the eligible census blocks in the winning bids associated with the long-form applicant " whether the long-form applicant or a related entity submitted audited financial statements with its short-form application " whether the long-form applicant requests confidential treatment of the financial statements submitted with its long-form application, if applicable 17 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 Applicant Legal Classification You must indicate the long-form applicant s legal classification on the Applicant Legal Classification screen before continuing to subsequent screens because the selected legal classification will determine which subsequent screens will appear. For example, a long-form applicant registering as a  General Partnership will enter information that is different from the information that a long-form applicant registering as a  Corporation will enter. If you select  Other as the long-form applicant s legal classification, a text box will open in which you must describe the long-form applicant s legal classification. For any text box in which the long-form applicant can or is required to enter information, you should not use any non-ASCII characters or select ASCII characters. After completing the information requested on the Applicant Legal Classification screen, click the SAVE & CONTINUE button. Please note that if the long-form applicant changes its legal classification, some of its previously entered applicant information will be deleted as a result of the change and will need to be reentered. Applicant Name and Applicant Address You will be required to enter the Entity Name and Jurisdiction of Formation fields on the Applicant Name/Applicant Address screen. You must also provide a street address for the long-form applicant. A P.O. Box may not be used. After completing the long-form applicant s name and address information, click the SAVE & CONTINUE button. Responsible Party and Contact Information The screen that appears after the Applicant Name/Applicant Address screen will depend on which legal classification you selected on the Applicant Legal Classification screen. For example, if you selected  General Partnership on the Applicant Legal Classification screen, you will be directed to the Contact Information/Contact Address screen, where you will be required to provide contact information for an individual who will be sent all correspondence concerning the application. If you selected any other entity type on the Applicant Legal Classification screen, you will first be directed to the Responsible Party screen, where you will be required to provide information for an individual deemed to be the responsible party for the application. If you selected  Corporation on the Applicant Legal Classification screen, you will be required to provide the name, title, and email address, but not street address, for the long-form applicant s responsible party. After completing the Responsible Party screen, you will be directed to the Contact Information/Contact Address screen. To simplify filling out FCC Form 683, a long-form applicant that has the same address as its contact person or responsible party can click on the COPY APPLICANT ADDRESS button to automatically fill in the contact person s or responsible party s address. A P.O. Box may not be used for a contact person s or responsible party s address. The COPY APPLICANT ADDRESS button is not available if the long-form applicant s location is outside of the United States. A fax number may be used for a variety of purposes, including as a backup for communicating with the long-form applicant in the event other means of communication are unavailable (if the contact person does not have a fax number, you may provide the contact person s telephone number in the fax number field). After entering the contact person s or responsible party s name, address, and other required information, click the SAVE & CONTINUE button. Commission staff will communicate only with a long-form applicant s contact person or certifying official, as designated on the long-form applicant s FCC Form 683, unless the long-form applicant s certifying official or contact person notifies the Commission in writing that the long-form 18 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 applicant s counsel or other representative is authorized to speak on its behalf. Authorizations may be sent by email to auction904@fcc.gov. Winning Bids Eligible Telecommunications Carrier Designation On the Winning Bids ETC Designation screen, you must identify the winning bid(s) for which you have been designated as a high-cost Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) for all the eligible census blocks in that winning bid. Subject to the limited exception where there are multiple operating companies in a state as described in Section 5,  Divide Winning Bids Portion of FCC Form 683, the long- form applicant must be the entity that is designated as the ETC. A long-form applicant must obtain a high-cost ETC designation from either a state public utility commission pursuant to section 214(e)(2) of the Act, or, if the relevant state lacks jurisdiction over the entity, from the Federal Communications Commission pursuant to section 214(e)(6) of the Act.7 See the ETC Public Notice for more information on obtaining an ETC designation from the Federal Communications Commission. A long-form applicant must have obtained its ETC designation(s) for all areas where it seeks to be authorized to receive support and submitted the required documentation prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on Monday, June 7, 2021. 35. In the event a long-form applicant determines that it will be unable to obtain the necessary ETC designations within 180 days, it should upload a petition for waiver of the deadline to its FCC Form 683 and in AU Docket No. 20-34 at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings. The Commission has found that it would be appropriate to waive the 180-day timeframe if the long-form applicant is able to demonstrate that it has engaged in good faith efforts to obtain an ETC designation, but the proceeding is not yet complete. A waiver of the 180-day deadline would be appropriate if, for example, an entity has an ETC application pending with a state and the state s next scheduled meeting at which it would consider the ETC application will occur after the 180-day window. When considering waivers of the 180- day timeframe for obtaining ETC designation, we will presume that an entity acted in good faith if the entity files its ETC application within 30 days of the release of the Auction 904 Closing Public Notice. To identify the winning bid(s) for which the long-form applicant has been designated as a high- cost ETC, you must select the checkbox next to each such winning bid and click the SAVE button. You should only select the checkbox next to the winning bid if the long-form applicant has already been designated as a high-cost ETC in all of the eligible census blocks in that winning bid. A lifeline-only ETC designation is not sufficient. To select all the winning bids, click the SELECT ALL ITEMS button, and to unselect all winning bids, click the UNSELECT ALL ITEMS button. This winning bids and states can be sorted by any column in ascending or descending order by clicking on the column title. To upload the required documentation and certification letter for the ETC designation(s), click the Eligible Telecommunications Carrier Attachment(s) link and the Eligible Telecommunications Carrier Certification Letter Attachment(s) links on the top of the screen or go to the Winning Bids Attachments screen. More information about this required documentation and certification letter is described in Section 6.2,  Winning Bids Attachments below. If the long-form applicant has already obtained a high-cost ETC designation that covers all the relevant areas in the state by the January 29, 2021 long-form application deadline, you should submit the required ETC documentation and certification letter with the long-form application so that Commission staff can expeditiously verify the applicant s ETC status in that state. If the long-form applicant has obtained a high-cost ETC designation for only some of the relevant areas in a state, Commission staff will not verify the applicant s ETC status in a state until the applicant has submitted the required documentation and certification letter for all the areas in the state. 