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219-219 MHz Radio Service |
The 218-219 MHz Radio
Service is a short-distance communication service designed
for licensees to transmit information, product, and service
offerings to subscribers and receive interactive responses
within a specified service area. Mobile operation is permitted.
Rules permit both common carrier and private operations, as
well as one- and two-way communications. Potential applications
include ordering goods or services offered by television services,
viewer polling, remote meter reading, vending inventory control,
and cable television theft deterrence. See the 218-219
MHz Radio Service for more detail. |
220 MHz Service |
The 220 MHz Service is
assigned the frequencies between 220-222 MHz. Licenses granted
authorizations for operations on or before May 24, 1991 or
applications received on or before May 24, 1991 are referred
to as "Phase I". Licenses granted from applications
received after May 24, 1991 are referred to as "Phase
II". Phase I 220 MHz Service licensing was conducted
by lotteries. Phase II 220 MHz Service licenses are awarded
through competitive bidding. Licensees authorized in the Phase
II 220 MHz Service will be able to provide voice, data, paging
and fixed communications. See the 220
MHz Fact Sheet, 220 MHz Map
and 220 MHz Service for more
details. |
39 GHz Service |
The frequency range for
the 39 GHz service is between 38,600 and 40,000 MHz. Point-to-point,
point-to-multipoint, and mobile operations (after conclusion
of a separate proceeding addressing interference issues) are
allowed. This service can be used for a variety of applications,
which could include, among other things, providing communications
infrastructure for existing services such as broadband PCS,
cellular, and other commercial and private mobile radio operations.
For further information, consult Part 101 of the Federal Communication's
Rules or see the 39 GHz Fact Sheet
and the 39 GHz (BTA) Map. |
700 MHz (Lower) Band |
This band consists of
forty-eight megahertz of spectrum, 698-746 MHz, previously
allocated to television stations on Channels 52-59. A licensee
on the Lower 700 MHz Band is permitted to provide fixed, mobile,
and broadcast services. Possible uses of this spectrum include
mobile and other digital new broadcast operations, fixed and
mobile wireless commercial services (including FDD- and TDD-based
services), as well as fixed and mobile wireless uses for private,
internal radio needs. For further information, see the Lower
700 MHZ Fact Sheet, Lower
700 MHZ Map and Lower 700
MHz Service. |
700 MHz (Upper) Band |
This band consists of
thirty megahertz of spectrum, 747-762 and 777-792 MHz, previously
allocated to television stations on Channels 60-62 and 65-67.
This spectrum was reallocated for commercial use including
fixed, mobile and broadcasting services. The potential to
deploy new methods of providing high speed internet access
is offered by this spectrum. It is also suitable for new fixed
wireless services in underserved areas, as well as next generation
high speed mobile services. For further information, see the
Upper 700 MHz Fact Sheet and the
Upper 700 MHz Map. |
700 MHz Guard Band |
This band encompasses
six megahertz of spectrum, 746-747/776-777 MHz and 762-764/792-794
MHz, which will be awarded through competitive bidding to
a new class of commercial licensee called Guard Band Managers.
These frequencies are located immediately adjacent to the
public safety spectrum, therefore, "guard bands"
have been established to protect public safety users from
interference. This spectrum was previously allocated to television
stations on Channels 60-62 and 65-67 but was reallocated for
commercial use in the guard bands for fixed and mobile services.
For further information, see the Upper
700 MHz Guard Bands Fact Sheet and 700
MHz Guard Bands. |
1670-1675 MHz Band |
The band consists of
five megahertz of spectrum which was reallocated for non-Government
use. Licensees authorized in this service will be able to
provide a variety or combination of fixed, mobile (except
aeronautical mobile), common carrier, and non-common carrier
services. The band is shared on a co-primary basis with the
Federal Government and may be limited by geographic area,
time, or other means. For further information, see the 1670-1675
MHZ Fact Sheet. Operations in this band will be generally
regulated under the framework of our Part 27 technical, licensing,
and operating rules. |
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A |
Absolute Increment |
See Bid
Increment. |
Activity |
A general reference regarding
the level of bidder participation in an auction. |
Activity Rules |
To ensure that an auction
closes within a reasonable period of time and to increase
the information conveyed by bid prices during the auction,
the Federal Communications Commission utilizes "activity
rules" which prevent bidders from waiting until the end
of the auction before participating. Bidders are required
to bid actively or be active (have a standing high bid) on
a certain percentage of their bidding units (purchased by
upfront payment prior to the auction) in every round. The
required level of activity increases in each stage of the
auction. |
Activity Rule Waiver |
See Waiver
(Activity Rule Waiver). |
AM Broadcast (AM) |
A broadcast station
licensed for the dissemination of radio communications intended
to be received by the public and operated on a channel in
the AM broadcast band. |
Automatic Waiver |
See Waiver
(Activity Rule Waiver). |
Average
Price (pop-weighted) |
A measure of average
price in dollars per pop in the auction, based on census data.
