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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  25  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  News  Media  Contact: 
 February  27,  2001  Atif  Harden  at  (202)  418-  7931 


 SAINT  ANSELM’S  ABBEY  SCHOOL  COMPUTER  STUDENTS  TO  BE  HONORED  TODAY  BY  FCC  FOR  THEIR  HELP  IN  TESTING  AUCTION  SOFTWARE 


 Washington,  DC  --  Today,  the  FCC’s  Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau  will  be 
 honoring  21  computer  students  from  Saint  Anselm’s  Abbey  High  School,  Washington,  DC,  for 
 their  help  in  testing  a  new  software  interface  for  the  upcoming  700  MHz  auction. 


 Last  summer,  auction  rules  for  package  bidding  were  developed  and  a  software  system 
 was  implemented  to  conduct  the  700  MHz  auction.  This  auction  will  include  12  regional 
 licenses  and  will  allow  bidders  to  create  packages  of  2  or  more  licenses  and  bid  on  up  to  12 
 packages  in  the  auction. 


 Because  the  auction  rules  and  the  software  interface  had  never  been  used  in  an  auction, 
 the  Wireless  Bureau,  along  with  the  software  development  contractor  and  subcontractor,  trained 
 21  students  from  St.  Anselm’s  to  participate  in  a  test  of  the  Package  Bidding  System.  The 
 students  received  three  sessions  of  training  before  the  first  test  that  was  conducted  on  Saturday, 
 January  20,  2001.  A  debriefing  of  the  first  auction  and  further  preparation  for  a  second  test  was 
 held  on  Tuesday,  February  6,  2001.  The  final  auction  test  was  conducted  on  Saturday,  February 
 10,  2001. 


 The  bureau’s  objective  in  having  high  school  students  learn  the  rules  and  participate  in  a 
 test  auction  was  to  enhance  its  training  capabilities,  find  software  bugs  in  the  system,  and 
 determine  if  the  concepts  and  rules  of  a  combinatorial  auction  could  be  easily  explained  and 
 understood.  It  also  hoped  that  the  students  could  identify  strategies  that  they  employed  to  win  in 
 the  auction.  The  students  were  given  license  and  package  valuation  and  an  overall  budget  for  the 
 auction.  The  bureau  attempted  to  create  financial  incentives  for  the  students  so  that  the  auction 
 would  simulate  an  actual  auction. 


 The  event  today  will  be  at  2:  15  pm  in  the  3rd  Floor  South  Conference  Room  at  the  FCC, 
 445  12th  St.,  SW. 


 -  FCC  - 
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