Goto Section: 1.947 | 1.949 | Table of Contents
FCC 1.948
Revised as of October 1, 2008
Goto Year:2007 |
2009
Sec. 1.948 Assignment of authorization or transfer of control, notification of
consummation.
(a) General. Except as provided in this section, authorizations in the
Wireless Radio Services may be assigned by the licensee to another party,
voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, or the control of a
licensee holding such authorizations may be transferred, only upon
application to and approval by the Commission.
(b) Limitations on transfers and assignments. (1) A change from less than
50% ownership to 50% or more ownership shall always be considered a transfer
of control.
(2) In other situations a controlling interest shall be determined on a
case-by-case basis considering the distribution of ownership, and the
relationships of the owners, including family relationships.
(3) Designated Entities, as defined in Sec. 1.2110(a) of this part, must comply
with Sec. Sec. 1.2110 and 1.2111 of this part when seeking to assign or transfer
control of an authorization.
(4) Stations must meet all applicable requirements regarding transfers and
assignments contained in the rules pertaining to the specific service in
which the station is licensed.
(5) Licenses, permits, and authorizations for stations in the Amateur, Ship,
Aircraft, Commercial Operator and Personal Radio Services (except 218–219
MHz Service) may not be assigned or transferred, unless otherwise stated.
(c) Application required. In the case of an assignment of authorization or
transfer of control, the assignor must file an application for approval of
the assignment on FCC Form 603. If the assignee or transferee is subject to
the ownership reporting requirements of Sec. 1.2112, the assignee or transferee
must also file an updated FCC Form 602 or certify that a current FCC Form
602 is on file.
(1) In the case of a non-substantial ( pro forma ) transfer or assignment
involving a telecommunications carrier, as defined in Sec. 153(44) of the
Communications Act, filing of the Form 603 and Commission approval in
advance of the proposed transaction is not required, provided that:
(i) the affected license is not subject to unjust enrichment provisions
under subpart Q of this part;
(ii) the transfer or assignment does not involve a proxy contest; and
(iii) the transferee or assignee provides notice of the transaction by
filing FCC Form 603 within 30 days of its completion, and provides any
necessary updates of ownership information on FCC Form 602.
(2) In the case of an involuntary assignment or transfer, FCC Form 603 must
be filed no later than 30 days after the event causing the involuntary
assignment or transfer.
(d) Notification of consummation. In all Wireless Radio Services, licensees
are required to notify the Commission of consummation of an approved
transfer or assignment using FCC Form 603. The assignee or transferee is
responsible for providing this notification, including the date the
transaction was consummated. For transfers and assignments that require
prior Commission approval, the transaction must be consummated and
notification provided to the Commission within 180 days of public notice of
approval, and notification of consummation must occur no later than 30 days
after actual consummation, unless a request for an extension of time to
consummate is filed on FCC Form 603 prior to the expiration of this 180-day
period. For transfers and assignments that do not require prior Commission
approval, notification of consummation must be provided on FCC Form 603 no
later than 30 days after consummation, along with any necessary updates of
ownership information on FCC Form 602.
(e) Partial assignment of authorization. If the authorization for some, but
not all, of the facilities of a radio station in the Wireless Radio Services
is assigned to another party, voluntarily or involuntarily, such action is a
partial assignment of authorization. To request Commission approval of a
partial assignment of authorization, the assignor must notify the Commission
on FCC Form 603 of the facilities that will be deleted from its
authorization upon consummation of the assignment.
(f) Partitioning and disaggregation. Where a licensee proposes to partition
or disaggregate a portion of its authorization to another party, the
application will be treated as a request for partial assignment of
authorization. The assignor must notify the Commission on FCC Form 603 of
the geographic area or spectrum that will be deleted from its authorization
upon consummation of the assignment.
(g) Involuntary transfer and assignment. In the event of the death or legal
disability of a permittee or licensee, a member of a partnership, or a
person directly or indirectly in control of a corporation which is a
permittee or licensee, the Commission shall be notified promptly of the
occurrence of such death or legal disability. Within 30 days after the
occurrence of such death or legal disability (except in the case of a ship
or amateur station), an application shall be filed for consent to
involuntary assignment of such permit or license, or for involuntary
transfer of control of such corporation, to a person or entity legally
qualified to succeed to the foregoing interests under the laws of the place
having jurisdiction over the estate involved. The procedures and forms to be
used are the same procedures and forms as those specified in paragraph (b)
of this section. In the case of Ship, aircraft, Commercial Operator,
Amateur, and Personal Radio Services (except for 218–219 MHz Service)
involuntary assignment of licenses will not be granted; such licenses shall
be surrendered for cancellation upon the death or legal disability of the
licensee. Amateur station call signs assigned to the station of a deceased
licensee shall be available for reassignment pursuant to Sec. 97.19 of this
chapter.
(h) Disclosure requirements. Applicants for transfer or assignment of
licenses in auctionable services must comply with the disclosure
requirements of Sec. Sec. 1.2111 and 1.2112 of this part.
(i) Trafficking. Applications for approval of assignment or transfer may be
reviewed by the Commission to determine if the transaction is for purposes
of trafficking in service authorizations.
(1) Trafficking consists of obtaining or attempting to obtain an
authorization for the principal purpose of speculation or profitable resale
of the authorization rather than for the provision of telecommunication
services to the public or for the licensee's own private use.
(2) The Commission may require submission of an affirmative, factual
showing, supported by affidavit of persons with personal knowledge thereof,
to demonstrate that the assignor did not acquire the authorization for the
principal purpose of speculation or profitable resale of the authorization.
