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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  754
 Before  the
 Federal  Communications  Commission
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554
 In  the  Matter  of
 Amendment  of  Parts  2  and  25  of  the  Commissions
 Rules  to  Permit  Operation  of  NGSO  FSS  Systems
 in  the  KU-  Band  Frequency  Range;
 Amendment  of  the  Commissions  Rules  to
 Authorize  Subsidiary  Terrestrial  Use  of  the  12.2  
 12.  7  GHz  Band  by  Direct  Broadcast  Satellite
 Licensees  and  Their  Affiliates;  and
 Applications  of  Broadwave  USA,  PDC  Broadband
 Corporation  and  Satellite  Receivers,  Ltd.  to
 Provide  a  Fixed  Service  in  the  12.2    12.7  GHz
 Band
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 ET  Docket  No.  98-  206
 RM-  9147
 RM-  9245
 ORDER  EXTENDING  REPLY  COMMENT  PERIOD
 Adopted:  March  23,  2001  Released:  March  23,  2001
 By  the  Deputy  Chief,  Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau:
 1.  On  March  21,  2001,  DIRECTV,  Inc.  and  EchoStar  Satellite  Corporation  jointly  filed  a  motion,
 pursuant  to  Section  1.46  of  the  Commissions  Rules,  1  to  extend  the  period  for  filing  reply  comments  to  the
 Further  Notice  of  Proposed  Rule  Making  2  in  the  above-  captioned  proceeding  from  March  26,  2001  to
 April  26,  2001.  3  In  response,  Northpoint  Technology,  Ltd.  and  Broadwave  USA,  Inc.  filed  an  Opposition
 to  Motion  for  Extension  of  Time  on  March  23,  2001.  4  For  the  reasons  discussed  below,  we  extend  the
 reply  comment  period  to  April  9,  2001.
 2.  The  Motion  requests  an  extension  of  time  to  address  the  voluminous  comments  filed  by  a
 number  of  parties.  It  argues  that  no  prejudice  will  result  from  the  grant  of  the  extension  because  there  are
 1  47  C.  F.  R.    1.46.
 2  See  Amendment  of  Parts  2  and  25  of  the  Commissions  Rules  to  Permit  Operation  of  NGSO  FSS  Systems  Co-Frequency
 with  GSO  and  Terrestrial  Systems  in  the  KU-  Band  Frequency  Range,  ET  Docket  No.  98-  206,  FCC
 00-  418,  66  FR  7607,  Further  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking  (rel.  Dec.  8,  2000).
 3  See  DIRECTV,  Inc.  and  EchoStar  Satellite  Corporation,  Motion  for  Extension  of  Time,  filed  March  21,  2001
 (  Motion).
 4  See  Northpoint  Technology,  Ltd.,  and  Broadwave  USA,  Inc.,  Opposition  to  Motion  for  Extension  of  Time,  filed
 March  23,  2001  (  Opposition).
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  754
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 other  matters  that  need  to  be  performed  by  third  parties  before  the  Commission  can  resolve  the  outstanding
 issues  in  this  proceeding.  The  Opposition,  on  the  other  hand,  contends  that  it  is  in  the  public  interest  to
 resolve  this  matter  on  a  more  expedited  basis  and  that  a  thirty-  day  extension  is  simply  not  appropriate
 under  such  circumstances.
 3.  The  Commissions  general  policy  is  that  extensions  of  time  are  not  routinely  granted.  5
 Moreover,  the  Commission  specifically  disfavors  requests  for  extensions  of  time  filed  on  such  short  notice.  6
 Nevertheless,  we  still  consider  and,  in  certain  instances,  grant  limited  requests  for  extensions  of  time  where
 we  find  that  the  public  interest  would  be  best  served  by  a  more  a  complete  discussion  of  the  matters
 pending  before  the  Commission.  We  believe  that  it  is  in  the  public  interest  to  decide  this  matter  with  the
 most  complete  and  well-  developed  record  possible.  After  weighing  the  parties  arguments,  we  find  that  a
 moderate  extension  of  time  is  appropriate  under  the  circumstances  presented.  We  believe  that  a  moderate
 extension  of  time  appropriately  balances  the  interests  of  commenting  parties  without  unreasonably  delaying
 the  resolution  of  the  proceeding.  Therefore,  we  will  grant  a  ten-  day  extension  of  time  for  the  filing  of  reply
 comments.  As  a  result,  reply  comments  must  be  filed  on  or  before  April  9,  2001.
 4.  IT  IS  HEREBY  ORDERED  that  pursuant  to  Section  1.46  of  the  Commissions  Rules,  47
 C.  F.  R.    1.  46,  the  request  of  DIRECTV,  Inc.  and  EchoStar  Satellite  Corporation  to  extend  the  deadline  for
 filing  reply  comments  in  this  proceeding,  filed  March  21,  2001,  is  GRANTED  IN  PART  and  DENIED  IN
 PART  to  the  extent  indicated.
 5.  This  actions  is  taken  under  delegated  authority  pursuant  to  Sections  0.131  and  0.331  of  the
 Commissions  Rules,  47  C.  F.  R  .    0.131,  0.331.
 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION
 Kathleen  OBrien  Ham
 Deputy  Chief,  Public  Safety  and  Private  Wireless  Division
 Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau
 5  See  47  C.  F.  R.    1.46(  a).
 6  See  47  C.  F.  R    1.46(  b).
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