§ 90.153 - Transfer or assignment of station authorization.

A station authorization and the rights it grants shall not be transferred, assigned, or in any manner disposed of to any person, unless the Commission shall, after obtaining full information, decide that the transfer, assignment, or disposal is in the public interest, convenience or neccessity and give its consent in writing. An applicant for voluntary transfer of control or assignment under this section where the subject license was acquired by the transferor or assignor through a system of random selection shall, together with its application for transfer of control or assignment, file with the Commission the associated contracts for sale, option agreements, management agreements, or other documents disclosing the total consideration that the applicant would receive in return for the transfer or assignment of its license. This information should include not only a monetary purchase price, but also any future, contingent, in-kind, or other consideration (e.g., management or consulting contracts either with or without an option to purchase; below-market financing). The assignee is responsible for ascertaining that the station facilities are and will remain in compliance with the terms and conditions of the authorization to be assigned.

(a) Application required. The assignor or transferor of a commercial mobile radio license under this part must file an application for approval of assignment or transfer of control (Commission Form 490). In the case of involuntary assignment, such application must be filed no later than thirty (30) days after the event causing the assignment. The assignee or transferee must file a report qualifying it as a commercial mobile radio provider (Commission Form 430) unless a current report is already on file with the Commission.

(b) Notification of completion. Assignments and transfers of control of commercial mobile radio licenses must be completed within sixty (60) days of Commission approval. The assignee or transferee must notify the Commission by letter of the date of completion of the assignment or transfer of control. If an assignment or transfer of control is not completed within this time, the assignor or transferor must so notify the Commission by letter, and the assignee or transferee must submit the authorization(s) to the Commission for cancellation or request an extension of time to complete the assignment or transfer of control. If the assignment or transfer of control is not completed, the authorization(s) remain with the assignor or transferor.

(c) Partial assignment of authorization. If the authorization for some, but not all, of the facilities of a commercial mobile radio station is assigned to another party, voluntarily or involuntarily, such action is a partial assignment of authorization.

(1) To request Commission approval of a partial assignment of authorization, the following must be filed in addition to the forms required by paragraph (a) of this section:

(i) The assignor must notify the Commission (Commission Form 600) of the facilities to be deleted from its authorization upon completion of the assignment.

(ii) The assignee must apply for authority (Commission Form 600) to operate a new station including the facilities for which authorization is assigned, or to modify the assignee's existing station to include the facilities for which authorization was assigned.

(2) Partial assignments must be completed within sixty (60) days of Commission approval. If an approved partial assignment is not completed within this time, the assignor must notify the Commission (Commission Form 600), and the assignee must submit the authorization(s) to the Commission for cancellation or request an extension of time to complete the assignment. If the assignment is not completed, the authorization(s) remain with the assignor.

(d) Limitations. The Commission may deny applications for assignment of authorization or consent to transfer of control of a commercial mobile radio license if:

(1) The Commission is unable to make the public interest determinations required under the Communications Act with respect to both parties to the assignment or transfer; or

(2) The authorization was obtained for the principal purpose of speculation or profitable resale, rather than provision of commercial mobile radio services to the public.