[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 135 (Monday, July 14, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40271-40272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16032]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 27, 74, 78, and 101

[WT Docket No. 07-195; WT Docket No. 04-356; DA 08-1614]


Service Rules for Advanced Wireless Services in the 1915-1920 
MHz, 1995-2000 MHz, 2155-2175 MHz, and 2175-2180 MHz Bands

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission announces an extension of the 
dates for filing supplemental comments and reply comments in response 
to the rules proposed in the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(FNPRM) that was adopted by the Commission on June 20, 2008.

DATES: Comments must be filed on or before July 25, 2008, and reply 
comments must be filed on or before August 11, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by WT Docket Nos. 04-356 
and 07-195, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Federal Communications Commission's Web site: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request 
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language 
interpreters, CART, etc.) by e-mail: [email protected] or phone: 202-418-
0530 or TTY: 202-418-0432.

For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Daronco, Esq., or Paul Malmud, 
Esq., at 202-418-2486.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Order, 
released July 8, 2008. The complete text of this document, and related 
Commission documents, is available for inspection and copying during 
normal business hours in the FCC Reference Center (Room CY-A257), 445 
12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. The complete text of the Order 
and related Commission documents may be purchased from the Commission's 
copy contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., 445 12th Street, SW., 
Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554, telephone 202-488-5300, facsimile 
202-488-5563, or you may contact BCPI at its Web site http://www.BCPIWEB.com. When ordering documents from BCPI, please provide the 
appropriate FCC document number, for example, FCC 07-38. The Order is 
also available on the Commission's Web site: http://www.wireless.fcc.gov/index.htm?job=headlines.
     Pursuant to sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's 
rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments and 
reply comments on or before the dates indicated. Comments may be filed 
using: (1) The Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), 
(2) the Federal Government's eRulemaking Portal, or (3) by filing paper 
copies. See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 
63 FR 24121 (1998).
     Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically 
using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ 
or the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Filers 
should follow the instructions provided on the Web site for submitting 
comments.
     For ECFS filers, if multiple docket or rulemaking numbers 
appear in the caption of this proceeding, filers must transmit one 
electronic copy of the comments for each docket or rulemaking number 
referenced in the caption. In completing the transmittal screen, filers 
should include their full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address, 
and the applicable docket or rulemaking number. Parties may also submit 
an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To get filing instructions, 
filers should send an e-mail to [email protected], and include the following 
words in the body of the message, ``get form.'' A sample form and 
directions will be sent in response.
     Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must 
file an original and four copies of each filing. If more than one 
docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding, 
filers must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or 
rulemaking number.

Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial 
overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service 
mail (although we continue to experience delays in receiving U.S. 
Postal Service mail). All filings must be addressed to the Commission's 
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
     The Commission's contractor will receive hand-delivered or 
messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary at 236 
Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 110, Washington, DC 20002. The filing 
hours at this location are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries must be 
held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be 
disposed of before entering the building.
     Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton 
Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
     U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority 
mail must be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554.

    People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible 
formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic 
files, audio format), send an e-mail to [email protected] or call the 
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-
418-0432 (tty).

Summary of Order

    1. This Order grants in part a request to modify the deadlines for 
filing supplemental comments and reply comments in response to the 
FNPRM that was published at 73 FR 35995, June 25, 2008. Comments are 
now due on July 25, 2008, and reply comments are due on August 11, 
2008.
    2. On July 1, 2008, T-Mobile USA, Inc. (T-Mobile) filed a request 
(Request) to modify the pleading schedule for the FNPRM. T-Mobile 
argues that the comment deadline should be extended by 90 days, to 
October 7, 2008, in order for the Commission to institute supervised 
testing to determine the extent of interference concerns raised by the 
proposal in the FNPRM. In the alternative, T-Mobile requests that the 
Commission extend the comment deadline by at least 30 days in order to 
allow T-Mobile to have sufficient time to submit a comprehensive 
analysis of its own ongoing tests into the record. In support of its 
extension request, T-Mobile avers that the abbreviated

