Round 18 in Stage 4 of the FCC‘s Reverse Auction is set to begin at 10 a.m. today, with five more one-hour sessions remaining in 2016.
Round 23 will begin on Jan. 3, 2017, at 10 a.m., and some 34 rounds in this stage of the auction have been scheduled.
No one knows when the broadcast spectrum incentive auction will end — or if it will go down in flames, as some pundits have suggested, given the large gap that exists between wireless communications companies and broadcast companies in their bids.
However, the Commission has made available an online tutorial for full-power and Class A broadcasters and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) that anticipate receiving winning bid and/or reimbursement payments from the Commission following the incentive auction.
The tutorial describes how to make changes in the updated version of the Commission Registration System (CORES), which became available to the public on Sept. 1. This is essential, in order to have the appropriate point of contact for payment and banking inquiries.
The FCC says the changes to CORES are designed to strengthen the security of records, improve the usability of the system, and improve the Commission’s compliance with various statutes that govern debt collection and the collection of personal information.
These required changes and updates include designating specific Commission Usernames to access FCC Registration Numbers (FRNs) and related records (multiple usernames for each FRN with different levels of access are permitted); requiring valid e-mail addresses for online access to the system; and establishing password-recovery security questions specific to each Username.
All entities doing business with the FCC are required to update their information in CORES.
Viewers of the online tutorial will be shown how to update their FRN point of contact information as well as how to register for a new FCC Username Account; register for a new FRN; associate a Username to an existing FRN; reset a Username-Password; approve or reject an FRN Association Request; update FRN information; and administer a View FRN Financial Info Permission in CORES and the new FCC User Registration System.
The tutorial is now available for online viewing on the Education tab of the Auction 1001 website (www.fcc.gov/auctions/1001).
Additional details about CORES modifications can be found on the updated CORES website on the FCC Registration Help page, which provides guidance for how to register a new FCC Username Account, register for a new FRN, associate a Username to an existing FRN, reset a Username-Password, approve or reject an FRN Association Request, update FRN information, and administer a View FRN Financial Info Permission.
