PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 1919 M STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 News media information (202) 418-0500. Recorded listing of releases and texts (202) 418-2222. August 15, 1996 AUCTION OF BROADBAND PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE (D, E AND F BLOCKS) Mock Auction Scheduled for August 20, 1996 Report No. AUC-96-11-F (Auction No. 11) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct a mock electronic auction on August 20, 1996 for the purpose of better acquainting D-, E- and F-block qualified bidders with the electronic bidding software and process. This mock auction will be open only to qualified DEF bidders who are eligible to bid electronically as a result of submitting or resubmitting their FCC Form 175 short-form applications electronically. Pre-registration will not be required. This auction will include D-, E- and F-block licenses in seven markets (B101, B184, B208, B262, B321, B341 and B404, a total of 21 licenses), and will follow the rules governing the D-, E- and F-block broadband PCS auction. The program will assume that each bidder applied for all 21 licenses and submitted upfront payments of $50 million, corresponding to 833,333,333 bidding units. The auction will simulate the start of Stage I, so bidders will be required to be active on at least 60 percent of their bidding units, or else face a reduction in bidding eligibility. The mock auction will consist of two rounds, with the following schedule: Round 1 Round 2 Bid Submission 9:00-11:00 a.m. 1:00-3:00 p.m. Bid Submission Round Results 11:00-11:30 a.m. 3:00-3:30 p.m. Bid Withdrawal 11:30-12:00 noon 3:30-4:00 p.m. Bid Withdrawal Round Results 12:00-12:30 p.m. 4:00-4:30 p.m. Eligible DEF bidders who wish to participate in the mock auction will establish a PPP connection to the FCC Auction Network through either a 202-area-code number or a 900 number, as selected through the mock auction software. (The FCC encourages participants to test their ability to connect using the 900 number, in order to identify any potential problems such as a 900-number telephone block. There will be no access charge for the first minute of the 900-number connection time.) When participants establish the PPP connection and start the Mock Bid Submission/Withdrawal system, they will register for the mock auction by entering their FCC account numbers. The login names, login passwords, and Bidder Identification Numbers (BINs) will be pre-filled. (Pre-filled codes are for the mock auction only. For the actual DEF auction, valid login codes and BINs will be mailed to qualified bidders with their registration materials.) Remote bidding software for the mock auction will be available via the FCC's Internet and Bulletin Board System beginning Friday, August 16, 1996. See Attachment A. This software is specifically designed for this simulation, and is not adaptable to any FCC spectrum auctions. As part of the software, the Commission has established a suggestion box, and welcomes your comments regarding the software. For additional information regarding this public notice, please contact the FCC Auctions Technical Support Center, at 202-414-1250. - FCC - ATTACHMENT A INSTRUCTIONS FOR DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING THE FCC MOCK AUCTION BIDDING SYSTEM Those applicants who wish to participate in the FCC Mock Auction will need at a minimum the following hardware and software: Hardware Requirements:  CPU: Intel 80386 or above (80486 or faster recommended)  RAM: 8MB RAM (more recommended if you have multiple applications open)  Hard Disk: 12MB available disk space  Modem: v.32bis 14.4kbps Hayes compatible modem  Monitor: VGA or above  Mouse or other pointing device To create backup installation disks for the FCC Mock Auction Bidding System, you will need the following:  1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive  Three (3) blank MS-DOS formatted 1.44MB floppy disks Software Requirements:  FCC Mock Auction Bidding System (available through the Internet and the FCC Bulletin Board System)  Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Microsoft Windows for Workgroups v3.11 in an enhanced mode Note: The FCC Mock Auction Bidding System has not been tested in a Macintosh, OS/2, or Windows95 environment. Therefore, the FCC will not support operating systems other than Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Microsoft Windows for Workgroups v3.11 in an enhanced mode. This includes any other emulated Windows environment. If your Windows is in a networked environment, you should check with your local network administrator for any potential conflicts with the PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) Dialer that is included with the FCC Mock Auction Bidding System. This usually includes any TCP/IP installed network protocol. The PPP Dialer that is included with the FCC Mock Auction Bidding System will establish a point-to-point connection from your PC to the FCC Network. THIS POINT-TO-POINT CONNECTION IS NOT ROUTED THROUGH THE INTERNET. Applicants who wish to participate in the FCC Mock Auction must first download the FCC Mock Auction Bidding System from either the Internet or the FCC Bulletin Board System (File Name: MOCKV35.EXE). Internet Access: In order to download the compressed file from the Internet, you will need to have access to the Internet and an ftp client software as follows: o World Wide Web: ftp://ftp.fcc.gov o Gopher: gopher.ftp.fcc.gov or use any gopher to get to "all the gophers in the world" then 'U.S.' then 'DC' then 'FCC'. Once you connect to the FCC ftp server via the World Wide Web or Gopher, select the following directory and download the following file: Directory: /pub/Auctions/Mock/Programs File: MOCKV35.EXE o FTP: The following instructions are for the command line version of ftp. 1. Connect to the FCC ftp server by typing ftp ftp.fcc.gov 2. At the user name prompt, type anonymous [Enter] 3. At the password prompt, type your Internet e-mail address [Enter] 4. To allow the file to be downloaded type: binary [Enter] 5. Change your current directory to the Programs directory by