[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 180 (Monday, September 17, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57035-57036]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22756]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 1

[GC Docket No. 10-44; DA 12-1401]


Notice of Commission's Implementation of Procedure of Serving 
Parties in an Electronic Format

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission, via the Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) provides notice of the implementation 
of a revised procedure for it to provide service of copies of orders, 
pleadings, and other documents to parties to a docketed proceeding when 
required by statute or regulation. Henceforth, that service will be 
made in an electronic format, rather than by mail.

DATES: Effective October 17, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Broderson, Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0652, or email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a synopsis of the Commission's 
Public Notice, document DA 12-1401, released on August 24, 2012, 
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Notice of Commission's 
Implementation of Procedure of Serving Parties in an Electronic Format. 
The full text of DA

[[Page 57036]]

12-1401 will be available for public inspection and copying during 
regular business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals 
II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. DA 12-1401 
may also be purchased from the Commission's duplicating contractor, 
Best Copying and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), at Portals II, 445 12th Street 
SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. Customers may contact BCPI at 
its Web site, www.bcpiweb.com, or by calling 202-488-5300. DA 12-1401 
can also be downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at: 
http://www.fcc.gov/document/commissions-implementation-serving-parties-electronic-format. To request materials in accessible formats for 
people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio 
format), send an email to [email protected] or call the Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 
(TTY).
    By this Public Notice, CGB provided notice of the Commission's 
implementation of a revised procedure for it to provide service of 
copies of orders, pleadings, and other documents to parties to a 
docketed proceeding when required by statute or regulation. Henceforth, 
that service will be made in an electronic format, rather than by mail. 
This procedural change is made pursuant to Sec.  1.47 of the 
Commission's Rules, as amended in 2011. On February 4, 2011, the 
Commission released Amendment of Certain of the Commission's Part 1 
Rules of Practice and Procedure and Part 0 Rules of Commission 
Organization, Report and Order, FCC 11-16, in CG Docket No. 11-44, 
published at 76 FR 24383, May 2, 2011, by which the Commission revised 
portions of its Part 1 practice and procedural rules and its Part 0 
organizational rules to improve the efficiency of Commission decision-
making and modernize the agency's processes in the digital age. Among 
other things, the Commission amended Sec.  1.47 to allow the agency to 
serve parties to a proceeding in an electronic format (e.g., email or 
an Internet-based notification system such as an RSS feed). The amended 
rule also provides, in proceedings involving large numbers of parties, 
that the Commission may now satisfy its service obligation by issuing a 
public notice that identifies the documents required to be served and 
explains how parties can obtain copies of the documents. A note to the 
revised rule states that staff will decide the appropriate format for 
electronic notification in a particular proceeding, and that the 
Commission expects that service by public notice will be used only in 
proceedings with 20 or more parties. In DA 12-1401, CGB provides notice 
that, in docketed proceedings with fewer than 20 parties, the 
Commission will commence service of documents by RSS feed. Effective 
October 17, 2012, the Commission will discontinue mailing paper copies 
of documents that were previously served to parties in certain types of 
proceedings. Such parties should make the necessary arrangements so 
that they can obtain documents via RSS feed. Instructions on how to 
subscribe to an ECFS RSS feed may be found at: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/userManual/search/how_to_use_rss.jsp.

Federal Communications Commission.
Kris Anne Monteith,
Acting Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2012-22756 Filed 9-14-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P