Sec. 1.2105  Bidding application and certification procedures; 
          prohibition of collusion.

    (a) Submission of Short Form Application (FCC Form 175). In order to 
be eligible to bid, an applicant must timely submit a short-form 
application (FCC Form 175), together with any appropriate filing fee set 
forth by Public Notice. Unless otherwise provided by Public Notice, the 
Form 175 need not be accompanied by an upfront payment (see 
Sec. 1.2106).
    (1) All Form 175s will be due:
    (i) On the date(s) specified by Public Notice; or
    (ii) In the case of application filing dates which occur 
automatically by operation of law (see, e.g., 47 CFR 22.902), on a date 
specified by Public Notice after the Commission has reviewed the 
applications that have been filed on those dates and determined that 
mutual exclusivity exists.
    (2) The Form 175 must contain the following information:
    (i) Identification of each license on which the applicant wishes to 
bid;
    (ii) The applicant's name, if the applicant is an individual. If the 
applicant is a corporation, then the short-form application will require 
the name and address of the corporate office and the name and title of 
an officer or director. If the applicant is a partnership, then the 
application will require the name, citizenship and address of all 
partners, and, if a partner is not a natural person, then the name and 
title of a responsible person should be included as well. If the 
applicant is a trust, then the name and address of the trustee will be 
required. If the applicant is none of the above, then it must identify 
and describe itself and its principals or other responsible persons;
    (iii) The identity of the person(s) authorized to make or withdraw a 
bid;
    (iv) If the applicant applies as a designated entity pursuant to 
Sec. 1.2110, a statement to that effect and a declaration, under penalty 
of perjury, that the applicant is qualified as a designated entity under 
Sec. 1.2110.
    (v) Certification that the applicant is legally, technically, 
financially and otherwise qualified pursuant to section 308(b) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended. The Commission will accept 
applications certifying that a request for waiver or other relief from 
the requirements of section 310 is pending;
    (vi) Certification that the applicant is in compliance with the 
foreign ownership provisions of section 310 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended;
    (vii) Certification that the applicant is and will, during the 
pendency of its application(s), remain in compliance with any service-
specific qualifications applicable to the licenses on which the 
applicant intends to bid including, but not limited to, financial 
qualifications. The Commission may require certification in certain 
services that the applicant will, following grant of a license, come 
into compliance with certain service-specific rules, including, but not 
limited to, ownership eligibility limitations;
    (viii) An exhibit, certified as truthful under penalty of perjury, 
identifying all parties with whom the applicant has entered into 
partnerships, joint ventures, consortia or other agreements, 
arrangements or understandings of any kind relating to the licenses 
being auctioned, including any such agreements relating to the post-
auction market structure.
    (ix) Certification under penalty of perjury that it has not entered 
and will not enter into any explicit or implicit agreements, 
arrangements or understandings of any kind with any parties other than 
those identified pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)(viii) of this section 
regarding the amount of their bids, bidding strategies or the particular 
licenses on which they will or will not bid; and
    (x) Certification that the applicant is not in default on any 
Commission licenses and that it is not delinquent on any non-tax debt 
owed to any Federal agency.

    Note to paragraph (a): The Commission may also request applicants to 
submit additional information for informational purposes to aid in its 
preparation of required reports to Congress.


[[Page 302]]


    (b) Modification and Dismissal of Form 175. (1) Any Form 175 that is 
not signed or otherwise does not contain all of the certifications 
required pursuant to this section is unacceptable for filing and cannot 
be corrected subsequent to any applicable filing deadline. The 
application will be dismissed with prejudice and the upfront payment, if 
paid, will be returned.
    (2) The Commission will provide bidders a limited opportunity to 
cure defects specified herein (except for failure to sign the 
application and to make certifications) and to resubmit a corrected 
application. Form 175 may be amended or modified to make minor changes 
or correct minor errors in the application (such as typographical 
errors). The Commission will classify all amendments as major or minor, 
pursuant to rules applicable to specific services. An application will 
be considered to be a newly filed application if it is amended by a 
major amendment and may not be resubmitted after applicable filing 
deadlines.
    (3) Applicants who fail to correct defects in their applications in 
a timely manner as specified by Public Notice will have their 
applications dismissed with no opportunity for resubmission.
    (c) Prohibition of collusion. (1) Except as provided in paragraphs 
(c)(2), (c)(3) and (c)(4) of this section, after the filing of short-
form applications, all applicants are prohibited from cooperating, 
collaborating, discussing or disclosing in any manner the substance of 
their bids or bidding strategies, or discussing or negotiating 
settlement agreements, with other applicants until after the high bidder 
makes the required down payment, unless such applicants are members of a 
bidding consortium or other joint bidding arrangement identified on the 
bidder's short-form application pursuant to Sec. 1.2105(a)(2)(viii).
    (2) Applicants may modify their short-form applications to reflect 
formation of consortia or changes in ownership at any time before or 
during an auction, provided such changes do not result in a change in 
control of the applicant, and provided that the parties forming 
consortia or entering into ownership agreements have not applied for 
licenses in any of the same geographic license areas. Such changes will 
not be considered major modifications of the application.
    (3) After the filing of short-form applications, applicants may make 
agreements to bid jointly for licenses, provided the parties to the 
agreement have not applied for licenses in any of the same geographic 
license areas.
    (4) After the filing of short-form applications, a holder of a non-
controlling attributable interest in an entity submitting a short-form 
application may acquire an ownership interest in, form a consortium 
with, or enter into a joint bidding arrangement with, other applicants 
for licenses in the same geographic license area, provided that:
    (i) The attributable interest holder certifies to the Commission 
that it has not communicated and will not communicate with any party 
concerning the bids or bidding strategies of more than one of the 
applicants in which it holds an attributable interest, or with which it 
has a consortium or joint bidding arrangement, and which have applied 
for licenses in the same geographic license area(s); and
    (ii) The arrangements do not result in any change in control of an 
applicant.
    (5) Applicants must modify their short-form applications to reflect 
any changes in ownership or in the membership of consortia or joint 
bidding arrangements.
    (6) For purposes of this paragraph:
    (i) The term applicant shall include the entity submitting a short-
form application to participate in an auction (FCC Form 175), as well as 
all holders of partnership and other ownership interests and any stock 
interest amounting to 5 percent or more of the entity, or outstanding 
stock, or outstanding voting stock of the entity submitting a short-form 
application, and all officers and directors of that entity; and
    (ii) The term bids or bidding strategies shall include capital calls 
or requests for additional funds in support of bids or bidding 
strategies.

    Example for paragraph (c): Company A is an applicant in area 1. 
Company B and Company C each own 10 percent of Company A. Company D is 
an applicant in area 1, area 2, and area 3. Company C is an applicant in 
area 3. Without violating the Commission's

[[Page 303]]

Rules, Company B can enter into a consortium arrangement with Company D 
or acquire an ownership interest in Company D if Company B certifies 
either
    (1) That it has communicated with and will communicate neither with 
Company A or anyone else concerning Company A's bids or bidding 
strategy, nor with Company C or anyone else concerning Company C's bids 
or bidding strategy, or
    (2) That it has not communicated with and will not communicate with 
Company D or anyone else concerning D's bids or bidding strategy.

[ 59 FR 44293 , Aug. 26, 1994, as amended at  59 FR 64162 , Dec. 13, 1994; 
 62 FR 13543 , Mar. 21, 1997]