FCC Extends “Reply Comments” Period to April 1
Over 500 comments on the Alliance’s Petition for a Declaratory Ruling were submitted to the FCC by the time of the March 9 filing deadline (see post below).
FCC procedures call for a “Reply Comments” period following the filing of initial comments, allowing for the initial comment filers to then comment on the comments. The deadline for submitting these Reply Comments was originally set for March 24. However, on March 13, the FCC extended the deadline to April 1, and allowed anyone, not just the original comment filers, to submit reply comments.
“Due to the significant number of filings, many of which are quite complex, we believe that development of a more thorough and complete record would be in the public interest. Accordingly, we believe it is appropriate to allow all interested parties to file reply comments, and not simply the petitioners.”
To review the initial comments, click this link - http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov//prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi - type the Proceeding Number in the first box (09-13), and click the “Retrieve Document List.” This retrieves a list of header information for the twenty most recent comments, with navigation at the bottom of the page to see the header information for all the rest of the comments, twenty at a time, in reverse chronological order. Each comment header contains a “Brief Comment” link, which when clicked, returns the comment itself. (The Brief Comment link does not work for Firefox browsers; it does work for Internet Explorer and Safari.)
Persons or organizations wishing to file Reply Comments online can follow the same process as filing initial comments (see below), with two exceptions: 1) On the cover sheet, select “Reply to Comments” in the drop-down menu; and 2) the comments themselves must actually be in reply.
More information on the FCC’s Reply Comments procedures is available in its March 13 2-page release - download here.
Here again are the steps for online filing:
The procedure for filing comments at the FCC in docketed proceedings using its Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) is a very simple 3-step process, as follows.
1. Access the FCC’s ECFS submission page at
http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/upload_v2.cgi
2. Complete the “Cover Sheet” on that page, which is just basic information such as the name and address of the filer, the proceeding/docket number, and the type of document being filed (you do this online);
[ Proceeding Number: 09-13 (it is not necessary to include “MB”)
Name of Applicant/Petitioner: the name of the filing party
Ex-parte/late filed should NOT be checked. Ignore the “File Number” on Line 13. ]
3. Attach the document in either PDF or Word format (you are directed where to do this in a section following the Cover Sheet) and then hit the “Send Attached File to FCC” button. Alternatively, for brief comments, you can actually just type them in on the space provided, in which case you hit the “Send Brief Comment to FCC’ button instead.
That’s all there is to it. A detailed 26-page manual re the ECFS and electronic filing can be accessed at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ecfsmanual/completemanual.pdf if you would like additional information
