Sec. 22.944  Transfers of interests in applications.

    This section governs transfers of interest in applicants having a 
pending application for a new cellular system. For the purposes of this 
section, ``interest in an application'' means interest in the applicant.
    (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, the 
transfer of any interest in any application for initial authorization to 
operate a cellular system is prohibited. For the purposes of this 
section, transfer of interest means the sale, assignment, placement of 
equity or convertible debt, grant of an option or future share or 
participation in the applicant or any interest thereof.
    (b) The following types of transfers of interest in cellular 
applications are permitted:
    (1) Transfers that are necessary to raise capital, including the 
placement of debt or equity, to finance a bona fide business need of the 
applicant or an affiliated company, not related to the cellular 
application or financing of the cellular system proposed therein;
    (2) Transfers that are part of a bona fide sale of an ongoing 
business to which the cellular applications are merely adjunct or 
incidental;
    (3) Transfers required by a court-ordered decree granting a divorce 
or enforcing a spousal separation agreement;

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    (4) Transfers necessitated by the death of the applicant;
    (5) Transfers involving the routine trading of shares in a publicly 
traded corporation that do not constitute a transfer of control of the 
applicant;
    (6) Transfers resulting from pro forma transfers of control of the 
applicant, not involving changes in ownership;
    (7) Transfers involving only the transfer of interest by one 
existing partner in a partnership applicant to another existing partner 
in that same partnership, or between existing shareholders in a closely-
held corporation, which does not effect a transfer of control of the 
applicant;
    (8) Transfers resulting from the alienation or exercise of stock 
warrants or stock options that existed prior to the filing of the 
application.