The average price pop-weighted is calculated by dividing total
auction revenue by the total population in the auction. |
Average
Price (unweighted) |
A measure of average
price in dollars per pop, calculated by averaging the price
per unit of population for each license. The average price
is calculated as the sum of the series: (revenue for each
license/population for each license) / number of licenses.
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B |
Basic
Trading Area (BTA) |
A geographic area, based
on the Rand McNally 1992 Commercial Atlas & Marketing
Guide, 123rd Edition, pages 38-39, used by the Federal Communications
Commission to define the coverage of spectrum licenses for
certain services. The United States is divided into 487 BTAs.
The Commission has further defined 6 other BTA-like areas:
American Samoa; Guam; Northern Mariana Islands; San Juan,
Puerto Rico; Mayaguez/Aguadilla-Ponce, Puerto Rico; and the
United States Virgin Islands, for a total of 493 BTAs. See
the Basic Trading Area (BTA) map
for more details. |
Bid
Increment |
An FCC-determined minimum
amount by which a bidder must increase a standing high bid.
The bid increment is a fundamental activity rule which helps
ensure that the pace of an auction is sufficient. Without
a bid increment, bidders could increase bids by nominal amounts
(such as $1.00 over the previous high bid), thereby increasing
the time required for a license to reach its final value.
(For more information, refer to
About Auctions) Two frequently used methods of calculating
a bid increment are:
Absolute Increment:
A specific percentage amount (e.g., 10%) of the high bid.
Exponential Smoothing:
This method bases the bid increment for each license on a
weighted average of the activity on that license in the most
recently completed round and the activity on that license
in all previous rounds. Simply put, when a license receives
a substantial number of bids (three or more) the increment
is higher, and when the number of bids decreases the increment
is smaller. See Exponential
Smoothing paper for more details. |
Bid Removal |
Before the close of
a bidding period, a bidder has the option of removing any
bids placed in that round. By using the remove bid function
in the software, a bidder may effectively "unsubmit"
any bid placed within that round. A bidder removing a bid
placed in the same round is not subject to withdrawal payments.
See also Bid Withdrawal. |
Bid Withdrawal |
Withdrawal of a high
bid by the high bidder during the course of an ongoing auction.
Bid withdrawals are subject to a withdrawal payment if the
license ultimately sells for less than the withdrawn bid amount.
The bid withdrawal activity rule serves to deter insincere
bidding. |
Bid Withdrawal Activity
Rule |
A service-specific procedure,
that, when applied, limits the bidder to withdrawals in a
specified number of rounds during the course of the auction.
This rule is designed to deter insincere bidding. |
Bidding Credit |
A percentage discount
applied to the high bid amount for a license if the bidder
meets specific designated entity criteria established in the
auction rules. Bidders must apply for bidding credits when
they file the FCC Form 175. |
Bidding
Unit (BU) |
A unit of measure applied
to the licenses being auctioned and to the bidder's eligibility
level. Prior to an auction, licenses are assigned a specific
number of bidding units for the purpose of calculating bidder
compliance with the activity rules in each stage of the auction.
In addition, during the upfront payment phase, bidders must
purchase a sufficient amount of bidding units to ensure they
are eligible to place bids on the licenses they desire. In
the majority of our auctions, each upfront payment dollar
equates to one bidding unit. |
Broadband PCS (Broadband
Personal Communications Services) |
Operate in the 1850-1890
MHz, 1930-1970 MHz, 2130-2150 MHz, and 2180-2200 MHz bands.