7 47 U.S.C. §§ 214(e)(2), (6). 19 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 Once you have identified the winning bids for which you have a high-cost ETC designation that covers all the eligible census blocks in the winning bid, click the SAVE & CONTINUE button. If you have not been designated as an ETC in the relevant areas prior to the long-form application filing deadline, you must obtain an ETC designation in each such area, select the checkbox next to each relevant winning bid, upload the required documentation and certification letter, and re- submit and certify the FCC Form 683 prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on Monday, June 7, 2021. Financial Statements On the Financial Statements screen, you must respond  Yes or  No to indicate whether the long-form applicant or related entity submitted audited financial statements with its short-form application. A related entity for purposes of this question means the long-form applicant s parent company or, if the long-form applicant is a member of a consortium or joint venture, the member of the consortium or joint venture that submitted financial statements with the FCC Form 183 short-form application. If you answer  Yes, you are not required to submit financial statements with the long-form application portion of FCC Form 683. If you answer  No, you must submit, prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on Monday, June 7, 2021, the financial statements from the prior fiscal year (i.e., 2020 or 2019) that are audited by an independent certified public accountant, including the balance sheets, net income and cash flow, along with an opinion letter from an independent certified public accountant and the accompanying notes. You must submit either: 1) the audited financial statements of the entity that submitted its financial statements in the relevant FCC Form 183 short-form application or 2) the long-form applicant s own financial statements. Accordingly, if the long-form applicant is a member of a consortium, it should submit the audited financial statements of the consortium member that submitted its unaudited financial statements in the FCC Form 183. If the long-form applicant is an operating company of a holding company that filed an FCC Form 183 on behalf of the long-form applicant, the long-form applicant should submit the audited financial statements of the holding company. A long-form applicant also has the option of submitting its own audited financial statements instead. To attach the required audited financial statements, click the Financial Statements Attachment link or the Attachments link on the top of the screen and upload the financial statements using the  Financial Statements attachment  Type as explained below in Section 6.7,  Application Attachments . Any long-form applicant that fails to submit the audited financial statements as required by the deadline will be subject to a base forfeiture of $50,000, which will be subject to adjustment upward or downward as appropriate based on the criteria set forth in the Commission s forfeiture guidelines.8 You must also indicate, by answering  Yes or  No, whether the long-form applicant requests that the audited financial statements be withheld from public inspection pursuant to section 0.459(a)(4) of the Commission s rules as explained below in Section 7,  Public Availability of Application Information .9 You do not need to submit a separate section 0.459 confidentiality request if you answer  Yes. To ensure that the audited financial statements are withheld from public inspection if you respond  Yes, you must upload the financial statements using the  Financial Statements attachment  Type as explained below in Section 6.7,  Application Attachments . 8 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(B); 47 CFR § 1.80(b)(8). 9 47 CFR § 0.459(a)(4). 20 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 Once you have responded to the relevant questions on the Financial Statements screen, click the SAVE & CONTINUE button to proceed. 21 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 6.2 Winning Bids Attachments On the Winning Bids Attachments screen, you can upload all attachments that are related to specific winning bids and associate them with those winning bids. Attachments that are not bid-specific should be uploaded on the Application Attachments screen, as explained in Section 6.7,  Application Attachments. The top section of the screen allows you to upload attachments that you may associate with your winning bid(s). Attachments may be no larger than 10 MB. Attachments may be uploaded by browsing for the file name or by entering the file name in the File text box. The maximum length of the file name is 232 characters. The following are acceptable file name extension types for FCC Form 683 attachments: .txt, .doc, .docx, .csv, .pdf, .odt, .xls, and .xlsx. You must provide a description for the attachment. To attach an uploaded file to all winning bids associated with the application, select the Associate to ALL winning bids radio button and click the UPLOAD FILE button. To attach an uploaded file to all winning bids in a specific state, select the Associate to winning bids in a specific state radio button, select the state from the dropdown menu, and click the UPLOAD FILE button. You may select from the following attachment  Types from the  Type dropdown menu, which are organized here by when the relevant information must be submitted: Must be submitted prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday, January 29, 2021: " Initial Project Overview: As described in paragraph 302 of the Auction 904 Procedures Public Notice, a long-form applicant must submit an overview of its intended technology and system design for each state in which winning bids were made. o The overview must describe at a high level how the long-form applicant will meet its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund public interest obligations for the relevant performance tier and latency combination(s) using Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support. o Because this overview will be made publicly available, a long-form applicant should take care not to include any confidential trade secrets and/or confidential commercial information in its overview. o The overview should avoid highly technical terminology or jargon unless such language is integral to the understanding of the project. " Project Funding Description: As described in paragraph 312 of the Auction 904 Procedures Public Notice, a long-form applicant must describe how the required construction will be funded in each state. o The description should include the estimated project costs for all facilities that are required to complete the project, including the costs of upgrading, replacing, or otherwise modifying existing facilities to expand coverage or meet performance requirements to all required locations. o The estimated costs must be broken down to indicate the costs associated with each proposed service area at the state level and must specify how Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support and other funds, if applicable, will be used to complete the project. o The description must include financial projections demonstrating that the long-form applicant can cover the necessary debt service payments over the life of any loans. 