typing: cd /pub/Auctions/Mock/Programs [Enter] 6. Use the get command to download from the FCC ftp server by typing: get mockv35.exe [Enter] 7. If you wish to exit, type: bye [Enter] Dial-In Access to the FCC Auction Bulletin Board System (BBS): The FCC Auction Bulletin Board System provides dial-in access for the FCC Mock Auction Bidding System. In order to access the FCC Auction BBS, use a communications package that can handle at least xmodem protocol (e.g., pcAnyWhere, Telix, Procomm) to dial in to (202) 682-5851. Use the settings of 8 data bits, no parity and 1 stop bit (8,N,1). o For new users follow steps 1-5, otherwise go to step 6 in the ANSI Protocol Instructions section or the Non-ANSI Protocol Instructions section (whichever is applicable): 1. Type New and press [Enter]. If the word ANSI is blinking, type Y for yes. If the word ANSI is not blinking, type N for No 2. Type in your first and last name and press [Enter]. This will be your login name 3. Type in Y and press [Enter] when asked to verify your login name 4. Type in what you want your password to be and press [Enter] 5. Retype the password for verification and press [Enter] o ANSI Protocol Instructions (once the account is generated): 6. Type C for Mock Auction Files and press [Enter] 7. Type P for Programs and press [Enter] 8. Type C for Current Library and press [Enter] 9 . Move the cursor to the file named MOCKV35.EXE, press [Control]-D for Download and press [Enter] 10. Type the letter representing the transfer protocol desired and press [Enter]. How the file is downloaded and where it gets downloaded depends on the transfer protocol package used. 11. The FCC Auction BBS will begin transferring the file. You may need to give your terminal emulation software a command to receive the file; please consult your terminal emulation software manual for instructions concerning how to do so. 12. Type X to return to the Programs menu, then type X again. Type X to Exit and press [Enter] and continue to do so until asked if you want to Exit the BBS. Press Y for Yes when asked to verify that you want to exit. o Non-ANSI Protocol Instructions (once the account is generated): 6. Type C for Mock Auction Files and press [Enter] 7. Type P for Programs and press [Enter] 8. Type C for Current Library and press [Enter] 9. Type the letter next to the file named MOCKV35.EXE and press [Enter] 10. Type D for Download now and press [Enter] 11. Type the letter representing the transfer protocol desired and press [Enter]. How the file is downloaded and where it gets downloaded depends on the transfer protocol package used. 12. The FCC Auction BBS will begin transferring the file. You may need to give your terminal emulation software a command to receive the file; please consult your terminal emulation software manual for instructions concerning how to do so. 13. Type X, then type X to Exit and press [Enter] and continue to do so until asked if you want to Exit the BBS. Press Y for Yes when asked to verify that you want to exit. Creating Installation Disks from the Downloaded File: The Mock Auction Bidding System will be in a self-extracting compressed file format. To extract the software, start File Manager in the Main program group, open the file folder where you downloaded the executable, and double-click on MOCKV35.EXE. A message will appear listing the default directory to which the software will extract. If the directory does not exist, it will be created automatically. Press Unzip to begin extracting the software. When the extraction is complete, a message will appear listing the number of files that were unzipped. Press OK to start the setup program. Installing the FCC Mock Auction Bidding System: After you extract the software, the setup program will run automatically. If you choose not to install the FCC Mock Auction Bidding System, you can run setup later by starting File Manager, opening the file folder to which you extracted the software, and double-clicking on SETUP.EXE. When the setup program begins, a screen will appear listing the default directory to which the software will install. Press the Install button, then press OK to install to the specified directory. If the directory does not exist, the setup program will create it automatically. When the installation is complete, a message may appear asking you to restart Windows so that the changes made by the installation may take effect. Creating Backup Installation Disks: To create backup installation disks for the FCC Mock Auction Bidding System, go to File Manager, open the file folder to which you extracted the software, double-click on backup.bat, and follow the instructions on the screen. Running the FCC Mock Auction Bidding System: When you have finished installing and/or upgrading the software, you will have a new Program Manager group called FCC Mock Auction v3.5 with the following icons: Configure PPP, PPP Dialer, Ping, Bid Submission/Withdrawal, Round Results Viewer, Suggestion Box, Announcements, Messages and Readme File. You must verify/modify the parameters in the Configure PPP program prior to establishing a PPP connection. Please see the readme file associated with the software for further information regarding Configure PPP. For technical assistance in installing or using the software, contact the FCC Technical Support Hotline at (202) 414-1250. The FCC Technical Support Hotline will be generally available Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. Uninstalling the FCC Mock Auction Bidding System: To uninstall the FCC Mock Auction Bidding System, delete the directory to which you installed the software and the directory to which you extracted the software. For technical assistance in downloading, extracting or installing this software contact the FCC Technical Support Hotline at (202) 414-1250. The FCC Technical Support Hotline will be generally available Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING ALL FCC REMOTE ELECTRONIC SOFTWARE CAN BE FOUND IN THE README FILE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ELECTRONIC SOFTWARE AS WELL AS IN THE CONTEXT SENSITIVE HELP FUNCTION ASSOCIATED WITH EACH SOFTWARE SYSTEM.