FCC ANNOUNCES ELECTRONIC REMOTE ACCESS BIDDING WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR REGIONAL NARROWBAND AUCTION AND A SERIES OF AUCTION SIMULATIONS OPEN TO INTERESTED PARTIES This Public Notice details the various bidding options that will be available to bidders in the FCC's October 26, 1994 auction of regional narrowband PCS licenses, and announces a series of auction simulations beginning October 10, 1994 that the FCC will conduct to further test the remote access bidding option. I. BIDDING OPTIONS Bidders that have qualified for the regional narrowband auction will have three bidding options: remote electronic bidding, telephonic bidding and on-site bidding. A detailed discussion of each option follows. A. Remote Access Bidding After completing initial testing of the FCC Auction Bidding System and FCC Auction Line, the FCC has decided to offer applicants that qualify to participate in the regional narrowband PCS auction beginning October 26, 1994 the option of bidding electronically from remote locations. Applicants who are interested in the remote bidding option should complete and return the FCC Auction Line Order Form included in the regional narrowband PCS Bidder's Information Package no later than Wednesday, October 5, 1994. Applicants may request delivery of their Auction Line set-up kit either by Federal Express or UPS overnight delivery. The set-up kit, along with a login code and password, will be mailed separately from the bidder identification number and may only be delivered to the applicant at the applicant's address specified on the FCC Form 175 application. Applicants may also have one of the authorized representatives designated on their Form 175 application pick up their set-up kit, login code and password beginning Friday, October 7th, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at: FCC Auction Line c/o Businesses Information Network 9400 Livingston Road, Suite 420 Ft. Washington, MD 20744 For those applicants that wish to pick up their set-up kit, login code and password, only authorized representatives with two forms of identification (one form of photo identification and one additional form of identification) will be permitted to obtain a software kit on the applicant's behalf. Applicants who have submitted this Order Form will not be required to register in person for the auction. However, as a precautionary measure, bidders who elect to bid by remote access should have designated at least one individual who will be present in Washington, D.C. during the course of the auction as one of their authorized representatives on their FCC Form 175 application. The software set-up kit, login code and password will be mailed immediately after receipt of an applicant's Order Form if a delivery method has been selected. Each applicant's bidder identification number will be mailed after the FCC issues a Public Notice announcing all qualified bidders. There will be a $200 charge for the software set-up kit. Additionally, on-line users will be charged a $23 per hour on-line access charge for submitting bids, withdrawing bids and downloading auction round results. In order to use the remote bidding option applicants will need to have the following hardware:  an IBM compatible XT or greater computer and 1 megabyte of RAM and a hard disk drive (the remote access bidding software for Macintosh is not yet available);  a Modem (2400 - 14.4 Baud);  a standard telephone line; and  a fax machine. B. Telephonic Bidding Bidders in the regional narrowband PCS auction will also be able to submit and withdraw bids by telephone. Qualified applicants interested in bidding by telephone should complete the attached registration form and mail it no later than October 8, 1994 to: Tradewinds International, Inc. Attention: Narrowband PCS Processing General Aviation Terminal, Hanger 7 No. 7 Thomas Avenue Washington National Airport Washington, D.C. 20001 Qualified bidders may request delivery of their auction system login code and password either via Federal Express or UPS Overnight Delivery. The Auction system login code and password will be mailed separately from the bidder identification number and may only be delivered to the applicant at the applicant's address specified on the FCC Form 175 application. Applicants may also have one of their authorized representatives designated on their Form 175 application pick up their login code, password and bidder identification number during the auction registration periods. Bidders electing to bid via telephone who do not want their login code, password and bidder identification number mailed will be required to have one of their authorized representatives register in person at the auction site. Registration will held from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25, 1994 and from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1994 at the auction site, Postal Square Building, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002. Qualified applicants selecting this option may place and withdraw their bids by calling an FCC authorized bid operator who will be located at the auction site. The telephone number will be provided in the registration package, which will be sent only to qualified bidders at the applicant address listed on the FCC Form 175. Only authorized representatives specified on an applicant's FCC Form 175 will be permitted to place bids by telephone. As a precautionary measure, the FCC will record all bid and withdrawal transactions conducted by telephone. The bid operator will input the applicant's bid or withdrawal into the system. Bidders will receive a hard copy bid confirmation which will be sent by facsimile. C. On-Site Bidding Alternatively, applicant's may elect to bid on-site in Washington at the Postal Square Building Bidders electing to bid on-site will be required to have one of their authorized representatives register in person at the auction site. Registration will held from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25, 1994 and from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1994 at the auction site. A login code, password and bidder identification number will be provided to each qualified applicant during the on-site registration. All applicants registering on-site will be required to submit two forms of identification, one form of photo identification (e.g., a valid driver's license or passport) and one additional form of identification. D. General Bidding Procedures/Round Results Bidders may elect any combination of bidding options outlined above. In order to submit or withdraw bids using