FCC 1.2111 Revised as of October 1, 2007
Goto Year:2006 |
2008
Sec. 1.2111 Assignment or transfer of control: unjust enrichment.
(a) Reporting requirement. An applicant seeking approval for a transfer of
control or assignment (otherwise permitted under the Commission's rules) of
a license within three years of receiving a new license through a
competitive bidding procedure must, together with its application for
transfer of control or assignment, file with the Commission a statement
indicating that its license was obtained through competitive bidding. Such
applicant must also file with the Commission the associated contracts for
sale, option agreements, management agreements, or other documents
disclosing the local consideration that the applicant would receive in
return for the transfer or assignment of its license (see Sec. 1.948). This
information should include not only a monetary purchase price, but also any
future, contingent, in-kind, or other consideration ( e.g. , management or
consulting contracts either with or without an option to purchase; below
market financing).
(b) Unjust enrichment payment: set-aside. As specified in this paragraph an
applicant seeking approval for a transfer of control or assignment
(otherwise permitted under the Commission's rules) of, or for entry into a
material relationship (see Sec. Sec. 1.2110, 1.2114) (otherwise permitted under the
Commission's rules) involving, a license acquired by the applicant pursuant
to a set-aside for eligible designated entities under Sec. 1.2110(c), or which
proposes to take any other action relating to ownership or control that will
result in loss of eligibility as a designated entity, must seek Commission
approval and may be required to make an unjust enrichment payment (Payment)
to the Commission by cashier's check or wire transfer before consent will be
granted. The Payment will be based upon a schedule that will take account of
the term of the license, any applicable construction benchmarks, and the
estimated value of the set-aside benefit, which will be calculated as the
difference between the amount paid by the designated entity for the license
and the value of comparable non-set-aside license in the free market at the
time of the auction. The Commission will establish the amount of the Payment
and the burden will be on the applicants to disprove this amount. No Payment
will be required if:
(1) The license is transferred or assigned more than five years after its
initial issuance, unless otherwise specified; or
(2) The proposed transferee or assignee is an eligible designated entity
under Sec. 1.2110(c) or the service-specific competitive bidding rules of the
particular service, and so certifies.
(c) Unjust enrichment payment: installment financing. (1) If a licensee that
utilizes installment financing under this section seeks to assign or
transfer control of its license to an entity not meeting the eligibility
standards for installment payments, the licensee must make full payment of
the remaining unpaid principal and any unpaid interest accrued through the
date of assignment or transfer as a condition of approval.
(2) If a licensee that utilizes installment financing under this section
seeks to make any change in ownership structure or to enter into a material
relationship (see Sec. 1.2110) that would result in the licensee losing
eligibility for installment payments, the licensee shall first seek
Commission approval and must make full payment of the remaining unpaid
principal and any unpaid interest accrued through the date of such change as
a condition of approval. A licensee's (or other attributable entity's)
increased gross revenues or increased total assets due to nonattributable
equity investments, debt financing, revenue from operations or other
investments, business development or expanded service shall not be
considered to result in the licensee losing eligibility for installment
payments.
(3) If a licensee seeks to make any change in ownership or to enter into a
material relationship (see Sec. 1.2110) that would result in the licensee
qualifying for a less favorable installment plan under this section, the
licensee shall seek Commission approval and must adjust its payment plan to
reflect its new eligibility status. A licensee may not switch its payment
plan to a more favorable plan.
(d) Unjust enrichment payment: bidding credits. (1) A licensee that utilizes
a bidding credit, and that during the initial term seeks to assign or
transfer control of a license to an entity that does not meet the
eligibility criteria for a bidding credit, will be required to reimburse the
U.S. Government for the amount of the bidding credit, plus interest based on
the rate for ten year U.S. Treasury obligations applicable on the date the
license was granted, as a condition of Commission approval of the assignment
or transfer. If, within the initial term of the license, a licensee that
utilizes a bidding credit seeks to assign or transfer control of a license
to an entity that is eligible for a lower bidding credit, the difference
between the bidding credit obtained by the assigning party and the bidding
credit for which the acquiring party would qualify, plus interest based on
the rate for ten year U.S. treasury obligations applicable on the date the
license is granted, must be paid to the U.S. Government as a condition of
Commission approval of the assignment or transfer. If, within the initial
term of the license, a licensee that utilizes a bidding credit seeks to make
any ownership change or to enter into a material relationship (see Sec. 1.2110)
that would result in the licensee losing eligibility for a bidding credit
(or qualifying for a lower bidding credit), the amount of the bidding credit
(or the difference between the bidding credit originally obtained and the
bidding credit for which the licensee would qualify after restructuring or
entry into a material relationship), plus interest based on the rate for ten
year U.S. treasury obligations applicable on the date the license is
granted, must be paid to the U.S. Government as a condition of Commission
approval of the assignment or transfer or of a reportable eligibility event
(see Sec. 1.2114).
