The FCC's Enforcement Bureau has issued a Forfeiture
Order affirming the $75,000 fine it proposed to levy against
Cascade Access, LLC in a 2009 Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (the "NAL") for violating the
Commission's anti-collusion rules in Auction No. 73.
In Auction No. 73, the FCC offered licenses to use spectrum in
the 700 MHz band. Cascade filed a short-form application for one
license on which it wished to bid – located at White Pine,
Nevada. Verizon Wireless also applied to bid on that license.
Section 1.2105(c) of the Commission's rules prohibits
communications between auction competitors from the closing of the
short-form filing window until the deadline for the winning bidder
to tender its down payment for the license it purchased.
Competitors are precluded from communicating about their bids,
bidding strategies or the post-auction structure of the relevant
market. If such communications are sent or received, the FCC is to
be notified within
