Dismissal of All Pending Pioneer's Preference Requests; Review of the Pioneer's Preference Rules

By this action, the Commission denies a petition for reconsideration filed by QUALCOMM Incorporated. QUALCOMM contends that the Commission is obligated to consider on its merits QUALCOMM's request for a pioneer's preference in the 2 GHz broadband Personal Communications Service (PCS). However, the Commission affirms that it no longer has the authority to award pioneer's preferences because the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Budget Act) terminated the pioneer's preference program. The intended effect of this action is to affirm the Commission's previous Order, which formally terminated the pioneer's preference program and dismissed all pending pioneer's preference requests.