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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  04-  3682 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 
 In  the  Matter  of 
 Communications  Assistance  for  Law  Enforcement  Act  and 
 Broadband  Access  and  Services 


 )  ) 
 )  ) 
 )  ) 
 ET  Docket  No.  04-  295 
 RM-  10865 


 ORDER  GRANTING  EXTENSION  OF  TIME 
 Adopted:  November  23,  2004  Released:  November  24,  2004 
 By  the  Chief,  Office  of  Engineering  and  Technology: 
 Reply  Comment  Date:  December  21,  2004 
 1.  On  August  9,  2004,  the  Commission  released  a  Notice  of  Proposed  Rule  Making  (“  Notice”)  in  the  above-  captioned  proceeding,  seeking  comment  on  the  appropriate  legal  and  policy 
 framework  of  the  Communications  Assistance  for  Law  Enforcement  Act.  1  The  Notice  was  published  in  the  Federal  Register  on  September  23,  2004,  establishing  a  comment  deadline  of  November  8,  2004  and  a 
 reply  comment  deadline  of  December  7,  2004.  2  Comments  were  filed  in  accord  with  the  November  8,  2004  comment  deadline;  however,  on  November  22,  2004,  the  United  States  Department  of  Justice 
 (“  DoJ”)  filed  a  motion  requesting  a  two-  week  extension  of  the  reply  comment  deadline.  3  For  the  reasons  stated  below,  we  are  granting  the  requested  extension. 


 2.  In  support  of  its  request,  DoJ  states: 
 DOJ's  request  is  based  on  several  factors.  Due  to  the  significant  number  of  issues  raised  in  the  Notice  and  the  number  of  initial  comments  filed  in 


 response  to  the  Notice,  DOJ  and  other  parties  would  benefit  from  an  additional  two  weeks  to  review  and  respond  to  the  comments  .  .  . 
 Moreover,  because  the  extension  request  is  quite  modest,  it  should  not  interfere  with  any  Commission  plans  for  taking  action  in  this  docket.  4 


 3.  It  is  the  policy  of  the  Commission  that  extensions  of  time  shall  not  be  routinely  granted.  5  However,  we  agree  with  DoJ  that  the  Notice  raised  a  significant  number  of  issues  and  that  a  large  number 
 of  parties  filed  comments.  Further,  many  of  these  comments  are  quite  complex.  Additionally,  while  the  comment  period  was  nearly  three  months  from  release  of  the  Notice,  the  current  reply  comment  deadline 
 is  less  than  one  month  from  the  comment  deadline.  As  there  is  considerable  value  in  this  rule  making  in  allowing  parties  to  provide  detailed  analysis  of  the  comments,  we  will  extend  the  time  for  filing  reply 


 1  See  Notice  of  Proposed  Rule  Making  and  Declaratory  Ruling,  ET  Docket  No.  04-  295,  19  FCC  Rcd  15676  (2004). 
 2  69  Fed.  Reg.  56976  (September  23,  2004). 


 3  See  Motion  for  Extension  of  Time  for  Interested  Parties  to  File  Reply  Comments,  ET  Docket  No.  04-  295,  filed  by 
 DoJ  on  November  22,  2004.  4 
 Id.  at  1.  5 
 See  47  C.  F.  R.  §  1.46(  a). 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  04-  3682 
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 comments  by  two  weeks,  as  requested  by  DoJ. 
 4.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED  that,  pursuant  to  section  4(  i)  and  4(  j)  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  as  amended,  47  U.  S.  C.  §§  154(  i)  and  154(  j),  and  sections  0.31,  0.241,  and 
 1.46  of  the  Commission’s  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.  §§  0.31,  0.241,  and  1.46,  the  deadline  for  filing  reply  comments  is  extended  from  December  7,  2004  to  December  21,  2004. 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 
 Edmond  J.  Thomas  Chief,  Office  of  Engineering  and  Technology 
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