22 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 o All information submitted with this submission will be treated as confidential and will be withheld from routine public inspection as discussed in Section 7,  Public Availability of Application Information below. A long-form applicant should upload this information using the  Project Funding Description attachment  Type to ensure confidential treatment. " Spectrum Access: As described in paragraphs 313 and 314 of the Auction 904 Procedures Public Notice, a long-form applicant that intends to use wireless technologies for any portion of its network to meet the relevant Rural Digital Opportunity Fund public interest obligations must demonstrate that it currently has sufficient access to spectrum in each state. A long-form applicant must: o Identify the spectrum band(s) it will use for the last mile, backhaul, and any other parts of the network and identify for which part of the network it intends to use each spectrum band; o Describe the total amount of uplink and downlink bandwidth (in megahertz) that it has access to in each spectrum band for the last mile; o Describe the authorizations (including leases) it has obtained to operate in the spectrum, if applicable and provide details about how the licensed service area covers its winning bid areas (e.g., provide a list of geographic areas that the spectrum license covers and describe how those areas related to the winning bid areas); and . If the licensee is a different party than the applicant, you should provide the licensee name and describe the relationship between the applicant and the licensee. . If the long-form applicant intends to provide service using satellite technology, you should describe its expected timing for applying for earth station license(s) if these licenses have not already been obtained. . If the long-form applicant intends to obtain microwave license(s) for backhaul, you should describe its expected timing for applying for microwave license(s) if these licenses have not already been obtained. . If an applicant has participated, is participating, or intends to participate in the Auction 105, Auction 107, 2.5 GHz Rural Tribal Priority Window, lower 37 GHz, and 6 GHz proceedings; and use the spectrum to meet its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund public interest obligations, to the extent the proceeding is still ongoing the long- form applicant must indicate the status of its participation (consistent with auction procedures regarding the disclosure of non-public auction-related information) and must provide alternatives for if it does not ultimately obtain a license (if applicable) or is unable to operate in the spectrum in time to meet its interim service milestones. Note: A proceeding is still considered ongoing with respect to an applicant until the applicant is granted the license(s) associated with any winning bids. o List the call signs and/or application file numbers and lease numbers associated with the spectrum authorizations, if applicable. Must be submitted prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on Monday, February 15, 2021: " Letter of Credit Commitment Letter: As described in paragraph 315 of the Auction 904 23 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 Procedures Public Notice, a long-form applicant must submit a letter from a bank acceptable to the Commission, committing to issue an irrevocable stand-by letter of credit to the long-form applicant for each state where it has a winning bid. A long-form applicant with winning bids in multiple states may submit a single commitment letter that covers all of the relevant states as long as it is clear that the letter is applicable to the relevant states. o The letter of credit commitment letter must be from a bank that meets the Commission s eligibility requirements as set forth in paragraph 107 of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Order and section 54.804(c) of the Commission s rules. o The letter must, at a minimum, provide the dollar amount of the letter of credit and the issuing bank s agreement to follow the terms and conditions of the Commission s model letter of credit in Appendix C of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Order. o The letter should commit to issue a letter of credit that covers the first year of support (at a minimum) for that state. " Technology and System Design Description: As described in paragraphs 301-311 of the Auction 904 Procedures Public Notice, a long-form applicant must submit, for each state where it has a winning bid, a detailed description of its technology including a network diagram certified by a professional engineer. o The description and network diagram must describe in detail the network to be built or upgraded, demonstrate the project s feasibility, and provide sufficient detail to demonstrate the long-form applicant can meet the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund public service obligations and the service milestones if it becomes authorized to receive support. Paragraphs 301-311 of the Auction 904 Procedures Public Notice provide guidance on how a long-form applicant can successfully meet this requirement, depending on the types of technologies it proposes to use to meet the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund public interest obligations. Further educational materials regarding this requirement will also be made available on the Auction 904 website, https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904. o The professional engineer must certify that he or she has reviewed each state network diagram and that the network is capable of delivering, to at least 95% of the required number of locations in each relevant state, voice and broadband service that meets the requisite performance requirements. While it is not necessary for this requirement that the professional engineer have a Professional Engineer license, the certification should describe the professional engineer s qualifications such that the certifier s network design and performance expertise is apparent. o Wireless coverage maps should be submitted in ESRI Shapefile format. The component files (including the .SHP, .SHX, .DBF, and .PRJ files) should be uploaded in a single compressed .ZIP archive. Recommended standards and data fields will be made available on the Auction 904 website, https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904. Long-form applicants will see an error message when they upload the .ZIP archive to the long-form application, but the error will not prevent long-form applicants from submitting their applications provided that the submission occurs prior to the deadline and Commission staff should still be able to access the file. Commission staff will contact a long-form applicant after the filing deadline if there are any issues with the file. The FCC Form 683 attachment size limit is 10 MB. 24 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 o All Auction 904 support recipients will be subject to the Commission s National Security Supply Chain proceeding, including the rule that  no universal service support may be used to purchase, obtain, maintain, improve, modify, or otherwise support any equipment or services produced or provided by any company posing a national security threat to the integrity of communications networks or the communications supply chain. 10 The prohibition on using universal service funds applies  to upgrades and maintenance of existing equipment and services. 