Federal Communications Commission DA 11-2049 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Facilitating the Deployment of Text-to-911 and Other Next Generation 911 Applications Framework for Next Generation 911 Deployment ) ) ) ) ) ) PS Docket No. 11-153 PS Docket No. 10-255 ORDER Adopted: December 21, 2011 Released: December 21, 2011 By the Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau: 1. On September 22, 2011, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NG911 NPRM) to accelerate the development and deployment of Next Generation 911 (NG911) technology.1 Interested parties were required to file their initial comments in response to the NG911 NPRM by December 12, 2011 and their reply comments by January 10, 2012.2 2. On December 14, 2011, the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials – International (APCO), and CTIA – The Wireless Association (CTIA) (collectively, Joint Parties) filed a joint request (Joint Request) to extend the reply comment deadline in this proceeding until February 9, 2012.3 The Joint Parties note the recent release of two reports with significant NG911 implications: (1) the December 7, 2011 report of the Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) on recommendations for achieving equal access to 911 emergency services for people with disabilities as part of the transition to NG911,4 and (2) the report submitted on December 12, 2011 by ATIS regarding the recommendations of the ATIS Interim Non- Voice Emergency Services (ATIS-INES) Incubator.5 The Joint Parties state that in light of these substantial filings and the intervening holiday season, “[a]n extension will allow commenters a 1 In the Matter of Facilitating the Deployment of Text-to-911 and Other Next Generation 911 Applications; Framework for Next Generation 911 Deployment, PS Docket No. 11-153, PS Docket No. 10-255, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 26 FCC Rcd 13615 (2011) (NG911 NPRM). 2 Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Announces Comment and Reply Comment Dates for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Next Generation 911 Proceeding, PS Docket No. 11-153, PS Docket No. 10-255, Public Notice, 26 FCC Rcd 14320 (2011) (PSHSB rel. Oct. 12, 2011(DA 11-1703)) (Public Notice). 3 Joint Request for Extension of Reply Comment Deadline, PS Docket No. 11-153, PS Docket No. 10-255 (filed Dec. 14, 2011) (Joint Request). 4 See EAAC, Report and Recommendations, available at http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment/view?id=6016877823. 5 See ATIS, ATIS Interim Non-Voice Emergency Services Report and Recommendations 8 (Dec. 12, 2011). Federal Communications Commission DA 11-2049 2 meaningful period to review, analyze, solicit feedback from member organizations, and allow these new findings to inform their reply comment submissions.”6 3. On December 14, 2011, 4G Americas filed a separate request for a 30-day extension of the reply comment deadline.7 4G Americas contends that “such an extension is warranted to ensure a complete and robust record regarding our shared goals on the development of [NG911].”8 4. We grant the Joint Parties’ and 4G Americas’ requests. While the Commission does not routinely grant extensions of time,9 it has done so when necessary to ensure that the Commission receives full and informed responses and that affected parties have a meaningful opportunity to develop a complete record for the Commission’s consideration.10 In this proceeding, 45 parties filed initial comments by December 12, 2011. We have also received the ATIS-INES Incubator and EAAC reports, which the Commission identified in the NG911 NPRM as relevant to this proceeding.11 Under these circumstances, we concur with the Joint Parties and 4G Americas that granting an extension to file reply comments is warranted to allow interested parties a meaningful time to review, analyze, and comment on all of the information in the record, including the EAAC and ATIS-INES Incubator reports. Accordingly, we extend the deadline for the filing of reply comments until February 9, 2012. 5. ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to the authority delegated under sections 0.191 and 0.291 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.191, 0.291, that the Joint Request for Extension of Reply Comment Deadline and the 4G Americas Request for Extension of Reply Comment Deadline are hereby GRANTED. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION James Arden Barnett, Jr., Rear Admiral (Ret.) Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau 6 Id. 7 4G Americas Request for Extension of Reply Comment Deadline, PS Docket No. 11-153, PS Docket No. 10-255 (filed Dec. 14, 2011). 8 Id. at 1. 9 47 C.F.R. § 1.46(a). 10 See, e.g., In the Matter of Wireless E911 Location Accuracy Requirements. PS Docket No. 07-114, WC Docket 05-196, Order, 25 FCC Rcd 16879, 16880 ¶¶ 3-5 (PSHSB 2010) (granting 14-day extension to permit various Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) working groups to develop and finalize recommendations relating to E911 and NG911); Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Grants Extension of Time to File Reply Comments on Commercial Mobile Radio Services Market Competition, Public Notice, WT Docket No. 09-66, DA 09-1419 (WTB rel. June 24, 2009) (granting 14-day extension for “development of a complete record on the issues.”). 11 See NG911 NPRM, 26 FCC Rcd at 13660 ¶ 113 (stating that “[t]here is considerable overlap between the NG911 text and multimedia capabilities discussed in this Notice and the NG911 accessibility issues being considered by the EAAC[.]”). The Commission also sought comments on findings from the ATIS-INES Incubator process. See id. at 13645-46 ¶ 78.