Broadband PCS provides a variety of mobile services that compete
with existing cellular services. See the C
Block Fact Sheet, the D, E,
& F Block Fact Sheet, the PCS
Bandplan, and Broadband
PCS for more details. For further information, consult
Part 24, Subpart E, of the Federal Communications Commission's
Rules. |
BTA |
See Basic
Trading Area. |
BU |
See Bidding
Unit. |
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C |
CEA |
See Component Economic Area. |
Cellular Service |
Radio telecommunication
services provided using a cellular system. See Cellular System. |
Cellular System |
An automated high-capacity
system of one or more multi-channel base stations designed
to provide radio telecommunication services to mobile stations
over a wide area in a spectrally efficient manner. Cellular
systems employ techniques such as low transmitting power and
automatic hand-off between base stations of communications
in progress to enable channels to be reused at relatively
short distances. Cellular systems may also employ digital
techniques such as voice encoding and decoding, data compression,
error correction, and time or code division multiple access
in order to increase system capacity. See Cellular
Services for more detail. |
Component Economic Area (CEA) |
A geographic area delineated
by the Regional Economic Analysis Division, Bureau of Economic
Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce February 1995. There
is a total of 354 service areas based on the 348 Component
Economic Areas, with the following six FCC-defined service
area additions: American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands,
San Juan (Puerto Rice), Mayagüez/Aguadilla-Ponce (Puerto
Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. |
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D |
Designated Entities |
Small businesses, businesses
owned by members of minority groups and/or women, and rural
telephone companies that meet size or other criteria established
for specific services. |
Designated Market Areas (DMAs) |
Have been developed
by Nielsen Media Research (“Nielsen”) utilizing
audience survey information from cable and non-cable households
to determine the assignment of counties to local television
markets. The 214 service areas are based on the 210 DMAs delineated
by Nielsen in its publication entitled “U.S. Television
Household Estimates” dated September 2002 plus the following
four FCC defined service area additions: Alaska - Balance
of State (all geographic areas of Alaska not included in Nielsen’s
three DMAs for the state: Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau),
Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the
United States Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. While most
DMAs consist of one contiguous geographic area, a few are
composed of multiple noncontiguous areas. There are a total
of 214 DMAs and FCC-defined DMA-like service areas that encompass
the United States, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands,
Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, and American
Samoa. |
Direct
Broadcast Satellite (DBS) Service |
A radiocommunication
service in which signals transmitted or retransmitted by space
stations are intended for direct reception by the general
public. In the Direct Broadcast Satellite Service the term
"direct reception" shall encompass both individual
reception and community reception. See Direct
Broadcast Satellite (DBS) Fact Sheet for more details.
For further information, consult Part 100 of the Federal Communications
Commission's Rules. |
DMA |
See Designated Market Area |
Down
Payment |
Each winning bidder
in a typical auction must submit a down payment to the Federal
Communications Commission in an amount sufficient to bring
its total deposits up to 20 percent, or the amount specified
in the auction procedures, of its winning bid within ten business
days following the release of a public notice announcing the
close of bidding. Upfront funds on deposit will be applied
toward the down payment, after satisfying any withdrawal payments
and/or defaulted net high bid amounts due. In certain auctions,
e.g., where installment payments were permitted, bidders were
able to break their initial down payment into two components:
first and second down payments. See First
Down Payment, Second Down Payment,
Final Payment. |
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E |
EA |
See Economic
Area. |
Economic Area (EA) |
A geographic area established
by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce
and used by the Federal Communications Commission to define
the coverage of spectrum licenses for certain services. There
are 172 EAs, plus three EA-like areas, encompassing the Northern
Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin
Islands and Puerto Rico. See the Maps
page and the EA Map for
more details. |
Electronic Remote
Bidding |
See Remote
Electronic Bidding. |
Eligibility Ratio |
The ratio of total bidding
units held by all bidders to the total bidding units for all
licenses in the auction. The ratio will approach 1.0 as bidders
drop eligibility. The eligibility ratio is a very informative
predictor of an auction. A healthy eligibility ratio at the
start of an auction is approximately 3 to 1, which basically
means that there are three bidders for every license being
auctioned. Examples of eligibility ratios for past auctions:
PCS C Block auction 6.72 to 1, WCS auction 1.54 to 1. |
Exponential Smoothing |
See Bid
Increment. |
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F |
FCC Account Number |
A ten digit number,
assigned to bidders by the FCC upon filing of the short-form
application, used to identify and track applicants and bidders.