(2) Payment schedule . (i) For licenses initially granted after April 25,
2006, the amount of payments made pursuant to paragraph (d)(1) of this
section will be 100 percent of the value of the bidding credit prior to the
filing of the notification informing the Commission that the construction
requirements applicable at the end of the initial license term have been
met. If the notification informing the Commission that the construction
requirements applicable at the end of the initial license term have been
met, the amount of the payments will be reduced over time as follows:
(A) A loss of eligibility in the first five years of the license term will
result in a forfeiture of 100 percent of the value of the bidding credit (or
in the case of eligibility changing to qualify for a lower bidding credit,
100 percent of the difference between the bidding credit received and the
bidding credit for which it is eligible);
(B) A loss of eligibility in years 6 and 7 of the license term will result
in a forfeiture of 75 percent of the value of the bidding credit (or in the
case of eligibility changing to qualify for a lower bidding credit, 75
percent of the difference between the bidding credit received and the
bidding credit for which it is eligible);
(C) A loss of eligibility in years 8 and 9 of the license term will result
in a forfeiture of 50 percent of the value of the bidding credit (or in the
case of eligibility changing to qualify for a lower bidding credit, 50
percent of the difference between the bidding credit received and the
bidding credit for which it is eligible); and
(D) A loss of eligibility in year 10 of the license term will result in a
forfeiture of 25 percent of the value of the bidding credit (or in the case
of eligibility changing to qualify for a lower bidding credit, 25 percent of
the difference between the bidding credit received and the bidding credit
for which it is eligible).
(ii) For licenses initially granted before April 25, 2006, the amount of
payments made pursuant to paragraph (d)(1) of this section will be reduced
over time as follows:
(A) A transfer in the first two years of the license term will result in a
forfeiture of 100 percent of the value of the bidding credit (or in the case
of very small businesses transferring to small businesses, 100 percent of
the difference between the bidding credit received by the former and the
bidding credit for which the latter is eligible);
(B) A transfer in year 3 of the license term will result in a forfeiture of
75 percent of the value of the bidding credit;
(C) A transfer in year 4 of the license term will result in a forfeiture of
50 percent of the value of the bidding credit;
(D) A transfer in year 5 of the license term will result in a forfeiture of
25 percent of the value of the bidding credit; and
(E) For a transfer in year 6 or thereafter, there will be no payment.
(iii) These payments will have to be paid to the United States Treasury as a
condition of approval of the assignment, transfer, ownership change, or
reportable eligibility event (see Sec. 1.2114).
(e) Unjust enrichment: partitioning and disaggregation —(1) Installment
payments. Licensees making installment payments, that partition their
licenses or disaggregate their spectrum to entities not meeting the
eligibility standards for installment payments, will be subject to the
provisions concerning unjust enrichment as set forth in this section.
(2) Bidding credits. Licensees that received a bidding credit that partition
their licenses or disaggregate their spectrum to entities not meeting the
eligibility standards for such a bidding credit, will be subject to the
provisions concerning unjust enrichment as set forth in this section.
(3) Apportioning unjust enrichment payments. Unjust enrichment payments for
partitioned license areas shall be calculated based upon the ratio of the
population of the partitioned license area to the overall population of the
license area and by utilizing the most recent census data. Unjust enrichment
payments for disaggregated spectrum shall be calculated based upon the ratio
of the amount of spectrum disaggregated to the amount of spectrum held by
the licensee.
[ 59 FR 44293 , Aug. 26, 1994, as amended at 63 FR 2346 , Jan. 15, 1998; 63 FR 68942 , Dec. 14, 1998; 71 FR 26252 , May 4, 2006; 71 FR 34278 , June 14, 2006]
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