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PUBLIC NOTICE

Federal Communications Commission

News Media Information 202 / 418-0500

445 12th St., S.W.

Internet: http://www.fcc.gov

Washington, D.C. 20554

TTY: 1-888-835-5322

DA 12-1446
September 7, 2012

MOBILITY FUND PHASE I AUCTION

RELEASE OF FILES WITH RECALCULATED ROAD MILES FOR AUCTION 901

MOCK AUCTION RESCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

AU Docket No. 12-25
In the Auction 901 Procedures Public Notice, the Wireless Telecommunications and Wireline
Competition Bureaus identified census blocks eligible for the Mobility Fund Phase I support to be offered
in Auction 901.1 The Bureaus also released files containing detailed information about these census
blocks in a number of data formats, and a file with information about the more than 14,000 biddable
geographic areas for Auction 901.2 These biddable items include: (1) the census tract-level aggregations
of eligible census blocks, (2) separate aggregations of Tribal blocks and non-Tribal blocks for tracts that
contain some eligible blocks that are in a Tribal land and other eligible blocks that are not in a Tribal land,
and (3) individual eligible census blocks in Alaska.3 The Bureaus now announce the availability of
updated versions of these files, which are available via the link for “Attachment A Files” at
http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/901/. An updated summary of the eligible census blocks is attached to
this Public Notice.
These files do not change the set of eligible census blocks or biddable items. The only changes
made are to the road miles listed for certain of the eligible census blocks and their associated biddable
items. Comparing the recalculated road miles released today to the previously-released data, we note
that:
·
More than 80% of the biddable items have either no change in road miles or a change of less than
1 mile.
·
Fewer than 200 of the more than 14,000 biddable items have changes of at least 1 road mile and
more than 25% of the previous total road miles.


1 “Mobility Fund Phase I Auction Scheduled for September 27, 2012; Notice and Filing Requirements and Other
Procedures for Auction 901,” Public Notice, AU Docket No. 12-25, DA 12-641, 27 FCC Rcd 4725, 4735 para. 22
and Attachment A (2012) (“Auction 901 Procedures Public Notice”).
2 Id. See also “Mobility Fund Phase I Auction; Additional Data Formats of Eligible Census Blocks,” Public Notice,
AU Docket No. 12-25, DA 12-721, 27 FCC Rcd 5049 paras. 2-3 (2012) (“Auction 901 Additional Data Formats
Public Notice”); “Mobility Fund Phase I Auction; Supplemental Short-Form Instructions and Other Information,”
Public Notice, AU Docket No. 12-25, DA 12-947, 27 FCC Rcd 6368, 6368-69 paras. 3-4 (2012); “Mobility Fund
Phase I Auction; Updated Data Files for Auction 901,” Public Notice, AU Docket No. 12-25, DA 12-990, 27 FCC
Rcd 7131 (2012).
3 See Auction 901 Additional Data Formats Public Notice, 27 FCC Rcd at 5049 para. 3.

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The Bureaus recently became aware of some anomalies in the calculated road miles for certain of
the eligible census blocks, and as a result we have reviewed our procedures for calculating road miles.
Our review indicates that the previously-posted files overstated the eligible road miles in certain cases.4
Newly-calculated files are available on the Auction 901 website (http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/901/) via
the link for “Attachment A Files.”5
Based on our review, we have determined that the overstatement resulted from an error in
processing the relevant census data files relating to road miles. By way of background, as stated in the
Auction 901 Comment Public Notice,6 in calculating the number of road miles associated with each
eligible census block, we used the sum of linear road miles within the block plus half of the sum of linear
road miles that form a border with an adjacent block. We included half of the sum of the border roads so
these linear miles are not double counted and are appropriately attributed to each eligible block.7 In order
to make this calculation, we considered data in census TIGER files that defines census block borders,
other geographic borders, and linear features such as roads.8 Due to an error in joining these data files,
our previous files overstated the calculation of road miles within certain census blocks.
Our review also indicated that, based on the different ways in which various software treats
fractions, we could improve the consistency of our data by standardizing our rounding procedures. So we
now round all road mile numbers to hundredths of miles (two decimal places). As a result, the road mile
figures in some cases, in addition to those discussed above, may be slightly different than the previously-
released data due to the new rounding procedures.
We also reschedule the upcoming mock auction for Auction 901. The mock auction, initially
scheduled for September 25, 2012, will instead take place on September 21, 2012.9 The mock auction
will enable qualified bidders to become familiar with the FCC Auction System and to practice submitting
bids. Auction 901 will proceed as scheduled on Thursday, September 27, 2012. Consistent with its usual
practice, the Commission intends to announce qualified bidders and distribute registration materials by
overnight mail approximately ten days before the auction. All other previously-announced auction
procedures and requirements remain the same.
For further information, contact Lisa Stover of the Auctions and Spectrum Access Division at
(717) 338-2868. To request materials in accessible formats (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio
format) for people with disabilities, send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 or (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
- FCC -


4 In addition, for a very few census blocks (associated with 13 biddable items), the previously-posted files
understated road miles in particular road mile categories.
5 The interactive map of the eligible census blocks, available at http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/901/ and
http://www.fcc.gov/maps/, has also been updated. The map is a visual representation of data from the Attachment A
files, which contain more information and generally more detail than is displayed on the map.
6 “Mobility Fund Phase I Auction Scheduled for September 27, 2012; Comment Sought on Competitive Bidding
Procedures for Auction 901 and Certain Program Requirements,” Public Notice, AU Docket No. 12-25, DA 12-121,
27 FCC Rcd 530, 537 para. 22 (2012).
7 Id.
8 For this analysis, the FCC used two tables (“Faces” and “Edges”), published by the US Census Bureau as part of
the TIGER database. A description of these relationship tables can be found at
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/rel_file_desc.pdf. The datasets themselves are available in the FACES and
EDGES directories at ftp://ftp2.census.gov/geo/tiger/TIGER2010/.
9 Auction 901 Procedures Public Notice, 27 FCC Rcd at 4740,4760 paras. 40, 125.
2

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