See Form 175. |
FCC-Held Licenses |
A license is listed as
"FCC held" because either no bid has yet been placed
on the license, or because a high bid has been withdrawn and
no bidder has placed a subsequent bid on the license. |
Filing Status (accepted,
incomplete, rejected) |
After the initial deadline
for filing FCC Form 175 applications has passed, the FCC will
process all timely applications to determine which are acceptable
for filing. Those applications that are "accepted"
are complete and deemed accepted for participation in the
auction. Those applications that are "incomplete"
have minor defects that may be corrected, and the applicant
will be given a chance to correct the application. Those applications
that are "rejected" will not be able to participate
in the auction. |
Final
Payment |
After verifying receipt
of the proper down payment, reviewing the winning bidder's
long-form application, and resolving any petitions to deny
or other oppositions filed, the Federal Communications Commission
will announce by public notice that the license is ready to
be issued. A winning bidder that is not a small business will
then have ten business days from the release of this public
notice to submit the full balance of its winning bid. See
also Down Payment, First
Down Payment, Second Down Payment.
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First
Down Payment |
Initial post-auction
payment by an entity eligible to pay for a license(s) in installments.
The amount of the first down payment is calculated as a specified
percentage of the net high bid plus any applicable withdrawal
payments for each license. After bidding has ended, the Federal
Communications Commission will issue a public notice declaring
the auction closed. Within a specified number of business
days after release of an auction closing notice, each winning
bidder must submit sufficient funds to bring the total amount
of money on deposit with the government to a specified percentage
of the sum of its net winning bids. The details of the amount
and timing of the first down payment are auction-specific.
See Down Payment, Second
Down Payment, Final Payment.
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FM Broadcast (FM)
|
A station employing
frequency modulation in the FM broadcast band and licensed
primarily for the transmission of radio telephone emissions
intended to be received by the general public. |
Footprint |
The area of service
coverage by a telecommunications provider. |
Form 159 |
The FCC Remittance Advice
Form that accompanies any payment due the FCC. |
Form
175 (short-form application) |
Initial application
form which must be submitted by a bidder in order to participate
in an FCC auction. |
Form
600 Series (long-form application) |
Full license application
form which must be filed by winning bidders within a specified
number of days after the close of the auction. |
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G |
General Wireless
Communications Service (GWCS) |
GWCS licensees may provide
any fixed or mobile communications service except Broadcast
services, Radiolocation services, and Satellite services on
their assigned frequency. These include but are not limited
to voice, video, and data transmission, private microwave,
broadcast auxiliary, and ground-to-air voice and video. |
Gigahertz (GHz) |
A measure of spectrum
equal to one billion hertz or one thousand megahertz. |
Guard Band Manager |
The guard band manager
is a new class of commercial licensee created for use in the
Upper 700 MHz Guard Bands. Guard Band Managers can engage in the
business of leasing spectrum to third parties on a for-profit
basis, which can include both commercial service providers
as well as private entities. The Guard Band Manager will be
required to adhere to strict frequency coordination and interference
rules, and control use of the spectrum so as to facilitate
protection for public safety. |
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H |
Hertz (Hz) |
A measure of spectrum
equal to one cycle per second (cps). One kilohertz (kHz) equals
1,000 cps; one megahertz (MHz) equals 1 million cps; one gigahertz
(GHz) equals 1 billion cps. |
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I |
Installment Payment |
Payments made after
second down payment and license grant based on an amortization
schedule for each license. Terms and conditions of installment
payment plans are auction-specific. |
Instructional Television
Fixed Service (ITFS) |
Stations are intended
primarily to provide formal educational and cultural development
in aural and visual form to students enrolled in accredited
public and private schools, colleges and universities. Operates
between 2.5 and 2.686 MHz. See the MDS
& ITFS Bandplan or the Instructional
Television Fixed Service (ITFS) Web page. For further
information, consult Part 74, Subpart I of the Federal Communications
Commission's Rules and ITFS
& MDS. |
Interactive Video
and Data Service (IVDS) |
(Currently known as
218-219 MHz Radio Service) A point-to-multipoint, multipoint-to-point,
short distance communications service capable of providing
information, products, or services to and allow interactive
responses from subscribers in the licensee's service area.
