Application and Bidding Search
To search the 833 Auction Application and Bidding Database, click the link below.
On December 20, 2019, Somos released the Winning Bidder Public Notice for the 833 Auction. This Public Notice contains the instructions for final payment, details on releasing the Toll Free Number won in the auction, an Attachment A with the auction results by Toll Free Number and Attachment B with the auction results by winning bidder. The Public Notice is available below. Additionally, Excel versions of the attachments are also available. Final payment for those who have payments due is due on January 8, 2020, 6:00 P.M. Eastern Time.
Click on the link below for a list of 833 toll free numbers that were available to bid on.
On December 10, 2019, Somos released the Qualified Bidder Public Notice for the 833 Auction. This Public Notice contains the list of applicants that have been deemed Qualified and Non-Qualified for the 833 Auction.
On November 13, 2019, Somos released the Status Public Notice for the 833 Auction. This Public Notice contains the list of complete and incomplete applications, as well as rules and procedures for resubmitting incomplete applications and making an upfront payment.
Below is a link to the FCC’s 833 Toll Free Number Auction Procedure Public Notice. The FCC approved this at its August 1, 2019 Open Meeting. This document contains the rules for the 833 Auction.
To search the 833 Auction Application and Bidding Database, click the link below.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
FCC FORM 833 REGISTRATION FILING INSTRUCTIONS 09-18-2019 .pdf | 147.3 KB |
FCC FORM 833 APPLICATION FILING INSTRUCTIONS 09-11-2019.pdf | 236.17 KB |
833 AUCTION BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS 10-07-2019.pdf | 135.5 KB |
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
FCC FORM 833 REGISTRATION TUTORIAL 09-11-2019.pdf | 15.57 MB |
FCC FORM 833 APPLICATION TUTORIAL 09-18-2019.pdf | 15.97 MB |
FCC FORM 833 BIDDING TUTORIAL 10-07-2019.pdf | 9.74 MB |
These are sample files. You will not be able to use these files to participate in the auction. The only way to participate in the auction is to Register and Apply in the Somos Auction System between Monday October 7, Noon, ET and Friday October 18, 6:00 p.m. ET.
Start your application by clicking on the "PARTICIPATE IN THE AUCTION" link at the top of this website.
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
Toll Free Auction - Registration Page.pdf | 492.69 KB |
Toll Free Auction - Consortium.pdf | 3.33 MB |
Toll Free Auction - Corporation.pdf | 3.33 MB |
Toll Free Auction - General Partner.pdf | 3.33 MB |
Toll Free Auction - Government Entity.pdf | 2.73 MB |
Toll Free Auction - Individual.pdf | 2.69 MB |
Toll Free Auction - Limited Liability Company.pdf | 3.37 MB |
Toll Free Auction - Limited Partnership.pdf | 3.35 MB |
Toll Free Auction - Other.pdf | 3.31 MB |
Toll Free Auction - Trust.pdf | 3.36 MB |
FCC Sets Auction Procedures:
Pre-Bidding Activities:
Bidding Activities:
Post-Bidding Activities(TBD):
Note: All dates subject to change.
The registration and application window open on Monday, October 7, 2019, at 12 noon Eastern Time (ET). It closes on Friday, October 18, 2019, promptly at 6:00 p.m. ET. Applications will not be accepted after the window closes. The auction will take place on December 17, 2019. Opening and closing times for the auction will be announced to qualified bidders at least one week before the auction.
Starting on October 7, 2019, at 12 noon ET, you can start the registration process by clicking on the Participate in the Auction link at the top of this page or in the Information section.
The FCC’s 833 Auction Procedures Public Notice provides details on how individuals and companies will be able to participate and what information they will need to provide in their auction application. The 833 Auction instructions and tutorials on this site will also give you information on filling out your registration and application. If you do not wish to participate in the auction directly, you also have the option to participate through certain Responsible Organizations (Resp Orgs).
We are using a third-party service to verify the information in your registration. If the service is unable to verify your information, we will manually verify the information, which may include Somos reaching out to you.
No. We ask that you do not put your Social Security Number anywhere in the registration or application. We are asking businesses for their Employer Identification Number (EIN).
It depends on how your organization has been set up. If it is incorporated, use either the Corporate or Limited Liability Company designation, whichever is closest. If it is a partnership, use either the General Partnership or Limited Partnership designation. If there is no applicant type that really fits, use the Other designation.
Yes. You can help your clients complete their own applications.
