Broadcasters will have until 6 p.m. this Friday to address defects in their applications for the upcoming spectrum auction, the Federal Communications Commission said.
In a recent public notice, the FCC said it distributed letters to applicants who filed for participation by the initial January 12 deadline detailing each application’s status. Broadcasters who received notice that their application or information for any of their selected stations is incomplete will have to submit corrections virtually via the Auction System, the FCC said.
Other changes to the application may be made during the resubmission process, but the FCC warned that such changes will also be reviewed and may result in a change of application status.
The FCC said the Feb. 26 date is a hard deadline for the filing of corrected applications.
“Late resubmissions will not be accepted,” the FCC wrote. “If an application is deemed incomplete after the resubmission deadline has passed, the applicant will not be permitted to make an initial commitment with respect to any of its selected station(s). If the application is deemed incomplete as to any particular station the applicant will not be able to make an initial commitment for that station. An applicant that does not make an initial commitment cannot become qualified to bid in the clock rounds of the reverse auction.”
Following the close of the resubmission window, the FCC said it will send out another round of letters to each applicant with information about the status of its application. Those who are deemed to have a “complete” application and selected station will be allowed to make an “initial commitment,” the FCC said.
The initial commitment means a broadcaster agrees, “at the opening price, to a preferred relinquishment option for each station for which it intends to bid in the reverse auction,” the commission said.
Though the initial application window closed last month, the FCC has hitherto remained tight-lipped about which broadcasters have filed to participate.
While the reverse auction participants are shrouded in relative mystery, forward auction prospects have come forward to declare their intent to participate – or not.
Major U.S. wireless carriers AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have all said they plan to participate, as has cable and Internet company Comcast.
Other large companies, like Google, Sprint and Charter Communications, have staked out their position on the sidelines.
Though Charter CEO Thomas Rutledge originally appeared hopeful the company would be able to participate in the auction, he recently said Charter’s bid prospects were “unlikely” due to the “awkward” timing of the company’s pending merger with Time Warner Cable.
The application deadline for forward auction participants passed on Feb. 10.