11 o All information submitted with this submission will be treated as confidential and will be withheld from routine public inspection as discussed in Section 7,  Public Availability of Applicant Information below. A long-form applicant should upload this information using the  Technology and System Design Description attachment  Type from the dropdown list to ensure confidential treatment. Must be submitted prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on Monday, June 7, 2021: " ETC Designation: As described in paragraphs 316-317 of the Auction 904 Procedures Public Notice, a long-form applicant is required to submit appropriate documentation of its high-cost ETC designation in all areas for which it will receive support. The long-form applicant must be the entity that is designated as the ETC subject to the limited exception where there are multiple operating companies in a state as described in Section 5,  Divide Winning Bids Portion of FCC Form 683 . o Appropriate documentation should include the original designation order, any relevant modifications, e.g., expansion of service area, along with any relevant name-change orders. o A long-form applicant is also required to provide documentation showing that the designated areas (e.g., census blocks, wire centers, etc.) cover the relevant winning bid areas, so that it is clear the long-form applicant has a high-cost ETC designation that covers all eligible census blocks in the winning bid(s). Such documentation could include maps of the long-form applicant s ETC designation area, map overlays of the winning bid areas, and/or charts listing designated areas. Applicants should also upload a .csv file of the census blocks that are included in the ETC designation order(s). " ETC Certification Letter: As described in paragraph 316 of the Auction 904 Procedures Public Notice, a long-form applicant is required to submit a letter(s) from an officer of the company certifying that the long-form applicant s ETC designation for each state covers the relevant areas where the long-form applicant will receive support. Must be submitted by no later than 10 business days after a public notice announcing that long-form applicant is ready to be authorized in a state(s): " Letter of Credit: As described in paragraph 319 of the Auction 904 Procedures Public Notice and paragraphs 96-113 of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Order, for each state where it will be authorized, a long-form applicant must obtain an irrevocable standby letter of credit from an acceptable bank. 10 47 CFR § 54.9(a). 11 Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communication Supply Chain through FCC Programs et al., WC Docket No. 18-89, Report and Order et al., 34 FCC Rcd 11423, 11453, para. 77 (2019). 25 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 o The letter of credit must be issued by a bank that meets the Commission s eligibility requirements as set forth in paragraph 107 of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Order. o The letter of credit must be issued in substantially the same form as set forth in the model letter of credit provided in Appendix C of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Order. o The long-form applicant must be the entity that is named in the letter(s) of credit. o The letter of credit must cover the first year of support for that state, at a minimum. o Before a support recipient can receive its next year s support, it must modify, renew, or obtain a new letter of credit to increase its value as set forth in paragraphs 96-104 of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Order until it has been verified that the support recipient has met certain service milestones. The support recipient must maintain an open, irrevocable standby letter of credit until it has certified that it offers the required service to 100% of the Connect America Cost Model (CAM)-determined location total by the end of year six (or WCB s adjusted CAM location count if there are fewer locations) and the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) has verified that the build out obligation has been fulfilled. More information about the service milestones and WCB s recalculation of location totals is provided in paragraphs 45-55 of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Order. o A list of common letter of credit errors is available at https://www.fcc.gov/file/18256/download. " Letter of Credit Opinion Letter- As described in paragraph 320 of the Auction 904 Procedures Public Notice, a long-form applicant must provide with its letter(s) of credit an opinion letter(s) from outside counsel. The letter(s) must clearly state, subject only to customary assumptions, limitations, and qualifications, that, in a proceeding under the Bankruptcy Code, the bankruptcy court would not treat the letter(s) of credit or proceeds of the letter(s) of credit as property of the long-form applicant s bankruptcy estate, or the bankruptcy estate of any other bidder- related entity requesting issuance of the letter of credit, under section 541 of the Bankruptcy Code.12 Optional: " Waiver- A long-form applicant seeking waiver of the Commission s rules pursuant to section 1.3 of the Commission s rules should upload its petition using this attachment  Type. Petitions for waiver should also be uploaded to AU Docket No. 20-34 at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings. " Other- A long-form applicant that wishes to submit information that is not covered under another attachment  Type should upload the information using this attachment  Type. The bottom section of the Winning Bids Attachments screen lists attachments that you have uploaded in conjunction with the attachment  Type. Additionally, this section displays the date that the attachment was uploaded. You may view the attachments by clicking the file name link in the  File Name column and delete attachments from this section of the screen by clicking the REMOVE button in the  Actions column. After you have uploaded all the relevant bid-specific attachments, click the CONTINUE button to proceed. If a long-form applicant needs to modify information provided in an attachment after the 12 11 U.S.C. § 541. 26 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 initial long-form application deadline on Friday, January 29, 2021, it must upload a new attachment with the modified/updated information and indicate that the new attachment replaces the previous attachment. 6.3 Winning Bids Summary The Winning Bids Summary screen lists each winning bid associated with the long-form applicant and provides additional information as shown below. This information can be sorted by any column in ascending or descending order by clicking on the column title. This page displays the following information: " Winning Bid  This column identifies the long-form applicant s winning bid(s) by name. " State  This column identifies the state in which the winning bid is located. " Items  This column indicates the number of census block groups that are in a bid. If you click on the number link in each row, you will be brought to a table that shows the Item identification, the performance tier and latency associated with the census block group, the county where the census block group is located, the census block group identification number, and the number of locations in eligible census blocks within the census block group. To go back to the Winning Bids Summary screen, click the BACK button. " ETC  This column indicates whether the long-form applicant has indicated that it is an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier for all the eligible census blocks covered by the winning bid. " Status of Support  This column displays the status of each winning bid after the long-form application is processed and reviewed by Commission staff. Once you have reviewed the Winning Bids Summary screen, click the CONTINUE button to proceed. 