Title 47

SECTION 54.1007

54.1007 Letter of credit.

§ 54.1007 Letter of credit.

(a) Before being authorized to receive Mobility Fund Phase I support, a winning bidder shall obtain an irrevocable standby letter of credit which shall be acceptable in all respects to the Commission. Each winning bidder authorized to receive Mobility Fund Phase I support shall maintain its standby letter of credit or multiple standby letters of credit in an amount equal to the amount of Mobility Fund Phase I support that the winning bidder has been and is eligible to request be disbursed to it pursuant to § 54.1008 plus the additional performance default amount described in § 54.1006(f), until at least 120 days after the winning bidder receives its final distribution of support pursuant to § 54.1008(b)(3).

(1) The bank issuing the letter of credit shall be acceptable to the Commission. A bank that is acceptable to the Commission is

(i) Any United States Bank that

(A) Is among the 50 largest United States banks, determined on the basis of total assets as of the end of the calendar year immediately preceding the issuance of the letter of credit,

(B) Whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and

(C) Who has a long-term unsecured credit rating issued by Standard & Poor's of A- or better (or an equivalent rating from another nationally recognized credit rating agency); or

(ii) Any non-U.S. bank that

(A) Is among the 50 largest non-U.S. banks in the world, determined on the basis of total assets as of the end of the calendar year immediately preceding the issuance of the letter of credit (determined on a U.S. dollar equivalent basis as of such date),

(B) Has a branch office in the District of Columbia or such other branch office agreed to by the Commission,

(C) Has a long-term unsecured credit rating issued by a widely-recognized credit rating agency that is equivalent to an A- or better rating by Standard & Poor's, and

(D) Issues the letter of credit payable in United States dollars.

(2) [Reserved]

(b) A winning bidder for Mobility Fund Phase I support shall provide with its Letter of Credit an opinion letter from its legal counsel clearly stating, subject only to customary assumptions, limitations, and qualifications, that in a proceeding under Title 11 of the United States Code, 11 U.S.C. 101 et seq. (the “Bankruptcy Code”), the bankruptcy court would not treat the letter of credit or proceeds of the letter of credit as property of the winning bidder's bankruptcy estate under section 541 of the Bankruptcy Code.

(c) Authorization to receive Mobility Fund Phase I support is conditioned upon full and timely performance of all of the requirements set forth in § 54.1006 and any additional terms and conditions upon which the support was granted.

(1) Failure by a winning bidder authorized to receive Mobility Fund Phase I support to comply with any of the requirements set forth in § 54.1006 or any other term or conditions upon which support was granted, or its loss of eligibility for any reason for Mobility Fund Phase I support, will be deemed an automatic performance default, will entitle the Commission to draw the entire amount of the letter of credit, and may disqualify the winning bidder from the receipt of Mobility Fund Phase I support or additional USF support.

(2) A performance default will be evidenced by a letter issued by the Chief of either the Wireless Bureau or Wireline Bureau or their respective designees, which letter, attached to a standby letter of credit draw certificate, shall be sufficient for a draw on the standby letter of credit for the entire amount of the standby letter of credit.

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