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 PUBLIC  NOTICE  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  St.,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp  fcc  gov 
 DA  01-  2104 
 Thursday  September  6,  2001 


 INTERNATIONAL  BUREAU  GRANTS  MOTION  FOR  LIMITED  EXTENSION  OF 
 TIME  FOR  FILING  REPLY  COMMENTS  ON  PETITION  OF  ATLANTIC  TELE-NEWORK  FOR  WAIVER  OF  THE  BENCHMARK  SETTLEMENT  RATE  FOR 


 GUYANA  IB  Docket  No.  96-  261 


 On  August  30,  2001,  Caribbean  Wireless  Telecom,  LLC,  (CWT)  a  U.  S.  company  registered  to  do 
 business  in  Guyana,  filed  a  second  motion,  pursuant  to  Section  1.  46  of  the  Commission’s  Rules  1  to  extend 
 the  period  for  filing  comments  and  reply  comments  to  a  Petition  of  Atlantic  Tele-  Network,  Inc.  (ATN)  for 
 a  Waiver  of  the  Benchmark  Settlement  Rate  for  Guyana.  2  CWT  requests  an  extension  until  September 
 28,  2001  in  which  to  file  comments  and  reply  comments.  The  original  deadlines  for  filing  initial 
 comments  and  reply  comments  were  August  14,  2001  and  August  28,  2001,  respectively.  The 
 International  Bureau  granted  a  previous  request  by  CWT  for  an  extension,  establishing  deadlines  of 
 September  7,  2001  and  September  21,  2001  in  which  to  file  comments  and  reply  comments  respectively.  3 
 ATN  opposes  the  motion  of  CWT.  4 


 The  motion  requests  an  additional  extension  of  time  because  information  CWT  has  requested 
 from  the  Guyana  PUC  will  not  be  sent  until  September  17,  2001.  ATN  argues  that  CWT  fails  to  allege 
 facts  sufficient  to  establish  good  cause  to  grant  its  motion. 


 As  described  above,  in  response  to  CWT’s  previous  request  for  an  extension  of  time  in  which  to 
 file  comments  and  reply  comments,  we  granted  a  limited  extension  of  time  to  allow  CWT  gain  timely 
 access  to  information  and  the  Commission’s  desire  to  obtain  accurate  information.  In  that  grant,  we  noted 
 that  the  Commission  does  not  routinely  grant  motions  for  an  extension  of  time  unless  the  public  interest 
 would  be  served  by  a  more  complete  discussion  of  the  matters  pending  before  the  Commission.  ATN’s 
 petition  contains  extensive  arguments  based  on  detailed  factual  allegations.  While  we  appreciate  the 
 challenges  CWT  may  encounter  in  gaining  access  to  information  from  a  regulatory  body  in  another 


 1  47  C.  F.  R.  §  1.  46. 
 2  See  Caribbean  Wireless  Telecom,  LLC,  Motion  for  Additional  Extension  of  Time  to  File  Comments 
 and  Reply  Comments,  filed  August  30,  2001. 
 3  See  International  Bureau  Grants  Motion  for  Limited  Extension  for  Filing  Comments  on  Petition  of 


 Atlantic  Tele-  Network,  IB  Docket  No.  DA  01-  1933  (rel.  August  13,  2001). 
 4  See  Atlantic  Tele-  Network,  Inc.,  Opposition  to  Second  Motion  for  Extension  of  Time  to  File  Comments 


 and  Reply  Comments,  filed  September  4,  2001. 
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 country,  further  delays  in  this  proceeding  may  prejudice  ATN  as  we  approach  the  deadline  for  the 
 benchmark  rate  with  Guyana,  January  1,  2002.  Moreover,  CWT  may  include  any  information  received 
 after  the  September  7  th  deadline  for  initial  comments  in  its  reply  comments.  To  enable  CWT  time  to 
 obtain  the  information  it  argues  it  needs,  we  will  extend  the  deadline  to  file  reply  comments  until 
 September  28,  2001. 


 For  further  information  you  may  contact  Ken  Stanley  at  (202)  418-  1486. 


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