Operates between 218-218.5 and 218.5-219 MHz. See the Interactive
Video and Data Service (IVDS) Fact Sheet. For further
information, consult Part 95, Subpart F of the Federal Communications
Commission's Rules. |
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K |
Kilohertz (KHz) |
A measure of spectrum
equal to one thousand hertz. |
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L |
Local Multipoint
Distribution Service (LMDS) |
A point-to-multipoint
microwave service that operates in the 27.5-29.5 GHz and 31.0-31.3
GHz bands. The technology developed for use in this new broadband
service provides very high subscriber capacity for two-way
video telecommunications. There is sufficient capacity in
the proposed LMDS system designs to provide wireless competition
to both local exchange carriers and cable television systems.
In addition, based on the interest generated in LMDS by entrepreneurs
in the United States, LMDS has attracted attention and support
from both developed and developing countries around the world.
See the LMDS Bandplan,
Local Multipoint Distribution
Service (LMDS) Fact Sheet or LMDS for
more detail. For further information, consult Part 101 of
the Federal Communications Commission's Rules. |
Location and Monitoring
Service (LMS) |
Systems using non-voice
radio techniques to determine the location and status of mobile
radio units. These systems are designed to support the nation's
transportation infrastructure and to facilitate the growth
of intelligent transportation systems. There are two types
of LMS systems -- multilateration and non-multilateration.
Multilateration LMS licenses are subject to competitive bidding
and will operate in the 902-928 MHz frequency band. Multilateration
LMS systems generally use spread-spectrum technology to locate
vehicles throughout a wide geographic area. Non-multilateration
LMS systems are defined as LMS systems that employ any technology
other than multilateration technology. For more information,
see the LMS Bandplan,
Location and Monitoring Service
(LMS) Fact Sheet, Location
and Monitoring Service Releases, LMS
and, consult Part 90 of the Federal Communications Commission's
Rules. |
Long-Form Application |
See
Form 600 Series. |
Lottery |
A method for assigning
spectrum licenses on the basis of random selection. |
LPTV
(SST) |
A station that may retransmit
the programs and signals of a TV broadcast station and that
may originate programming in any amount greater than 30 seconds
per hour and/or operates a subscription service. |
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M |
Major
Economic Area (MEA) |
A geographic area established
and used by the Federal Communications Commission to define
the coverage of spectrum licenses for certain services. There
are 52 MEAs, including 46 in the continental United States
and 6 covering Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana
Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. See Major
Economic Area (MEA) map for more details. |
Major Trading Area
(MTA) |
A geographic area based
upon the Rand McNally 1992 Commercial Atlas & Marketing
Guide, 123rd Edition, pages 38-39, used by the Federal Communications
Commission to define coverage of spectrum licenses for certain
services. The Commission uses 51 MTAs, which include the 47
established by Rand McNally, with the following exceptions
and additions: Alaska is separated from the Seattle MTA and
is licensed separately; Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands
are licensed as a single MTA-like area; Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands are licensed as a single MTA-like area;
and American Samoa is licensed as a single MTA-like area.
See Major Trading Area (MTA) map
for more details. |
MAS |
See Multiple
Address Systems. |
Maximum Eligibility |
The total number of bidding
units a bidder is eligible to use in a single round. A bidder's
maximum eligibility is initially established by the amount
of its upfront payment. |
MDS, MMDS |
See
Multipoint Distribution Service, Multichannel
Multipoint Distribution Service. |
MEA |
See Major
Economic Area. |
Megahertz (MHz) |
A measure of spectrum
equal to one million hertz or one thousand kilohertz. |
Metropolitan
Statistical Area (MSA) |
A geographic area defined
by the Office of Management and Budget and modified by the
Federal Communications Commission. There are 306 MSAs, including
New England County Metropolitan Areas and the Gulf of Mexico
Service Area (water area of the Gulf of Mexico, border is
the coastline). See also Rural
Service Area. See Metropolitan
Statistical Area (MSA) map for more details. |
Milgrom-Wilson Activity
Rule |
An activity rule that
requires bidders to declare their maximum eligibility in advance
of the auction and make an upfront payment proportional to
that eligibility level. The Milgrom-Wilson activity rule provides
that a bidder's minimum activity level, measured as a fraction
of eligibility, will increase during the course of the auction,
generally proceeding through three auction stages. See Stages. |
Minimum Acceptable
Bid |
Once there is a standing
high bid on a license, a bid increment will be applied to
that license to establish a minimum acceptable bid for the
following round. |
Mock Auction |
A simulated auction