[[Page 40272]]

comment cycle provides insufficient time to assess complex technical 
issues to address fully--using empirical data--the possible 
interference concerns raised by allowing TDD transmissions in the AWS-3 
band. T-Mobile asserts that the Commission must allow additional time 
to develop a proper record on this issue through empirical testing and 
that it would be ``arbitrary and capricious'' to do otherwise. It 
claims that the comment period is shorter than what is typically 
recognized to allow informed comment and asserts that the minimum 
appropriate comment window is 30 days. While T-Mobile requests at least 
an additional 30 days to ``allow interested parties to conduct their 
own testing, submit data, and evaluate the test results of other 
parties,'' it prefers that the Commission extend the comment deadline 
by 90 days and conduct independent testing on potential interference 
issues.
    3. AT&T, United States Cellular, Ericsson and Sony Ericsson, 
Motorola, PCIA, and Nokia filed comments in support of T-Mobile's 
request for an extension of the comment period, contending that 
additional time to provide comments would permit the inclusion in the 
record of technical analyses that will allow the public and the 
Commission to better evaluate the interference issues posed by the 
proposed rules.\1\ The Rural Telecommunications Group, Inc., and the 
National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (collectively the 
``Rural Advocates''), aver that additional time is necessary to allow 
small and rural companies adequate opportunity to assess the impact of 
the Commission's proposal on the deployment of broadband wireless 
services in rural areas. M2Z Networks, Inc. (M2Z) filed an opposition 
to T-Mobile's request for an extension of the comment period, asserting 
that the Commission already has an extensive record on interference 
issues in the above-captioned proceeding.
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    \1\ In a July 3 ex parte filing, CTIA also expressed its support 
for an extension of time.
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    4. Under section 1.46(a) of the Commission's rules, it is the 
policy of the Commission that extensions of time shall not be routinely 
granted.\2\ Nevertheless, in this instance, we find that providing 
additional time for filing comments will serve the public interest by 
ensuring the development of a more complete and well-developed record 
in response to the FNPRM. We note that parties have had notice of the 
possibility that TDD operations would be permitted in the AWS-3 band 
since at least the issuance of the AWS-3 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
in WT Docket No. 07-195 (AWS-3 NPRM) nearly one year ago--and nothing 
proposed in the FNPRM alters that basic proposal. We also note that 
interested parties have already been in the process of commenting and 
engaging in a meaningful dialogue about these issues in comments filed 
in response to the AWS-3 NPRM. However, we believe that providing a 
limited extension equaling 30 days from Federal Register publication of 
the FNPRM \3\ to allow for additional discussion of the proposal in the 
FNPRM will not unreasonably delay the Commission's adoption of final 
rules in this proceeding. Accordingly, we grant the Request in part by 
extending the deadline for all comments to July 25, 2008. In order to 
provide parties an additional amount of time in which to review and 
respond to the comments received, we also extend the reply deadline to 
15 days from the revised comment deadline, to August 11, 2008.\4\ We 
also note that, with the issuance of the FNPRM, adoption of final rules 
in this proceeding would not have occurred in July, 2008.
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    \2\ 47 CFR 1.46(a).
    \3\ The FNPRM was published in the Federal Register on June 25, 
2008. See Service Rules for Advanced Wireless Services in the 1915-
1920 MHz, 1995-2000 MHz, 2155-2175 MHz and 2175-2180 MHz Bands, 73 
FR 35995, June 25, 2008.
    \4\ Because 15 days from the revised comment deadline of July 25 
falls on Saturday, August 9, reply comments are due on Monday, 
August 11, 2008. We note that nothing in today's Order precludes the 
filing of comments--on some or all issues--prior to the revised 
deadline date.
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    5. Pursuant to sections 4(i) and 4(j) of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i) and 154(j), and sections 0.131, 
0.331, and 1.46 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.131, 0.331, and 
1.46, the deadline for filing comments and reply comments in response 
to the FNPRM is extended to July 25, 2008, and until August 11, 2008, 
respectively.
    6. Pursuant to sections 4(i) and 4(j) of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i) and 154(j), and sections 0.131, 
0.331, and 1.46 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.131, 0.331, and 
1.46, the T-Mobile Request for Extension of Time to File Comments is 
granted to the extent indicated herein and otherwise denied.

Federal Communications Commission.
James D. Schlichting,
Acting Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
 [FR Doc. E8-16032 Filed 7-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P