The FCC Media and Wireless bureaus identified the...

The FCC Media and Wireless bureaus identified the locations, frequencies and minimum opening bids for 22 new commercial AM stations up for auction (http://bit.ly/Lkvs9i). Auction 84 will take place May 6 (CD Nov 19 p20). All applicants within each mutually exclusive group are directly mutually exclusive (MX) with one another, the bureaus said in a public notice (http://bit.ly/1e4HYWq). “No more than one construction permit will be awarded for each MX group identified.” The commission’s rules don’t prohibit applicants from signing otherwise lawful bidding agreements before filing their short-form applications, “as long as they disclose the existence of the agreement(s) in their short-form applications,” said the notice. The commission delegated to the bureaus the authority and discretion to determine appropriate upfront payments for each auction, which are due before 6 p.m. April 7, it said. The payments “help defer frivolous or insincere bidding, and provide the commission with a source of funds in the event that the bidder incurs liability during the auction,” it said. The public notice provided information on auction stopping rules, registration and other procedures.