[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 233 (Wednesday, December 8, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 69609-69610]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26587]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 4

[PS Docket No. 21-346; PS Docket No. 15-80; ET Docket No. 04-35; FR ID 
60757]


Resilient Networks; Disruptions to Communications; Disruptions to 
Communications

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment and reply comment period.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
extends the comment and reply comment period of the notice of the 
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in PS Docket Nos. 21-346 and 15-80 and ET 
Docket No. 04-35 that was released on October 1, 2021.

DATES: The comment period and reply comment period for the proposed 
rule published at 86 FR 61103 (November 5, 2021) are extended. The 
deadline for filing comments is extended to December 16, 2021, and the 
deadline for filing reply comments is extended to January 14, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by PS Docket Nos. 21-346 
and 15-80 and ET Docket No. 04-35, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically 
using the internet by accessing the Electronic Comment Filing System 
(ECFS): https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs.
     Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must 
file an original and one copy 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 commercial overnight courier, or by first-
class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be 
addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary, 
Federal Communications Commission.
     Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail

[[Page 69610]]

and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis 
Junction, MD 20701.
     U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority 
mail must be addressed to 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554.
     Effective March 19, 2020, and until further notice, the 
Commission no longer accepts any hand or messenger delivered filings. 
This is a temporary measure taken to help protect the health and safety 
of individuals, and to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19.
     During the time the Commission's building is closed to the 
general public and until further notice, if more than one docket or 
rulemaking number appears in the caption of a proceeding, paper filers 
need not submit two additional copies for each additional docket or 
rulemaking number; an original and one copy are sufficient.
    People With Disabilities: 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 & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-
418-0432 (tty).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Saswat Misra of the Public Safety and 
Homeland Security Bureau, Cybersecurity and Communications Reliability 
Division, at (202) 418-0944 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Federal 
Communication Commission's (Commission's) Order in PS Docket Nos. 21-
346 and 15-80 and ET Docket No. 04-35; DA 21-1483, adopted and released 
on November 30, 2021. For the full text of this document, visit FCC's 
website at https://www.fcc.gov/document/pshsb-extends-comment-deadlines-resiliency-proceeding or obtain access via the FCC's ECFS 
website at http://www.fcc.gov/ecfs. (Documents will be available 
electronically in ASCII, Microsoft Word, and/or Adobe Acrobat.) 
Alternative formats are available for people with disabilities 
(braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), by sending an 
email to [email protected] or calling the Commission's Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 
(TTY).

I. Synopsis

    1. The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) grants a 
Motion filed by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) seeking an 
extension of 10 days to file comments and reply comments in response to 
the notice of proposed rulemaking in PS Docket Nos. 21-346 and 15-80 
and ET Docket No. 04-35 that was released on October 1, 2021 (NPRM), 
and published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2021. See Motion 
of Edison Electric Institute for Extension of Time, PS Docket Nos. 21-
346 and 15-80, ET Docket No. 04-35 (filed Nov. 19, 2021) (Motion). For 
the reasons stated below, PSHSB finds that EEI's request is warranted 
and thus extends the comment and reply comment dates to December 16, 
2021 and January 14, 2022, respectively.
    2. On September 30, 2021, the Commission adopted the NPRM seeking 
comment on proposed rules to improve communications reliability during 
disasters. 86 FR 61103 (Nov. 5, 2021) (summarizing the NPRM). The NPRM 
seeks comment on the wireless industry's disaster response framework, 
the Commission's network outage reporting rules, and strategies to 
reduce the impact of power outages on communications networks. The 
summary of the NPRM, published in the Federal Register on November 5, 
2021, indicates that comments must be filed on or before December 6, 
2021, and reply comments must be filed on or before January 4, 2022. 
Id.
    3. On November 19, 2021, EEI filed the Motion to request a 10-day 
extension of the comment and reply comment filing deadlines, to 
December 16, 2021, and January 14, 2022, respectively. EEI states that 
these deadlines should be extended ``to ensure that there is sufficient 
time to conduct consultations with respective member companies to 
prepare reasoned comments and reply comments that meaningfully address 
the broad range of issues presented by the NPRM.'' EEI notes that 
November 25th was the Thanksgiving holiday and that that the Christmas 
and New Year's holidays are on December 25th and January 1st, 
respectively, and that ``this is a period when many organizations are 
closed and vacations are taken.'' EEI states that, without an 
extension, it would be challenging to ``build industry consensus before 
submitting comments.'' EEI contends that an extension of 10 days will 
not result in any meaningful delay in the proceeding and will result in 
more focused and better reasoned comments. EEI represents that CTIA, 
NCTA--The internet and Television Association, and USTelecom--The 
Broadband Association support the Motion and that the National 
Association of Broadcasters has no objections to it. No opposition to 
the Motion has been filed.
    4. The Commission grants a 10-day extension of time to file 
comments and reply comments in this proceeding. As set forth in Sec.  
1.46 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.46, the Commission does not 
routinely grant extensions of time for filing comments. In this case, 
however, the extension is unopposed, limited to only ten days, and will 
allow commenters sufficient time to file meaningful comment and reply 
comments given the intervening holidays. The Commission therefore 
grants EEI's unopposed Motion and extends the comment and reply comment 
deadlines to December 16, 2021, and January 14, 2022, respectively.

II. Ordering Clauses

    5. Accordingly, it is ordered that, pursuant to section 4(i)-(j) of 
the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i)-(j), and 
Sec. Sec.  0.204, 0.392, and 1.46 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 
0.204, 0.392, 1.46, the Motion for Extension of Time filed by EEI is 
granted.
    6. It is further ordered that the date to file comments and reply 
comments in response to the NPRM are extended to December 16, 2021, and 
January 14, 2022, respectively.

Federal Communications Commission.
David Furth,
Deputy Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2021-26587 Filed 12-6-21; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P