27 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 6.4 Agreements On the Agreements screens, you must provide information regarding any agreements relating to the long-form applicant s participation in the competitive bidding or update to the extent necessary any prefilled information from a previously filed FCC Form 183 short-form application. Specifically, on the Agreements with Other Parties screen, you must indicate, by responding  Yes or  No, whether the long-form applicant has entered into any agreement(s) relating to the participation of the long-form applicant in the competitive bidding. If you select  No and then click SAVE & CONTINUE, you will be directed to the Ownership series of screens, described in Section 6.5,  Ownership . If you select  Yes and then click SAVE & CONTINUE, you will be directed to the View/Edit Agreements screen. On the View/Edit Agreements screen, you must make an entry for each agreement you need to disclose by clicking the CREATE NEW AGREEMENT button. On the Create New Agreement screen, you must provide an identifying name and the agreement type. The agreement identifier can be a brief description of the agreement or a simple reference name; however, each agreement identifier must be unique. If the agreement type is not listed as an option under the dropdown menu, select  Other and enter a description in the text box that subsequently appears. You must also identify the parties, other than the long-form applicant, to each agreement disclosed on the application and indicate the type of party (i.e., entity or individual). You may provide an FRN for the other party to the agreement, if available. While providing the FRN is optional, including that information may prevent identification errors resulting from parties having similar names or a single party using multiple names. After completing the required information for each party, you must click the ADD PARTY button to save the information. Additional parties can be added by selecting the type of party, entering the applicable information, and clicking the ADD PARTY button. The Clear link can be used to cancel a party type selection clicked in error. After adding a particular party, the name of that party and its associated FRN can be edited by clicking the EDIT button or be deleted from the form by clicking the REMOVE button. After identifying all parties to any particular agreement(s), click the SAVE & CONTINUE button. The next screen, the View/Edit Agreements screen, lists the agreements and parties to each agreement that you have entered. From this screen, the following options are available: " Click the EDIT button to modify agreement information; " Click the DELETE AGREEMENT button to delete an agreement and associated parties; " Click the CREATE NEW AGREEMENT button to add a new agreement; and " Click the Agreements link in the  Application Sections box to return to the initial Agreements with Other Parties screen, which asks whether the long-form applicant has entered into any agreements that must be disclosed. A long-form applicant that has entered into any agreement(s) that are subject to disclosure under the Commission s rules must also upload an attachment that briefly describes each such agreement. You must select  Agreement as the attachment  Type when uploading the document. The procedure for uploading this required attachment is described below in Section 6.7,  Application Attachments . When the long-form applicant has confirmed the accuracy of all agreements and the parties to each agreement that it has disclosed, click the CONTINUE button. 28 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 6.5 Ownership On the Ownership screens, you can provide information regarding parties that have an ownership or other interest in the long-form applicant, which must be disclosed under the Commission s rules, or update pre-filled information to the extent necessary. Sections 1.2112(a) and 54.804(b)(2)(i) of the Commission s rules list the disclosable interest holders (DIHs) in the long-form applicant that must be reported in FCC Form 683.13 These DIHs in the long-form applicant include any individual or entity that directly or indirectly owns and/or controls the long-form applicant, such as: " any party holding 10% or more of stock in the long-form applicant, whether voting or non-voting, common or preferred, including the specific amount of the interest or percentage held; " natural persons that control the applicant such as officers and directors; " in the case of a limited partnership, each limited partner whose interest in the long- form applicant is 10% or greater; " in the case of a general partnership, each partner and its share in the partnership; " in the case of a limited liability company, each member whose interest in the long-form applicant is 10% or greater; and " all parties holding indirect ownership interests in the long-form applicant that equals 10%or more of the long-form applicant as discussed below. The Commission s rules require that holders of both direct and indirect interests must be reported, which may include insulated interest holders and holders of non-voting stock/equity in the long-form applicant. All real parties in interest must be disclosed in the application. This almost always means that natural persons should be listed as DIHs in the application. As a result, an application with only corporations or other business entities listed as DIHs will likely be found to be incomplete. In the case where there are no natural persons that own 10% or greater or exercise control of a long-form applicant or a long-form applicant s corporate owner, you should identify the long-form applicant s officers and directors and/or those of its parent(s) as DIHs in the application. In such circumstances, you should also state in an attachment to the application that no persons or entities have a 10% or greater ownership interest in the long-form applicant so there is no ambiguity when the application is reviewed. All indirect DIHs must be disclosed not just direct owners of the long-form applicant. In order to determine whether an individual or entity should be reported as an indirect DIH, successively multiply the ownership percentages for each link in the vertical ownership chain that equal 10% or more of the applicant. If the ownership percentage for an interest in the chain exceeds 50% or represents de facto control, it should be treated and reported as if it were a 100% interest. In some cases, the sum of all the percentages held by the DIHs may exceed 100%. In addition, section 1.2112(a)(7) of the Commission s rules lists the FCC-regulated business entities or applicants for an FCC license (FRBs) that must be disclosed in FCC Form 683.14 13 Section 54.804(b)(2)(i) requires the disclosure on the auction application of long-form applicant ownership information as set forth in section 1.2112(a). 47 CFR §§ 1.2112(a), 54.804(b)(2)(i). 14 Id. § 1.2112(a)(7). 29 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 View/Edit Ownership Disclosure Information The View/Edit Ownership Disclosure Information screen summarizes any ownership information entered in FCC Form 683, either automatically from information on file with the Commission (e.g., from a previously filed FCC Form 602, FCC Form 183, or other auction application) or directly by the long-form applicant. To view the detailed information that has been pre-filled or otherwise already submitted regarding a DIH or FRB, click on the relevant party s name. To delete existing information in one of these categories, click on the relevant party s name and then click the DELETE button next to the name. To add a new DIH or FRB, click on the relevant ADD button. Each screen will specify the information that the long-form applicant must provide. Once all ownership information that has been entered has been confirmed as accurate on the View/Edit Ownership Disclosure Information screen, click the CONTINUE button. o Adding Disclosable Interest Holders To add a DIH, click on the ADD button on the View/Edit Ownership Disclosure Information screen, which will direct you to the Add Disclosable Interest Holder screen. You must make a DIH entry for any individual or entity required to be disclosed under section 1.2112(a) of the Commission s rules.15 On this screen and subsequent screens, you must provide information about the type of DIH (i.e., entity or individual), contact information for the DIH, type of interest the DIH has in the long-form applicant, percent of interest held in the long-form applicant, and the DIH s jurisdiction of formation (for an entity) or citizenship (for an individual). If the DIH holds an ownership interest that is not listed on the screen (e.g., another type of option or debt securities), select  Other and enter the DIH s interest(s) in the  Specify