conducted by Federal Communications Commission staff before
the start of an auction, allowing potential bidders to become
familiar with the auction bidding software. |
Multiple
Address Systems (MAS) |
MAS consists of spectrum
in the 900 MHz band that is divided into three general categories:
(1) the 928/952/956 MHz bands; (2) the 928/959 MHz bands;
and (3) the 932/941 MHz bands. Certain channels in this service
are licensed on a site-by-site basis, while other channels
are licensed by Economic Areas (EA). The Multiple Address
Systems Auction No. 42 Fact Sheet lists the frequencies that
will be licensed by EAs. This service is available for the
terrestrial point-to-multipoint and point-to-point fixed and
mobile transmissions of a licensees products or services,
excluding video entertainment material, to a licensees
customer or for its own internal communications. See MAS
Bandplan, Fact Sheet,
or MAS for more detail. |
Multipoint
Distribution Service (MDS), Multichannel Multipoint Distribution
Service (MMDS) |
Provides wireless cable
as a multichannel video distribution medium to compete with
wired cable systems. As of June 1997, there are a maximum
of thirty-three microwave channels used for wireless cable
in each market which includes ITFS (Instructional Television
Fixed Service). MDS operates between 2150-2162 MHz, 2596-2602
MHz, 2608-2614 MHz, 2620-2626 MHz, 2632-2638 MHz, 2602-2608
MHz, 2614-2620 MHz, 2626-2632 MHz, 2638-2644 MHz, 2650-2656
MHz, 2662-2668 MHz, 2674-2680 MHz. ITFS operates between 2500-2596
MHz, 2644-2650 MHz, 2656-2662 MHz, 2668-2674 MHz and 2680-2686
MHz. Note: In 1992, the 2160-2162 MHz frequency was reallocated
as emerging technologies; thus, any subsequent MDS use of
these 2 MHz will be secondary. See MDS
Bandplan, Fact Sheet or
MDS for more details.
For further information, consult Part 21, Subpart K of the
Federal Communications Commission's Rules. |
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N |
Narrowband PCS (Narrowband
Personal Communications Services) |
Operate in the 901-902
MHz, 930-931 MHz, and 940-941 MHz bands, using a smaller portion
of the spectrum than Broadband PCS. Defined by the Federal
Communications Commission as a family of mobile or portable
radio services that may be used to provide wireless telephony,
data, advanced paging, and other services to individuals and
businesses, and which may be integrated with a variety of
competing networks. For example, Narrowband PCS could be used
for the development of advanced paging systems, in which pagers
may become equipped with a small keyboard allowing the subscriber
to both retrieve and send complete messages through microwave
signals (e.g., wireless E-mail). Narrowband PCS licenses will
most likely be used to provide such new services as voice
message paging, two-way acknowledgment paging, and other text-based
services. See Nationwide Narrowband
Fact Sheet, Regional Narrowband
Fact Sheet or Narrowband
Personal Communications Services (PCS) for more details.
For further information, consult Part 24, Subpart D, of the
Federal Communications Commission's Rules. |
Net High Bid |
The current high bid,
adjusted by the percentage of a high bidder's bidding credits. |
Net Revenue |
The total net high bids
for all licenses in the auction. |
Net Winning Bid |
The net high bid at the
close of the auction. |
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P |
Paging Service |
Transmission of coded
radio signals for the purpose of activating specific pagers:
such transmissions may include messages and/or sounds. Paging
services operate in the 35-36 MHz, 43-44 MHz, 152-159 MHz,
454-460 MHz, 929 MHz and 931 MHz bands. See the WTB Paging
Web page and the Paging Fact Sheet
for more details. For further information, consult Parts 22
and 90 of the Federal Communications Commission's Rules. |
Personal Communications
Services (PCS) |
A broad range of radio
communications services that enable individuals to communicate
when they are away from their home or office telephone or
other wire-based system. Basic forms of PCS include cordless
telephone, enabling users to receive communications almost
anywhere, and paging services which notify individuals that
someone is attempting to communicate with them. See WTB Narrowband
PCS, Broadband PCS,
PCS Bandplan, C
Block Fact Sheet, D, E, &
F Block Fact Sheet, Nationwide
Narrowband Fact Sheet, and Regional
Narrowband Fact Sheet, for more details. |
Pioneer's Preference |
The pioneer's preference
rules, which are no longer in force, formerly provided a means
by which an applicant that demonstrated that it had developed
a new communications service or technology might obtain a
license to provide the new service or technology without being
subject to auction as a way of awarding licenses among mutually
exclusive applications. Under these rules, an applicant could
receive a preference for a license if it demonstrated that
it had developed the capabilities or possibilities of a new
technology or service or had brought the technology or service
to a more advanced or effective state. Such applicant for
a preference was also required to demonstrate that the new
service or technology would be technically feasible by submitting
either the results of an experiment or a technical showing.
