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 PUBLIC  NOTICE  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12th  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  04-  1758  June  22,  2004 
 MB  Docket  No.  04-  228 
 COMMENT  AND  REPLY  COMMENT  DATES  SET  FOR 
 COMMENTS  ON  WAYS  TO  FURTHER  SECTION  257  MANDATE 
 AND  TO  BUILD  ON  EARLIER  STUDIES 


 Comment  Date:  July  22,  2004  Reply  Comment  Date:  August  6,  2004 


 On  June  15,  2004,  the  Media  Bureau  (Bureau)  released  a  Public  Notice,  DA  04-  1690,  inviting  comment  on  constitutionally  permissible  ways  to  further  the  mandates  of  Section  257  of  the 
 Telecommunications  Act  of  1996,  47  U.  S.  C.  §  257,  which  directs  the  FCC  to  identify  and  eliminate  market  entry  barriers  for  small  telecommunications  businesses,  and  Section  309(  j)  of 
 the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  47  U.  S.  C.  §  309(  j),  which  requires  the  FCC  to  further  opportunities  in  the  allocation  of  spectrum-  based  services  for  small  businesses  and  businesses 
 owned  by  women  and  minorities.  The  Public  Notice  encouraged  commenters  to  discuss  possible  next  steps  to  further  these  statutory  objectives  in  a  constitutionally  permissible  manner  in  light  of 
 two  recent  Supreme  Court  decisions  cited  in  that  Public  Notice.  The  Public  Notice  also  asked  commenters  to  discuss  and  proffer  specific  recommendations  for  building  on  a  series  of  market 
 entry  barrier  studies,  cited  in  the  Public  Notice,  which  were  released  by  the  Commission  in  December  2000.  The  Bureau  urged  commenters  to  identify  any  recent  analyses  relevant  to  the 
 conclusions  of  the  studies.  The  Public  Notice  set  deadlines  for  filing  comments  and  reply  comments  at  30  and  45  days  after  publication  of  the  Public  Notice  in  the  Federal  Register. 


 On  June  22,  2004,  a  summary  of  the  Public  Notice  was  published  in  the  Federal  Register  (69  FR  34672).  Accordingly,  comments  must  be  filed  on  or  before  July  22,  2004,  and  reply  comments 
 must  be  filed  on  or  before  August  6,  2004.  Comments  and  reply  comments  may  be  filed  through  the  Commission’s  Electronic  Filing  System  or  by  filing  paper  copies  (an  original  and  four 
 copies)  as  set  forth  in  the  June  15  Public  Notice. 
 The  studies  are  available  on  the  FCC’s  web  site  at  http://  www.  fcc.  gov/  opportunity/  meb_  study/,  except  for  the  Advertising  Study,  which  is  available  on  the  FCC’s  web  site  at 
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 http://  www.  fcc.  gov/  Bureaus/  Mass_  Media/  Informal/  ad-  study/.  The  studies  are  also  available  on  the  Commission’s  Electronic  Filing  System  (ECFS)  under  MB  Docket  No.  04-  228. 
 The  June  15  Public  Notice  may  be  obtained  from  the  Commission’s  Internet  site  at  http://  www.  fcc.  gov/  Daily_  Releases/  Daily_  Digest/  2004/  dd040615.  html  .  For  further 
 information,  contact  Anne  Levine  at  (202)  418-  7027  or  via  email  at  Anne.  Levine  @fcc.  gov. 


 By  the  Chief,  Media  Bureau 


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