field accordingly. You have the option of providing the FRN of a DIH, but an FRN entry is not required. If you enter one or more DIHs with indirect ownership interest(s) in the long-form applicant on the Add Disclosure Interest Holder Type screen,16 you must include an attachment describing the relationship between the indirect interest holder(s) and the long-form applicant. The attachment should provide an overview of the ownership chain that links the indirect owner(s) to the long-form applicant, e.g., indirect owners X and Z own 50% of holding company Y, and holding company Y owns 100% of the long-form applicant.17 You should provide only one attachment connecting all indirect owners to the long-form applicant. The information in the attachment should be consistent with the information already provided in the data fields of FCC Form 683. You must select  Indirect Ownership as the attachment  Type when uploading this attachment. The procedure for uploading this required attachment is described below in Section 6.7,  Application Attachments . The  Percent of Interest Held in Applicant should reflect the DIH s aggregate ownership interests in the long-form applicant (both direct and indirect). In some cases (e.g., circumstances where there is joint ownership or indirect ownership resulting in different owners sharing the same ownership interests), the sum of the percentages held by all DIHs collectively may exceed 100%. In other cases (e.g., a director with no ownership in the long-form applicant), a DIH may have a zero percent ownership interest in the long-form applicant. 15 Id. § 1.2112(a). 16 Id. § 1.2112(a)(6). 17 Id. 30 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 After completing the necessary information for a DIH, click the SAVE & CONTINUE button. This will direct you to the Information for DIH screen, which will summarize the information you submitted for a particular DIH. To edit any information entered for that DIH, click the OPEN button next to the section in which you need to make changes. The Information for DIH screen also provides a button that allows you to add an FRB entry directly to an existing DIH, without needing to reenter the DIH s information. After you have made any necessary FRB entries for each DIH and have confirmed the accuracy of all the information on the Information for DIH screen, click the CONTINUE button. o Adding FCC Regulated Businesses To add an FRB of the long-form applicant, click on the ADD button on the View/Edit Ownership Disclosure Information screen, which will direct you to the Add FCC Regulated Business of Applicant screen. The Add FCC Regulated Business of Applicant screen asks you to provide the name of the FRB, its principal business, and percent of interest held.  Percent of Interest Held refers to the percent of interest held by the long-form applicant in the FRB. To add an FRB of a DIH, click the ADD BUSINESS button under the DIH s name in the Disclosable Interest Holders of this Applicant section on the View/Edit Ownership Disclosure Information screen. The Add FCC Regulated Business of DIH screen asks you to provide the name of the FRB, its principal business, and percent of interest held.  Percent of Interest Held refers to the percent of interest held by the DIH in the FRB. To simplify filling out FCC Form 683, you can click on the Select Entities Already Entered link on the Add FCC Regulated Business of Applicant or the Select Entities Already Submitted link on the Add FCC Regulated Business of DIH screens, respectively, when disclosing an FRB previously entered as an FRB for the long-form applicant or another DIH. When you click the Select Entities Already Entered link on the Add FCC Regulated Business of Applicant or the Select Entities Already Submitted link on the Add FCC Regulated Business of DIH screen, you will be redirected to the Copy FCC Regulated Business of Applicant screen or the Copy FCC Regulated Business of DIH screen, as applicable. On these screens, you can select each previously entered entity you want to copy. Please note that the only names that will appear in the list displayed on these screens are previously entered FRBs of the long-form applicant and previously entered DIHs that are entities. Once you have finished copying any FRB(s) of the long-form applicant or DIHs to the applicable screens, be sure to enter the  Percent of Interest Held in the FRB by the applicable party (either the long-form applicant or the DIH). After entering or copying the necessary information for a particular FRB, you must click the ADD button to save the information. Once you have entered all necessary FRB information, click the SAVE & CONTINUE button. 31 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 6.6 Application Summary The Application Summary screen summarizes the information provided in the previous screens. This screen will appear prior to the Certify & Submit screen and allows you to review the information you entered on previous screens and to check for inconsistencies or omissions in the information entered. The Application Summary screen lists the sections of the long-form application portion of the FCC Form 683 and displays any error and warning messages for each section. If errors are detected, you can click on the application section link and section name, and then make any necessary corrections. You can click the VIEW ALL button to display all the error and warning messages and click the HIDE ALL button to hide all the error and warning messages. An error message will be removed once it is corrected. When all errors have been corrected, click the CONTINUE TO CERTIFY button. You will not be able to proceed to the Certify & Submit screen if any error messages appear on the Application Summary screen. Each long-form applicant is solely responsible for providing complete and accurate information in the long-form application portion of its FCC Form 683. The automated check for errors is provided to assist applicants in completing FCC Form 683. However, the automated check may not catch all errors, and a long-form applicant cannot rely on the automated check to determine the completeness or the accuracy of submitted information. In addition, although you will be able to proceed to the Certify & Submit screen even if you receive a warning message, you should try to address or correct any issues identified in a warning before submitting your application, if possible. You should not assume that the ability to certify and submit FCC Form 683 with a warning message indicates that the subject of the warning will not affect whether the long-form applicant will be deemed qualified to be authorized to receive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support. If the automated check does not reveal certain inconsistencies or omissions, each application section will display the message  No errors with a green checkmark. Once this happens, you may then click the CONTINUE TO CERTIFY button. 