A Resp Org is, by FCC rule, the entity that manages a toll free number for the subscriber. Resp Orgs are the only entities that can provide the necessary routing information to make a toll free number work. A potential subscriber can participate directly in the auction or indirectly through a Resp Org. After the auction, a winning bidder that did not bid through a Resp Org must identify one that it will use to manage its toll free number. To find a Resp Org, please go to the Somos website under Find a Service Provider.
You have the choice of whether to use a Resp Org to bid in the auction or not. Resp Orgs are agents for the toll free subscribers, per the FCC rules. If you decide to participate through a Resp Org, the Resp Org will be the one responsible for completing the application, and it must disclose each of the potential subscribers on whose behalf it will be bidding.
If you decide to participate in the auction directly, you must submit your application and bid on the numbers in which you are interested. If you are a winning bidder, you must choose a Resp Org to manage your toll free number within 15 business days of the announcement of the winning bids. You cannot put the toll free number in service or sell it to another party until you have chosen a Resp Org. Once you have chosen a Resp Org, it will submit a Letter of Authorization on your behalf to Somos memorializing the new relationship.
Costs vary from Resp Org to Resp Org. To find a Resp Org, please go to the Somos website under Find a Service Provider.
The requirements applicable to such a Resp Org will depend on the nature of its relationship with the applicant and the extent of its involvement with the client’s participation in the application and the auction process. At a minimum, Resp Orgs providing guidance to an 833 Auction applicant must adhere to the same requirements as any other consultant, advisor, or attorney for an auction applicant.
Every auction applicant must disclose the real party or parties in interest in the applicant and in the application. Applicants must also disclose in their application any auction-related agreement (regardless of whether the agreement is in writing) to which they are a party. If the nature of an agreement between an applicant and a party is such that it renders the party to the agreement a real party in interest of the applicant, that party must be disclosed as such in the application.
Applicants and their consultants must take appropriate steps to ensure that the consultant does not become a conduit for prohibited communications to other parties, as that would violate the prohibited communications rule. An individual employed by a Resp Org that is acting as consultant to an applicant cannot serve as an authorized bidder for more than one applicant. Within a third-party firm serving as an auction consultant or advisor to an applicant, separate individual employees may advise individual applicants on bids or bidding strategies, as long as such firms implement firewalls and other compliance procedures that prevent such individuals from communicating the bids or bidding strategies of one applicant to other individuals representing separate applicants.
No. For the purpose of designating yourself as a Resp Org for this auction, you must be a Resp Org with a unique two-digit entity ID in the TFN Registry. If you don’t know if you are a Resp Org, please contact the Help Desk at 844-439-7666 or auctionhelp@somos.com.
Because the FCC rules define Resp orgs and set forth certain responsibilities, Resp Orgs are considered “FCC regulated entities” for purposes of the toll free number auction and must be disclosed in the auction application.
In your auction application, you must disclose any person or entity that directly or indirectly holds 10 percent or greater interest in the applicant. You must enter certain information about the individual or entity in the required fields in the form and must supplement that information by providing a narrative in an attachment that fully explains the relationship between the applicant and its owners. It may be helpful to include diagrams if the ownership structure is complicated.
No.
No. Only numbers that were set aside by the FCC are available for bidding. For a list of available 833 numbers, click here.
In your auction application you must select any toll free number (from the list of available 833 numbers) on which you may wish to place a bid during the auction. You must also identify, for each number selected, the party (either yourself or another entity) on whose behalf you will be bidding. Designating the specific toll free numbers that you are interested in, instead of the entire list, will make it easier for you to complete your bid sheet. Also, your bidding eligibility (i.e., how many toll free numbers on which you can bid) will be determined by the amount of upfront payment you provide.
Yes. For each toll free number that you will be bidding on behalf of yourself, you must specify “self” in the “Behalf Entity” column in your bid file.
You must disclose on whose behalf you are bidding in your application. This information cannot be changed once the application is submitted.
You are not required to make a bid on every number identified in your application. However, you are only allowed to bid on numbers listed in your application. Also, after the initial application window, you cannot change the entity on whose behalf you are bidding.
The applicant is responsible for payment. It is the applicant’s responsibility to have an arrangement with the entities that you are bidding on behalf of for reimbursement.
Additional exhibits are not required; however, they allow you an opportunity to include any information in your application that has not been otherwise required in the form. For example, if you wish to request a waiver or confidential treatment, you can do so by attaching the request as an additional exhibit. If you are requesting confidential treatment of any part of your application, you must not only include the request as an additional exhibit, but you must also submit the request to both auctionhelp@somos.com and 833auction@fcc.gov. Another example of an additional exhibit would be if you would like to provide additional information on the additional parties in interest disclosed in the form.
