(a) Public Notice of Competitive Bidding Procedures. Detailed competitive bidding procedures shall be established by public notice prior to the commencement of competitive bidding any time competitive bidding is conducted pursuant to this subpart.
(b) Competitive Bidding Procedures. The public notice detailing competitive bidding procedures may establish any of the following:
(1) Limits on the public availability of information regarding applicants, applications, and bids during a period of time covering the competitive bidding process, as well as procedures for parties to report the receipt of such non-public information during such periods;
(2) The way in which support may be made available for multiple identified areas by competitive bidding, e.g., simultaneously or sequentially, and if the latter, in what grouping, if any, and order;
(3) The acceptable form for bids, including whether and how bids will be accepted on individual items and/or for combinations or packages of items;
(4) Reserve prices, either for discrete items or combinations or packages of items, as well as whether the reserve prices will be public or non-public during the competitive bidding process;
(5) The methods and times for submission of bids, whether remotely, by telephonic or electronic transmission, or in person;
(6) The number of rounds during which bids may be submitted, e.g., one or more, and procedures for ending the bidding;
(7) Measurements of bidding activity in the aggregate or by individual applicants, together with requirements for minimum levels of bidding activity;
(8) Acceptable bid amounts at the opening of and over the course of bidding;
(9) Consistent with the public interest objectives of the competitive bidding, the process for reviewing bids and determining the winning bidders and the amount(s) of universal service support that each winning bidder may apply for, pursuant to applicable post-auction procedures;
(10) Procedures, if any, by which bidders may withdraw bids; and
(11) Procedures by which bidding may be delayed, suspended, or canceled before or after bidding begins for any reason that affects the fair and efficient conduct of the bidding, including natural disasters, technical failures, administrative necessity, or any other reason.
(c) Apportioning Package Bids. If the public notice establishing detailed competitive bidding procedures adopts procedures for bidding for support on combinations or packages of geographic areas, the public notice also shall establish a methodology for apportioning such bids among the geographic areas within the combination or package for purposes of implementing any Commission rule or procedure that requires a discrete bid for support in relation to a specific geographic area.
(d) Public Notice of Competitive Bidding Results. After the conclusion of competitive bidding, a public notice shall identify the winning bidders that may apply for the offered universal service support and the amount(s) of support for which they may apply, and shall detail the application procedures.