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 STATEMENT  OF  CHAIRMAN  KEVIN  J.  MARTIN 
 Re:  Auction  of  Advanced  Wireless  Services  Licenses  Scheduled  for  June  29,  2006;  Notice  and  Filing  Requirements,  Minimum  Opening  Bids,  Upfront  Payments  and  Other 
 Procedures  for  Auction  No.  66,  AU  Docket  No.  06-  30,  FCC  06-  47 


 Our  action  today  is  part  of  our  continuing  efforts  to  ensure  the  integrity  of  our  auction  processes.  Auctions  have  proven  to  be  an  effective  mechanism  to  assign  efficiently  spectrum 
 licenses.  Although  our  auctions  have  generally  functioned  well,  allegations  of  collusive  behavior  have  been  raised  in  regard  to  past  auctions.  Despite  various  attempts  to  address  these  concerns, 
 the  Commission’s  auction  processes  continue  to  provide  opportunities  for  various  types  of  collusion  and  other  anti-  competitive  bidding  behavior.  Unfortunately,  the  ongoing  susceptibility 
 of  our  auctions  to  these  practices  is  no  secret;  methods  for  exploiting  our  auctions  have  been  described  in  detail  in  articles  directed  specifically  at  the  Commission’s  current  auction  format.  In 
 light  of  this  evidence,  I  believe  it  is  essential  that  we  make  an  effort  to  foreclose  anti-  competitive  bidding  behavior  in  this  auction. 


 In  addressing  these  issues,  we  have  taken  into  account  the  concerns  raised  by  potential  bidders  and  attempted  to  incorporate  their  proposals  to  the  extent  possible.  I  recognize  that  there 
 may  be  some  legitimate  reasons  why  bidders  want  to  observe  the  identities  of  the  provisionally  winning  bidders.  I  also  share  the  concerns  of  some  commenters  that  a  departure  from  past 
 practices  could  have  unintended  consequences.  I  am  also  concerned,  however,  about  the  potential  for  anti-  competitive  bidding  behavior  in  this  auction,  which  could  distort  this  auction.  I  believe 
 the  approach  we  adopt  today  –  which  is  based  upon  a  proposal  supported  by  numerous  commenters  in  the  record  –  strikes  an  appropriate  balance  between  these  competing  concerns. 
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