§  1.2105   Bidding application and certification procedures; prohibition of
certain communications.

   Link to an amendment published at  78 FR 50254 , August 16, 2013.

   (a) Submission of Short-Form Application (FCC Form 175). In order to be
   eligible to bid, an applicant must timely submit a short-form
   application (FCC Form 175), together with any appropriate upfront
   payment set forth by Public Notice. Beginning January 1, 1999, all
   short-form applications must be filed electronically.

   (1) All short-form applications will be due:

   (i) On the date(s) specified by public notice; or

   (ii) In the case of application filing dates which occur automatically
   by operation of law ( see, e.g., 47 CFR 22.902), on a date specified by
   public notice after the Commission has reviewed the applications that
   have been filed on those dates and determined that mutual exclusivity
   exists.

   (2) The short-form application must contain the following information:

   (i) Identification of each license on which the applicant wishes to
   bid;

   (ii)(A) The applicant's name, if the applicant is an individual. If the
   applicant is a corporation, then the short-form application will
   require the name and address of the corporate office and the name and
   title of an officer or director. If the applicant is a partnership,
   then the application will require the name, citizenship and address of
   all general partners, and, if a partner is not a natural person, then
   the name and title of a responsible person should be included as well.
   If the applicant is a trust, then the name and address of the trustee
   will be required. If the applicant is none of the above, then it must
   identify and describe itself and its principals or other responsible
   persons; and

   (B) Applicant ownership and other information, as set forth in
   §  1.2112.

   (iii) The identity of the person(s) authorized to make or withdraw a
   bid;

   (iv) If the applicant applies as a designated entity pursuant to
   §  1.2110, a statement to that effect and a declaration, under penalty
   of perjury, that the applicant is qualified as a designated entity
   under §  1.2110.

   (v) Certification that the applicant is legally, technically,
   financially and otherwise qualified pursuant to section 308(b) of the
   Communications Act of 1934, as amended. The Commission will accept
   applications certifying that a request for waiver or other relief from
   the requirements of section 310 is pending;

   (vi) Certification that the applicant is in compliance with the foreign
   ownership provisions of section 310 of the Communications Act of 1934,
   as amended;

   (vii) Certification that the applicant is and will, during the pendency
   of its application(s), remain in compliance with any service-specific
   qualifications applicable to the licenses on which the applicant
   intends to bid including, but not limited to, financial qualifications.
   The Commission may require certification in certain services that the
   applicant will, following grant of a license, come into compliance with
   certain service-specific rules, including, but not limited to,
   ownership eligibility limitations;

   (viii) An exhibit, certified as truthful under penalty of perjury,
   identifying all parties with whom the applicant has entered into
   partnerships, joint ventures, consortia or other agreements,
   arrangements or understandings of any kind relating to the licenses
   being auctioned, including any such agreements relating to the
   post-auction market structure.

   (ix) Certification under penalty of perjury that it has not entered and
   will not enter into any explicit or implicit agreements, arrangements
   or understandings of any kind with any parties other than those
   identified pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)(viii) regarding the amount of
   their bids, bidding strategies or the particular licenses on which they
   will or will not bid.

   (x) Certification that the applicant is not in default on any
   Commission licenses and that it is not delinquent on any non-tax debt
   owed to any Federal agency.

   (xi) An attached statement made under penalty of perjury indicating
   whether or not the applicant has ever been in default on any Commission
   license or has ever been delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to any
   Federal agency.

   Note to paragraph ( a ): The Commission may also request applicants to
   submit additional information for informational purposes to aid in its
   preparation of required reports to Congress.

   (b) Modification and Dismissal of Short-Form Application (FCC Form
   175). (1) Any short-form application (FCC Form 175) that does not
   contain all of the certifications required pursuant to this section is
   unacceptable for filing and cannot be corrected subsequent to the
   applicable filing deadline. The application will be dismissed with
   prejudice and the upfront payment, if paid, will be returned.

   (2) The Commission will provide bidders a limited opportunity to cure
   defects specified herein (except for failure to sign the application
   and to make certifications) and to resubmit a corrected application.
   During the resubmission period for curing defects, a short-form
   application may be amended or modified to cure defects identified by
   the Commission or to make minor amendments or modifications. After the
   resubmission period has ended, a short-form application may be amended
   or modified to make minor changes or correct minor errors in the
   application. Major amendments cannot be made to a short-form
   application after the initial filing deadline. Major amendments include
   changes in ownership of the applicant that would constitute an
   assignment or transfer of control, changes in an applicant's size which
   would affect eligibility for designated entity provisions, and changes
   in the license service areas identified on the short-form application
   on which the applicant intends to bid. Minor amendments include, but
   are not limited to, the correction of typographical errors and other
   minor defects not identified as major. An application will be
   considered to be newly filed if it is amended by a major amendment and
   may not be resubmitted after applicable filing deadlines.

   (3) Applicants who fail to correct defects in their applications in a
   timely manner as specified by public notice will have their
   applications dismissed with no opportunity for resubmission.