32 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 6.7 Application Attachments When a long-form applicant needs to provide information not entered directly on the FCC Form 683 screens that is not related to a specific bid (e.g., a description of the relationship among indirect ownership interests of the long-form applicant, audited financial statements, a brief description of a disclosed agreement, etc.), such information should be provided in an attachment via the Application Attachments screen. Attachments for specific bids are discussed in Section 6.2,  Winning Bids Attachments . To get to the Application Attachments screen, you should click on the Attachments link in the upper right-hand side of any screen. The Application Attachments screen requests information regarding the type of attachment to be added, the file to be attached, and a brief description of the attachment. Attachments may be no larger than 10 MB. Attachments may be uploaded by browsing for the file name or by entering the file name in the File text box. The maximum length of the file name is 232 characters. The following are acceptable file name extension types for FCC Form 683 attachments: .txt, .doc, .docx, .csv, .pdf, .odt, .xls, and .xlsx. You must provide a description for the attachment. The following scenarios require an attachment that is not bid-specific. Select the appropriate  Type for each attachment from the dropdown menu. " If you indicate on the Financial Statements screen that the long-form applicant or related entity did not submit financial statements with its short-form application, select  Financial Statements as the  Type of attachment in the dropdown list and upload the required audited financial statements. See Section 6.1,  Applicant Information for more information. The audited financial statements are due prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on Monday, June 7, 2021. " If you indicate on the Agreements with Other Parties screen that the long-form applicant has entered into any agreement(s) relating to the participation of the long-form applicant in the competitive bidding, select  Agreement as the  Type of attachment in the dropdown list and upload the required attachment providing a brief description of the agreement. See Section 6.4,  Agreements for more information. If you do not select the appropriate attachment  Type, an error message will appear on the Application Summary screen, and the application will not be able to be certified and submitted. " If you indicate on the Add Disclosable Interest Holder Type screen that one or more DIH has an indirect ownership interest in the long-form applicant, select  Indirect Ownership as the  Type of attachment in the dropdown list and upload the required attachment describing the relationship between the indirect ownership interest holder(s) and the long-form applicant. See Section 6.5,  Ownership for more information. If you do not select the appropriate attachment  Type, an error message will appear on the Application Summary screen, and the application will not be able to be certified and submitted. For any other attachments the long-form applicant needs or wishes to upload in support of its application, select the appropriate attachment  Type in the dropdown list. If a request for a waiver or exemption of any of the Commission s rules or procedures needs to be uploaded pursuant to section 1.3 of the Commission s rules, select  Waiver as the  Type of attachment in the dropdown list to help 33 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 facilitate prompt processing of the request.18 Petitions for waiver should also be filed in AU Docket No. 20-34 at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings. A request for confidential treatment of information uploaded with an application (other than the audited financial statements for which a long-form applicant may request confidential treatment pursuant to section 0.459(a)(4) directly on the Financial Statements screen) should be identified as such by selecting  Confidential Treatment as the  Type of attachment in the dropdown list.19 This attachment  Type is only to be selected for the submission of a request for confidential information. It should not be used for submitting other information that the applicant wishes to be kept confidential, and the Commission shall have no obligation to treat an applicant s selection of  Confidential Treatment as the attachment  Type as a properly filed request under 47 CFR § 0.459(a)(4) for the attachment. As explained in Sections 6.2 & 7,  Winning Bid Attachments &  Public Availability of Application Information, information submitted using the  Technology and System Design Description,  Project Funding Description,  Letter of Credit Commitment Letter,  Letter of Credit, and  Letter of Credit Opinion Letter attachment  Types will be withheld from routine public inspection, thus a long-form applicant does not need to submit a confidentiality request for this information. After selecting the correct file attachment, click the UPLOAD FILE button. You may experience a short delay as the system processes an uploaded attachment. A list of any attachments already uploaded to the long-form applicant s FCC Form 683 will appear at the bottom of the screen. You can click the file name link to view attachments that have already been uploaded. Once all attachments are uploaded, click the CONTINUE button. If a long-form applicant needs to modify information provided in an attachment after the initial long-form application deadline on January 29, 2021, it must upload a new attachment with the modified/updated information and indicate that the new attachment replaces the previous attachment. 18 47 CFR § 1.3. 19 See 47 CFR § 0.459. A long-form applicant requesting confidential treatment of any information submitted with its short-form application must follow the requirements set forth in section 0.459 when submitting this attachment, including providing a statement of the reasons for withholding the information for which confidential treatment is sought from inspection and the facts upon which those records are based. See 47 CFR § 0.459(b). The Commission will not consider casual requests for confidential treatment (e.g., selecting  Confidential Treatment as the attachment  Type without providing the information required under section 0.459). 34 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 6.8 Certify and Submit The Certify & Submit screen provides several certifications required of all Auction 904 long-form applicants.20 The Certify & Submit screen also requests that the long-form applicant s certifying official be identified and sign the application. An FCC Form 683 must be certified by a person with the authority to bind the long-form applicant. In the event that changes are made to any of the information in FCC Form 683 after the application filing deadline, the changes will have to be certified as well. Long-form applicants are reminded that submission of an FCC Form 683 constitutes a representation by the person certifying that he or she is an authorized representative of the long-form applicant with the authority to bind the long-form applicant and has read the form s instructions and certifications. Submission of an FCC Form 683 also constitutes a representation by the person certifying that the contents of the application, its certifications, and any attachments are true, complete, and correct. Submission of a false certification may result in penalties, including monetary forfeitures, license forfeitures, ineligibility to participate in future auctions, and/or criminal prosecution. Once the Certify & Submit screen has been filled out, click on the CERTIFY & SUBMIT button to submit the application. Information in an application will not be considered by the Commission unless the long-form applicant s certifying official clicks the CERTIFY & SUBMIT button on this screen. Please allow up to several minutes for processing after you click the CERTIFY & SUBMIT button, particularly if the long-form applicant has a large number of ownership entries. To avoid technical complications, do not click the CERTIFY & SUBMIT button more than once while waiting for the system to process your submission. After the application has been submitted, a confirmation screen will display the submission time and date, along with a unique file number. The long-form applicant is strongly encouraged to print or save a copy of the confirmation page for its records. The long-form applicant may view and print copies of its submitted application by clicking the Print link under the file number or by using the Print link in the upper right of the screen. FCC Form 683 applications for Auction 904 must be submitted and confirmed prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday, January 29, 2021. The long-form applicant is strongly encouraged to submit its application well in advance of the filing deadline as late applications or unconfirmed submissions will not be accepted. 20 See id. §§ 1.21004; 54.804(b). 