any of the bidding options, qualified applicants must have a login code, password, bidder identification number and FCC account number. The high bids and all acceptable bids will be available after the bid submission period ends in each round. Withdrawn bids and high bids, reflecting any withdrawals will be available once the bid withdrawal period ends in each round. In addition, the minimum acceptable bid for the next round will be available at the end of each round. Hard copy results reports will be made available to on-site bidders. Electronic round results may be obtained through the FCC Auction Line (Business Information Network) in DBF and ASCII file formats and through Internet. Therefore those bidders that choose only telephonic bidding will have access to round results only over the Internet. II. MOCK AUCTIONS AND AUCTION SIMULATIONS The Federal Communications Commission plans to offer potential bidders who may want to use the remote access bidding option the opportunity to conduct independent auction simulations or participate in auction simulations with other bidders. The objectives of these simulations are to allow industry participants to familiarize themselves with the auction software and to provide the FCC with additional input from bidders to facilitate the creation of the most user-friendly, reliable bidding software possible. A. General Information Two types of auction simulations may be conducted depending on the level of interest in each simulation. The first simulation will allow participants from the same company the opportunity to conduct an independent mock auction ("Mock Auction"). The second scenario will allow each participant the opportunity to participate in an auction simulation with other bidders ("Auction Simulation"). Participants will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis but applicants who are registered for the regional narrowband auction will be given preference. Participation in these tests is not guaranteed. Additional tests in the same or similar format will be conducted after the regional narrowband PCS auction. Interested parties must complete the attached FCC Remote Access Bidding Mock/Simulated Auction Order Form and return it to Business Information Network via facsimile at (301) 248-1606 no later than 5:00 EDT Monday, October 3, 1994 to register to participate either in a Mock Auction or an Auction Simulation. Applicants will not be allowed to participate in both the Mock Auction and the Auction Simulation unless space permits so that we may accommodate the maximum number of participants. Bidders participating in the Mock Auction and Auction Simulation will bid from remote locations through the use of a value added network. In order to cover the Commission's expenses in running these tests, there will be a charge of approximately $500 per user to participate in a Mock Auction and approximately $300 per company to participate in an Auction Simulation as well as a $23 per hour on-line access charge to submit and withdraw bids and download results. Fifty percent of the maximum on-line access time must be paid in advance. Unused time can be applied to future auctions or simulations. These costs include a communications software package that may be re-used to bid from remote locations in future FCC auctions. All registered participants will be sent a communications software package, login code, password, FCC account number and bidder identification number which are pre-registered with the FCC. The communications software package will contain complete instructions regarding software installation, network access, bidder identification and bid entry. Each profile assumes that the participant has applied for all the regional narrowband licenses and has submitted an up-front payment for every license to provide for maximum flexibility in the testing. An on-line suggestion box will be available for participants' feedback as to the software's performance. Additionally, a help line will be available to answer questions during the tests. B. Mock Auctions The Mock Auctions will begin on Monday, October 10th and will continue for five days. Each auction will consist of approximately 20 rounds, four each day. Each round will last approximately one hour and will be divided as follows: (a) 45 minutes for bid submission; (b) 10 minutes for bid withdrawal; and (c) 5 minutes for round results. C. Auction Simulations The Auction Simulations will be held beginning Monday, October 10th. Each Auction Simulation will consist of approximately four rounds. Each round will last approximately one hour and will be divided as follows: (a) 45 minutes for bid submission; (b) 10 minutes for bid withdrawal; and (c) 5 minutes for round results. FCC REGIONAL NARROWBAND AUCTION REMOTE ACCESS TELEPHONIC BIDDING ORDER FORM Applicant Name ______________________________________________ Address* ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Phone______________________________________________ Fax ______________________________________________ Modem # ______________________________________________ Method of Delivery of Login Code/Password ___ Federal Express - Billing Number ___________________ ___ UPS Overnight Delivery Airborne Billing Number ________________________________ ___ Pick up by Authorized Representative** * Login code/password and confidential bidder identification number (BIN) will be sent in two separate mailings to the address specified on the FCC Form 175 application submitted by your firm. ** Only those authorized representatives designated on an applicant's Form 175 (with proper identification) will be allowed to pick up the system access codes. FCC REMOTE ACCESS BIDDING MOCK/SIM ULATED AUCTION ORDER FO RM Type of Auction: _____ Mock _____ Simulated Number of People Participating (Mock Auction Only) _____ Name of contact person: _________________________________ Participants: ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Company ____________________________________________ Address ____________________________________________ Phone _____________ Fax ______________ Are you an applicant for the October 26th regional narrowband PCS auction? Yes ______ No _____ Size of IBM disk_______ 3.5" ________ 5.0" Delivery Method _____ Fedex Account Number _______________ _____ UPS Account Number _______________ _____ Pick Up Method of Payment: _____ Amex _____ Visa _____ Mastercard (exact costs to be determined) Name on Card ___________________ Card Number ___________________ Expiration ___________________ Signature ___________________ Please fax to: FCC Auction Line Fax: 301-248-1606