   (4) Applicants shall have a continuing obligation to make any
   amendments or modifications that are necessary to maintain the accuracy
   and completeness of information furnished in pending applications. Such
   amendments or modifications shall be made as promptly as possible, and
   in no case more than five business days after applicants become aware
   of the need to make any amendment or modification, or five business
   days after the reportable event occurs, whichever is later. An
   applicant's obligation to make such amendments or modifications to a
   pending application continues until they are made.

   (c) Prohibition of certain communications. (1) Except as provided in
   paragraphs (c)(2), (c)(3), and (c)(4) of this section, after the
   short-form application filing deadline, all applicants for licenses in
   any of the same geographic license areas are prohibited from
   cooperating or collaborating with respect to, discussing with each
   other, or disclosing to each other in any manner the substance of their
   own, or each other's, or any other competing applicants' bids or
   bidding strategies, or discussing or negotiating settlement agreements,
   until after the down payment deadline, unless such applicants are
   members of a bidding consortium or other joint bidding arrangement
   identified on the bidder's short-form application pursuant to
   §  1.2105(a)(2)(viii).

   (2) Applicants may modify their short-form applications to reflect
   formation of consortia or changes in ownership at any time before or
   during an auction, provided such changes do not result in a change in
   control of the applicant, and provided that the parties forming
   consortia or entering into ownership agreements have not applied for
   licenses in any of the same geographic license areas. Such changes will
   not be considered major modifications of the application.

   (3) After the filing of short-form applications, applicants may make
   agreements to bid jointly for licenses, provided the parties to the
   agreement have not applied for licenses in any of the same geographic
   license areas.

   (4) After the filing of short-form applications, a holder of a
   non-controlling attributable interest in an entity submitting a
   short-form application may acquire an ownership interest in, form a
   consortium with, or enter into a joint bidding arrangement with, other
   applicants for licenses in the same geographic license area, provided
   that:

   (i) The attributable interest holder certifies to the Commission that
   it has not communicated and will not communicate with any party
   concerning the bids or bidding strategies of more than one of the
   applicants in which it holds an attributable interest, or with which it
   has a consortium or joint bidding arrangement, and which have applied
   for licenses in the same geographic license area(s); and

   (ii) The arrangements do not result in any change in control of an
   applicant; or

   (iii) When an applicant has withdrawn from the auction, is no longer
   placing bids and has no further eligibility, a holder of a
   non-controlling, attributable interest in such an applicant may obtain
   an ownership interest in or enter into a consortium with another
   applicant for a license in the same geographic service area, provided
   that the attributable interest holder certifies to the Commission that
   it did not communicate with the new applicant prior to the date that
   the original applicant withdrew from the auction.

   (5) Applicants must modify their short-form applications to reflect any
   changes in ownership or in membership of consortia or joint bidding
   arrangements.

   (6) Any applicant that makes or receives a communication of bids or
   bidding strategies prohibited under paragraph (c)(1) of this section
   shall report such communication in writing to the Commission
   immediately, and in no case later than five business days after the
   communication occurs. An applicant's obligation to make such a report
   continues until the report has been made. Such reports shall be filed
   as directed in public notices detailing procedures for the bidding that
   was the subject of the reported communication. If no public notice
   provides direction, such notices shall be filed with the Chief of the
   Auctions and Spectrum Access Division, Wireless Telecommunications
   Bureau, by the most expeditious means available.

   (7) For purposes of this paragraph:

   (i) The term applicant shall include all controlling interests in the
   entity submitting a short-form application to participate in an auction
   (FCC Form 175), as well as all holders of partnership and other
   ownership interests and any stock interest amounting to 10 percent or
   more of the entity, or outstanding stock, or outstanding voting stock
   of the entity submitting a short-form application, and all officers and
   directors of that entity; and

   (ii) The term bids or bidding strategies shall include capital calls or
   requests for additional funds in support of bids or bidding strategies.

   Example: Company A is an applicant in area 1. Company B and Company C
   each own 10 percent of Company A. Company D is an applicant in area 1,
   area 2, and area 3. Company C is an applicant in area 3. Without
   violating the Commission's Rules, Company B can enter into a consortium
   arrangement with Company D or acquire an ownership interest in Company
   D if Company B certifies either (1) that it has communicated with and
   will communicate neither with Company A or anyone else concerning
   Company A's bids or bidding strategy, nor with Company C or anyone else
   concerning Company C's bids or bidding strategy, or (2) that it has not
   communicated with and will not communicate with Company D or anyone
   else concerning Company D's bids or bidding strategy.

   [ 63 FR 2341 , Jan. 15, 1998, as amended at  63 FR 29958 , June 2, 1998;  63 FR 50799 , Sept. 23, 1998;  64 FR 59659 , Nov. 3, 1999;  65 FR 52345 , Aug.
   29, 2000;  66 FR 54452 , Oct. 29, 2001;  71 FR 15619 , Mar. 29, 2006;  71 FR 26251 , May 4, 2006;  72 FR 48843 , Aug. 24, 2007;  75 FR 4702 , Jan. 29,
   2010;  75 FR 9797 , Mar. 4, 2010]

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