35 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 6.9 Updating an Existing Long-Form Application The Review or Modify Existing Long-Form Applications section of the Auction Application Manager screen displays any application created or submitted within an application filing window. This screen shows which auction the application was filed for, the application status, the date and time the application was last modified, and the date and time the application was last submitted. It may be used as a reference to confirm the date and time of the most recent submission of the application. To review or continue working on the long-form application portion of an existing application, click the auction number for the application you want to review or modify (i.e., click on  904 for your Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction application), which will display the application s Application Summary screen in a view/edit mode. To submit any changes made to FCC Form 683, go to the Certify & Submit screen and click the CERTIFY & SUBMIT button. After the revised application has been submitted, a confirmation page will display the application s file number and submission time and date. A long-form applicant is strongly encouraged to print or save a copy of the confirmation page for its records. You may view and print copies of the submitted application by clicking on the Print link under the file number or by using the Print link in the upper right of the screen. After the filing deadline for the long-form application portion of the FCC Form 683, a long-form applicant will be permitted to make only minor changes to the information provided in its application that was required to be submitted as of the filing deadline.21 Examples of minor changes include the revision of addresses and telephone numbers of the long-form applicant, its responsible party, and its contact person. Major modifications will not be permitted.22 Major modifications would include, for example, making changes in ownership information that would constitute an assignment or transfer of control of the long-form applicant, changing any of the required certifications, and changing the long- form applicant s legal classification that would result in a change in control. 21 Id. § 54.804(b)(6)(iii). 22 Id. § 54.804(b)(6)(iv). 36 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 7. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF APPLICATION INFORMATION The determination of whether an applicant is qualified to receive support is based upon all of the information that is submitted with the long form application. Accordingly, long-form application information will generally be publicly available after the Commission staff completes its review. Therefore, a long-form applicant should take care not to include any unnecessary sensitive information, such as Taxpayer Identification Numbers or Social Security Numbers, in its application. However, consistent with the Commission s limited information procedures in place for Auction 904, certain information may be withheld from routine public inspection even after support is authorized. Information related to a long-form applicant s detailed technology and system design, its project funding description, and its letter of credit will be treated as confidential and will be withheld from public inspection. The Commission will treat long-form applicants that submit this information as having made a request to treat this information as confidential trade secrets and/or commercial information.23 To ensure that this information is afforded such treatment, a long-form applicant should upload any such information using the  Technology and System Design Description,  Project Funding Description,  Letter of Credit Commitment Letter,  Letter of Credit, or  Letter of Credit Opinion Letter attachment  Type in the drop down box, as relevant. The procedure for uploading bid-specific attachments is described in Section 6.2,  Winning Bid Attachments . Moreover, a long-form applicant seeking to use the abbreviated process under section 0.459(a)(4) to request confidential treatment of the audited financial statements attached to its long- form application may do so directly on FCC Form 683 via the Financial Statements screen and need not submit a separate section 0.459 request.24 To ensure that this information is afforded such treatment, a long-form applicant should upload its audited financial statements using  Financial Statements as the  Type of attachment in the dropdown list. See Sections 6.1 & 6.7,  Applicant Information &  Application Attachments for more information. Nevertheless, if a request for public inspection under section 0.461 is made for the long-form applicant s audited financial statements, detailed technology and system design description, or project funding description, the long-form applicant will be notified and then must justify the continued confidential treatment of the information if it objects to the disclosure.25 A long-form applicant may request that any other information submitted in its application not be made routinely available for public inspection following the procedures set forth in section 0.459 of the Commission s rules.26 Such requests must be uploaded as an attachment to the long-form applicant s FCC Form 683 using the  Confidential Treatment attachment  Type and must, among other things, identify the specific information to which the request applies. Because the required information bears on each applicant s qualifications, requests for confidential treatment other than that discussed above will not be routinely granted. This  Confidential Treatment attachment  Type is only to be selected for the submission of a request for confidential information. It should not be used for submitting other information that the applicant wishes to be kept confidential, and the Commission shall have no obligation to treat an application s selection of the attachment  Type  Confidential Treatment as a properly filed request under 47 CFR § 0.459(a)(4) for the attachment. 23 Id. § 0.459(a)(4). 24 Id. § 0.459. 25 Id. § 0.461 26 Id. § 0.459. 37 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 MISCELLANEOUS 8.1 Access to View FCC Form 683 After Commission staff completes its application review, interested parties may view the auction applications (except for any application information that is subject to the limited information disclosure procedures adopted by the Commission for Auction 904) by searching for them in the Commission s database. To start a search, go to either auctions.fcc.gov (primary location) or auctions2.fcc.gov (secondary location) and click the Auction Application Search link in the  Public Access area on the Auction Application System screen. 8.2 Contact Information For further information concerning Auction 904, contact the appropriate individual or office listed below: Auction 904 Email & Webpages auction904@fcc.gov http://www.fcc.gov www.fcc.gov/auction/904 Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline Heidi Lankau, Ian Forbes, or Lauren Garry at (202) Competition Bureau 418-7400 For General Universal Service Information Auctions Division, Office of Economics and Analytics Mark Montano or Daniel Habif at (202) 418-0660 For Post-Auction Rules, Policies, and Regulations Technical Support (877) 480-3201, option nine; or (202) 414-1250 Electronic Filing (202) 414-1255 (TTY) Auction Application System Hours of service: 8:00 a.m.  6:00 p.m. ET, (Hardware/Software Issues) Monday through Friday FCC Forms (800) 418-3676 (outside Washington DC) (202) 418-3676 (in the Washington DC area) http://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (202) 418-0530 For Accessible Formats: (202) 418-0432 (TTY) fcc504@fcc.gov Office of Communications Business Opportunities For Questions Concerning Small Business Inquiries: (202) 418-0990 www.fcc.gov/ocbo/ Electronic Code of Federal Regulations www.ecfr.gov 38 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020 39 FCC Form 683 Instructions V.1 Released: December 7, 2020