FCC Is Informing Stations of Spectrum Auction Status

Gary Epstein, chair of the Federal Communications Commission's incentive auction task force, says that the FCC during the week of Mar 14 will issue a public notice informing stations that they will be receiving confidential letters, informing them of the status of their application to participate in the auction.

That came at an FCC workshop Mar 11 on how to make their bidding elections. Someone must sign for the letter for it to be delivered. That letter will inform applicants if they are qualified or not qualified because: 1) They are not needed; 2) None of their options could be accommodated; or 3) Because no commitment was made. If their application is good to go, stations will also be getting the bidding tokens they will need to participate in the auction, as well as the registration materials needed to register their participation by March 29—the window to elect a bidding option opens March 28, but the application system will be available starting March 24 to practice using their tokens. The FCC says its help desk will be open and fully staffed.