An upfront payment determines how many numbers you can bid on in the auction. The FCC has set the upfront payment amount as $100 per toll free number. Your upfront payment determines your bidding eligibility. For example, if you want to bid on a maximum of 15 numbers, your upfront payment must be 15 x $100, or $1,500. (You always have the option to bid less than your bidding eligibility, but you cannot bid more.) Once the auction concludes, if the total of your winning bids is less than your upfront payment, any remaining amount will be refunded to you, minus any default payments that you may owe. Similarly, if a bidder does not have any winning bids, it will be reimbursed the entirety of its upfront payment. Upfront payments will be due on November 27, 2019.
Yes. If a bidder’s winning bids total less than its upfront payment, any remaining amount will be refunded to the bidder, minus any default payments that the bidder may owe. Similarly, if a bidder does not have any winning bids, it will be reimbursed the entirety of its upfront payment.
Your upfront payment determines how many numbers you can bid on. The numbers you select in your application determines the universe of numbers you can bid on. For example, if you select 100 toll free numbers on your application, but you submit an upfront payment of $500, your bidding eligibility is 5 toll free numbers. Therefore, during the auction, you can bid on up to 5 of the 100 numbers you selected in your application.
Certain information, such as contact info, must be kept up to date. These are considered minor modifications and are permissible. Other information, such as a change in ownership, is a major modification and not permissible. For more information on minor and major modifications and the procedures to make such changes, please review the 833 Auction Procedure Public Notice and the FCC Form 833 Application Filing Instructions.
After the initial application window closes, Somos will review the applications and determine whether they are complete or incomplete. If an application is deemed incomplete, the applicant will be contacted and informed about application errors and omissions, and there will be an application resubmission period to make minor modifications to the application. Those items must be fixed by the end of the resubmission deadline, or the application will be deemed incomplete and the applicant will not be qualified to bid in the auction.
No. The FCC prohibits an applicant that is currently in default or delinquent on a non-tax debt to the Federal government from participating in the auction. An applicant will be considered a “current defaulter” or “current delinquent” if it, any of its affiliates, any of its controlling interests, or any of the affiliates of its controlling interests, is in default for any FCC construction permit or license or is delinquent on any non-tax debt owed to any Federal agency. Thus, the prohibition extends to the applicant’s owners and their affiliates.
The FCC has not yet decided how to handle toll free numbers which receive no bids. After the conclusion of the 833 Auction, the FCC will issue a decision on how it will assign toll free numbers that receive no bids.
You will not be able to see other bids. This auction will be conducted as a single round, sealed bid auction, so you will only have one chance to place a bid and you will not see any other bidder’s bids during the auction. This auction is also a Vickrey auction, in which the amount paid by the winning bidder is determined by the second-highest bid. Therefore, you are encouraged to bid your highest value during the single bidding round. There is no second chance to top someone else’s bid.
Winning bidders will be required to make full payment on their bids within 10 business days following release of the public notice announcing the winning bidders. If a winning bidder fails to make full payment on its bid or otherwise defaults for any reason, it will be subject to a default payment of 35% of the defaulted bid and will not receive the toll free number. The FCC has not yet decided how to handle toll free numbers in which the bidder has defaulted. After the conclusion of the 833 Auction, the FCC will issue a decision on how it will assign toll free numbers where the bidder has defaulted.
Yes. The prohibitions against brokering of toll free numbers does not apply to numbers won at auction.
Yes, it is allowed. A toll free subscriber is permitted to put the number in service, take it out of service, and/ or hold it for as long as the subscriber wants. Numbers assigned through the auction are not subject to the hoarding, warehousing or brokering restrictions in the FCC’s rules.
No. You must proactively spare a number assigned in the auction. It will not be automatically spared if not put into service after 45 days. Numbers won at auction are not subject to the hoarding restrictions in the FCC’s rules.
Somos will know when an auction number has been spared. We’ll make an additional check to ensure that the number was intentionally spared. Once spared, those numbers will no longer be eligible to be resold, hoarded, or warehoused.
No. Once a number goes through the spare pool, it no longer has the special ‘auctioned’ status. It is treated like any other non-auctioned number and is subject to the same prohibitions on brokering, hoarding and warehousing.
If there has been a sale of a number, and the sale includes a Resp Org change, only the Resp Org providing service to the purchasing subscriber must update the ownership information. Once it leaves your Resp Org ID, you are relieved of the responsibility to update.
The initial winning bidder information will be released on the Somos auction website after the auction has concluded. Ownership and changes in ownership will be tracked in the Somos toll free Number Registry (TFN Registry). It is the Resp Org’s responsibility to update the ownership information in the TFN Registry.