The preference was granted only if the final service rules
adopted by the Federal Communications Commission were a reasonable
outgrowth of the applicant's proposal and the new technology
could be used to provide the service. After December 1994,
Congress specified that entities awarded licenses pursuant
to the pioneer's preference were required to pay, as a condition
of license grant, a portion of the license's value, calculated
according to 47 U.S.C. 309(j)(13)(B). |
Pop |
Abbreviated term for
population. One pop equals one person. The Federal Communications
Commission currently uses the 1990 census as a measure of
population. |
Price per Pop |
See Average
Price (pop-weighted), Average
Price (unweighted). |
Proactive Waiver |
See Waiver
(Activity Rule Waiver). |
PST |
See TV
Broadcast |
Public Coast Station |
A public coast station
is a land station in the Maritime Services that offers radio
communication common carrier services, including interconnection
to the public switched telephone network, to ship radio stations.
See the Public Coast
Station Bandplan or the Public
Coast Station Fact Sheet. For further information, consult
Part 80 of the Federal Communications Commission's Rules.
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Q |
Qualified Bidders |
Those applicants whose
FCC Form 175 applications have been accepted for filing and
that have timely submitted upfront payments sufficient to
make them eligible to bid on at least one of the licenses
for which they applied. All qualified bidders are automatically
registered for the auction. |
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R |
Regional Economic
Area Grouping (REAG) |
A geographic area based
on groupings of 172 Economic Areas (EAs) and 4 EA-like areas
developed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department
of Commerce, used to define the coverage of spectrum licenses
for certain services. See Regional
Economic Area Grouping (REAG) map for more details. |
Remote
Electronic Bidding |
Bidding procedure which
enables bidders who have registered in advance and purchased
the bidding software to place and withdraw bids and retrieve
round results and other auction-related information from remote
locations using a PC and modem to access the Federal Communications
Commission's wide area network. |
Round |
An auction round consists
of a bidding period and a round results period. |
Rural
Service Area (RSA) |
A geographic area used
by the Federal Communications Commission to define coverage
of spectrum licenses in certain services. There are 428 RSAs,
which, when combined with 306 Metropolitan Statistical Areas
(MSAs), comprise the 734 cellular geographic service areas.
See also Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).
See Rural Service Area (RSA)
map for more details. |
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S |
Second
Down Payment |
Second post-auction
payment by an entity eligible to pay for a license in installments.
Payment is made a specified number of days after notification
by the Federal Communications Commission of its intent to
grant or make conditional grant of license(s). Payment is
a specified percentage of the net high bid of each license.
See also Down Payment, First
Down Payment, Final Payment.
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Short-Form Application |
See Form
175. |
Simultaneous Multiple
Round Auctions |
An auction design in
which all licenses are offered simultaneously, in a series
of separate rounds. If a simultaneous stopping rule is employed,
bidding closes only after one round passes in which there
are no new valid bids on any of the licenses, no proactive
waivers are submitted, and no bid withdrawals. |
Simultaneous Stopping
Rule |
An activity rule which
states that an auction will close only after a round in which
no new bids, withdrawals, or proactive waivers are received.