This showing may include, for example, a demonstration that the proposed
assignment is due to changed circumstances (described in detail) affecting
the licensee after the grant of the authorization, or that the proposed
assignment is incidental to a sale of other facilities or a merger of
interests.
(j) Processing of applications. Applications for assignment of authorization
or transfer of control relating to the Wireless Radio Services will be
processed pursuant either to general approval procedures or the immediate
approval procedures, as discussed herein.
(1) General approval procedures. Applications will be processed pursuant to
the general approval procedures set forth in this paragraph unless they are
submitted and qualify for the immediate approval procedures set forth in
paragraph (j)(2) of this section.
(i) To be accepted for filing under these general approval procedures, the
application must be sufficiently complete and contain all necessary
information and certifications requested on the applicable form, FCC Form
603, including any information and certifications (including those of the
proposed assignee or transferee relating to eligibility, basic
qualifications, and foreign ownership) required by the rules of this chapter
and any rules pertaining to the specific service for which the application
is filed, and must include payment of the required application fee(s) ( see
Sec. 1.1102).
(ii) Once accepted for filing, the application will be placed on public
notice, except no prior public notice will be required for applications
involving authorizations in the Private Wireless Services, as specified in
Sec. 1.933(d)(9).
(iii) Petitions to deny filed in accordance with section 309(d) of the
Communications Act must comply with the provisions of Sec. 1.939, except that
such petitions must be filed no later than 14 days following the date of the
public notice listing the application as accepted for filing.
(iv) No later than 21 days following the date of the public notice listing
an application as accepted for filing, the Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau (Bureau) will affirmatively consent to the application, deny the
application, or determine to subject the application to further review. For
applications for which no prior public notice is required, the Bureau will
affirmatively consent to the application, deny the application, or determine
to subject the application to further review no later than 21 days following
the date on which the application has been filed, if filed electronically,
and any required application fee has been paid ( see Sec. 1.1102); if filed
manually, the Bureau will affirmatively consent to the application, deny the
application, or determine to subject the application to further review no
later than 21 days after the necessary data in the manually filed
application is entered into ULS.
(v) If the Bureau determines to subject the application to further review,
it will issue a public notice so indicating. Within 90 days following the
date of that public notice, the Bureau will either take action upon the
application or provide public notice that an additional 90-day period for
review is needed.
(vi) Consent to the application is not deemed granted until the Bureau
affirmatively acts upon the application.
(vii) Grant of consent to the application will be reflected in a public
notice (see Sec. 1.933(a)) promptly issued after the grant.
(viii) If any petition to deny is filed, and the Bureau grants the
application, the Bureau will deny the petition(s) and issue a concise
statement of the reason(s) for denial, disposing of all substantive issues
raised in the petition(s).
(2) Immediate approval procedures. Applications that meet the requirements
of paragraph (j)(2)(i) of this section qualify for the immediate approval
procedures.
(i) To qualify for the immediate approval procedures, the application must
be sufficiently complete, contain all necessary information and
certifications (including those relating to eligibility, basic
qualifications, and foreign ownership), and include payment of the requisite
application fee(s), as required for an application processed under the
general approval procedures set forth in paragraph (j)(1) of this section,
and also must establish, through certifications, that the following
additional qualifications are met:
(A) The license does not involve spectrum licensed in a Wireless Radio
Service that may be used to provide interconnected mobile voice and/or data
services under the applicable service rules and that would, if assigned or
transferred, create a geographic overlap with spectrum in any licensed
Wireless Radio Service (including the same service) in which the proposed
assignee or transferee already holds a direct or indirect interest of 10% or
more ( see Sec. 1.2112), either as a licensee or a spectrum lessee, and that
could be used by the assignee or transferee to provide interconnected mobile
voice and/or data services;
(B) The licensee is not a designated entity or entrepreneur subject to
unjust enrichment requirements and/or transfer restrictions under applicable
Commission rules ( see Sec. Sec. 1.2110 and 1.2111, and Sec. Sec. 24.709, 24.714, and 24.839
of this chapter); and,
(C) The assignment or transfer of control does not require a waiver of, or
declaratory ruling pertaining to, any applicable Commission rules, and there
is no pending issue as to whether the license is subject to revocation,
cancellation, or termination by the Commission.
(ii) Provided that the application establishes that it meets all of the
requisite elements to qualify for these immediate approval procedures,
consent to the assignment or transfer of control will be reflected in ULS.
If the application is filed electronically, consent will be reflected in ULS
on the next business day after the filing of the application; if filed
manually, consent will be reflected in ULS on the next business day after
the necessary data in the manually filed application is entered into ULS.
Consent to the application is not deemed granted until the Bureau
affirmatively acts upon the application.
(iii) Grant of consent to the application under these immediate approval
procedures will be reflected in a public notice ( see Sec. 1.933(a)) promptly
issued after the grant, and is subject to reconsideration ( see Sec. Sec. 1.106(f),
1.108, 1.113).
[ 63 FR 68933 , Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 62120 , Nov. 16, 1999; 68 FR 42995 , July 21, 2003; 68 FR 66276 , Nov. 25, 2003; 69 FR 77944 , Dec. 29,
2004; 69 FR 77549 , Dec. 27, 2004]
Effective Date Note: At 69 FR 77549 , Dec. 27, 2004, Sec. 1.948(j)(2) was
revised. This paragraph contains information collection and recordkeeping
requirements and will not become effective until approval has been given by
the Office of Management and Budget.
Goto Section: 1.947 | 1.949
Goto Year: 2007 |
2009
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