Federal Communications Commission 
Washington, D.C. 20554
DA 99-515 
March 15, 1999
M. Tamber Christian, Esq. 
Kraskin, Lesse & Cosson, LLP 
2120 L Street, N.W., Suite 520 
Washington, D.C.
Dear Ms. Christian:
This letter responds to the Request for Extraordinary Relief filed by you on behalf of 
Message Express Company ("MEC"). 1 MEC requests that we waive the upfront payment 
deadline of March 1, 1999, 6:00 p.m. (EST) for Auction No. 22 because the applicant's 
principal mistakenly believed that the filing deadline was March 3, 1999.2
In order to obtain a waiver of the Commission's upfront payment deadline, MEC must show 
"(i) that the underlying purpose of the rule will not be served, or would be frustrated, by its 
application in the particular case, and that grant of the waiver is otherwise in the public 
interest; or (ii) that the unique facts and circumstances of a particular case render application 
of the rule inequitable, unduly burdensome or otherwise contrary to the public interest." 3 For 
the reasons cited below, we find that MEC's Request fails to meet the Commission's criteria 
for obtaining a waiver.
On December 23, 1998, the Commission first notified applicants for Auction No. 22 that the 
deadline for submission of upfront payments was 6:00 p.m. (EST) on March 1, 1999.4 The
1 See Message Express Company, Request for Extraordinary Relief, filed March 3, 1999 ("Request"). See 
also, Letter from M. Tamber Christian to Ms. Magalie Roman Salas, Secretary, Federal Communications 
Commission (March 10 1999) ("Letter").
2 See Request at 2; "Declaration of Robert Fisher, General Manager, Message Express Company," 
attachment to Request and resubmitted in original form in Letter.
3 47 C.F.R. § 1.925; Wait Radio v. FCC, 418 F.2d 1153 (D.C. Cir. 1969), cert, denied, 409 U.S. 1027 
(1972)
* See "Auction of C, D, E, and F Block Broadband PCS Licenses; Notice and Filing Requirements for 
Auction of C, D, E, and F Block Broadband Personal Communications Services Licenses Scheduled for March 
23, 1999; Minimum Opening Bids and Other Procedural Issues," Public Notice, DA 98-2604 (rel. December 23, 
1998); see also "Correction to Attachment A; Auction of C, D, E, and F Block Broadband PCS Licenses; Notice 
and Filing Requirements for Auction C, D, E, and F Block Broadband Personal Communications Services
4013
M. Tamber Christian, Esq.
March 15, 1999
2
Commission also warned applicants that "[fjailure to deliver the upfront payment by the 
March 1, 1999 deadline [would] result in dismissal of the application and disqualification 
from participation in the auction."5
MEC states that its principal was out of the office when the Commission released guidelines 
for resubmitting incomplete short form applications (FCC Form 175) in Auction No. 22.6 
MEC argues that during a phone conversation with a co-worker concerning the status of its 
application, MEC's principal became confused and concluded that the upfront payment was 
due on March 3, 1999, the deadline for resubmission of the short-form applications.7 MEC 
notes that in previous auctions, upfront payments were due on the same day as 
resubmissions.8 MEC states that its principal discovered his error on March 3, 1999, and 
immediately wired the payment to the Mellon Bank.9 MEC claims that no other applicant 
would be unduly prejudiced by acceptance of its late upfront payment, and strict application 
of the Commission's deadline in this case would eliminate a qualified bidder from the auction 
process.10 Moreover, MEC notes that it has previously demonstrated its ability to pay the 
Commission's fees with regard to E block broadband PCS license BTA 033 (Battle Creek, 
Michigan).11
Licenses Scheduled for March 23, 1999; Minimum Opening Bids and Other Procedural Issues," Public Notice 
(rel. January 21, 1999) and "Supplement to Attachment B; Auction of C, D, E, and F Block Broadband PCS 
Licenses; Notice and Filing Requirements for Auction C, D, £, and F Block Broadband Personal 
Communications Services Licenses Scheduled for March 23, 1999; Minimum Opening Bids and Other 
Procedural Issues," Public Notice, DA 99-302 (rel. February 8, 1999). See also FCC Auction, "C, D, E & F 
Broadband PCS Auction BTA ~ Basic Trading Area, March 23, 1999," Bidder Information Package, at Tab B, 
p. 111.
5 Id.
6 Request at 2; See also "Auction of C, D, E, and F Block Broadband PCS Licenses; Status of 
Applications to Participate in the Auction; Clarification of Payment Issue Relating to Licenses Subject to Pending 
Proceedings," Public Notice, DA 99-375 (rel. Feb. 24, 1999) ("Status of Applications Public Notice").
7 Request at 2.
8 Id. at 3, citing "Auction of Broadband Personal Communications Service (D, E and F Blocks)   Status 
of Applications to Participate in Auction," Public Notice, DA 96-1235 (rel. Aug. 6, 1996). But see "Auction of 
Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS) Licenses; Status of Applications to Participate in Auction," Public 
Notice, DA 98-141 (rel. Jan. 27, 1998).
9 Request at 2.
10 Id. at 3.
ii Id. at 2.
4014
M. Tamber Christian, Esq. 
March 15, 1999
3
On the basis of the record before us, we are not persuaded that MEC has demonstrated that application 
of the deadline in its case would undercut or frustrate its purpose, nor do we find that MEC 
presented unique circumstances sufficient to justify grant of its waiver request. The 
Commission's Rules, its Public Notices and the Bidder Information Package provided 
comprehensive notice of filing and payment procedures for Auction No. 22. n An applicant is 
responsible for knowing and understanding the rules applicable to the auction in which it 
intends to participate. Allowing different deadlines for participants prejudices those 
applicants that follow the auction procedures, and the Commission's Rules are best served by 
applying deadlines in a fair and consistent manner. Accordingly, we are not convinced that a 
grant of the waiver is warranted or would be in the public interest.
Therefore, MEC's request for a waiver of the upfront payment deadline is denied. This action 
is taken under delegated authority pursuant to Section 0.331 of the Commission's Rules. 13
Sincerely,
Amy J. Zoslov
Chief, Auctions and Industry Analysis Division
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
12 See footnote 2, supra.
13 47 C.F.R. § 0.331.
4015