The FCC retains the discretion to keep an auction open even
if no new acceptable bids and no proactive waivers are submitted
as specified in the auction rules. |
Smoothing
Methodology |
Bases the bid increment
for each license on a weighted average of the activity on
that license in the most recently completed round and the
activity on that license in all previous rounds. Simply put,
when a license receives a substantial number of bids (three
or more) the increment is higher, and when the number of bids
decreases the increment is smaller. See Smoothing
Methodology paper for more details. See Bid
Increment. |
Specialized Mobile
Radio (SMR) |
Services used primarily
for voice communications, although systems are also being
developed for data and facsimile services. Additionally, the
development of a digital, rather than analog, SMR marketplace
is allowing new features and services, such as two-way paging
and inventory tracking, credit card authorizations, automatic
vehicle location monitoring, fleet management, remote database
access and voice mail. The 800 MHz SMR service, established
in 1974, was designed primarily to license dispatch radio
systems on a transmitter-by-transmitter basis in local markets;
it is anticipated that the new geographic area-based service
will provide services comparable to cellular and PCS providers.
The 900 MHz SMR service was established in 1986, when the
Federal Communications Commission allocated 200 channel pairs
in the 896-901 MHz and 935-940 MHz bands for SMR services.
For more information about SMR, see the WTB
SMR page. For additional information see 800
MHz SMR Fact Sheet , or 800
MHz SMR Band Plan, or 900
MHz SMR Fact Sheet . |
Spectrum |
The range of electromagnetic
radio frequencies used in the transmission of voice, data
and video. |
SST |
See LPTV
and TV Translator. |
Stages |
Typically, a Federal
Communications Commission simultaneous multiple round auction
employs an activity rule which divides the auction into three
stages. Each stage requires bidders to use a certain percentage
of their total bidding units in order to maintain maximum
eligibility (e.g., Stage I, 60% of their bidding units; Stage
II, 80%; and Stage III, 98%). In a given stage, if a bidder's
activity falls below the required level, an automatic waiver
will be submitted on the bidder's behalf if the bidder has
waivers remaining. If a bidder has no waivers remaining or
elects to override the automatic waiver function, its eligibility
will be permanently reduced to bring it into compliance with
the activity rule. |
Stage Transition
Percentage |
A percentage calculated
by dividing the total number of bidding units of licenses
receiving high bids in the current round by the total number
of bidding units for all licenses in the auction. Named the
"Stage Transition Percentage" because this percentage
is the primary factor in determining when an auction transitions
to a subsequent stage. See also Stages.
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T |
Telephonic Bidding |
Bidding procedure that
enables bidders to place and withdraw bids by telephoning
a Federal Communications Commission Bid Assistant. |
Total Net High Bids |
The total of all net
high bids. This total does not include withdrawal payments,
defaulted net high bids, or pioneer's preference payments. |
Total Net High Revenue |
The total of all net
high bids plus withdrawal payments, defaulted net high bids,
and pioneer's preference payments. |
TV
Broadcast (PST) |
A station in the television
broadcast band transmitting simultaneous visual and aural
signals intended to be received by the general public. |
TV
Translator (SST) |
A station in the broadcast
service operated for the purpose of re-transmitting the programs
and signals of a television broadcast station, without significantly
altering any characteristic of the original signal other than
its frequency and amplitude, for the purpose of providing
television reception to the general public. |
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U |
Upfront Payment |
Payment made by bidders
prior to the beginning of the auction in order to establish
the initial eligibility of a bidder, representing the maximum
number of bidding units on which the applicant will be permitted
to bid initially. For more specific information regarding
a particular service, consult applicable service rules and
auction public notices. See Bidding
Units. |
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V |
Valid Bid |
A bid which meets or
exceeds the minimum acceptable bid for a license. |
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W |
Waiver
(Activity Rule Waiver) |
Each bidder is provided
a predetermined number of waivers at the start of an auction
(e.g., five) that can be used during a bidding period to preserve
bidding unit eligibility despite having an activity level
below the required minimum. A waiver will preserve current
eligibility in the next round and applies to an entire bidding
round.
Proactive Waiver:
A waiver submitted by the bidder during the bidding period.
A proactive waiver (1) will preserve a bidder's eligibility
in a round when the bidder does not meet the activity requirement,
and (2) will keep the auction open in the event that no bids
are placed in the round in which the proactive waiver is placed.
Automatic Waiver:
A waiver applied automatically by the bidding system if a
round closes and a bidder is below the required activity level.
An activity waiver will not keep the auction open in the event
that no bids or proactive waivers are submitted during the
bidding period. |
Withdrawal Payment |
Payment required because
a bidder withdrew a high bid during the auction and no other
winning bids were made at or above the withdrawn bid amount. |