Federal Communications Commission DA 13- 1785 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Closed Captioning of Internet Protocol-Delivered Video Programming: Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 ) ) ) ) ) ) MB Docket No. 11-154 ORDER Extended Comment Date: November 4, 2013 Extended Reply Comment Date: December 4, 2013 Adopted: August 20, 2013 Released: August 20, 2013 By the Chief, Media Bureau: 1. On June 14, 2013, the Commission released a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) in the above-captioned proceeding.1 The FNPRM set deadlines for filing comments and reply comments at 60 and 90 days, respectively, after publication of the FNPRM in the Federal Register.2 A summary of the FNPRM was published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2013.3 Accordingly, the filing dates were established as September 3, 2013 for comments and September 30, 2013 for reply comments. On August 14, 2013, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (“TDI”) et al. (collectively, “Consumer Groups”)4 filed a request to extend the comment deadline by sixty (60) days and to extend the reply comment deadline by thirty (30) days thereafter. Consumer Groups state that an extension is warranted because it will give consumers and consumer electronics industry members time to engage in a collaborative dialogue on the issues raised in the FNPRM before submitting comments and reply comments,5 and it will enable Consumer Groups to retain pro bono counsel to file comments and reply comments on their behalf.6 We grant the requested extension. 1 See Closed Captioning of Internet Protocol-Delivered Video Programming: Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, MB Docket No. 11-154, Order on Reconsideration and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 28 FCC Rcd 8785 (2013). 2 Id. at 8785. 3 Federal Communications Commission, 47 CFR Part 79, Closed Captioning of Internet Protocol-Delivered Video Programming: Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, Proposed Rule, 78 FR 39691 (July 2, 2013). 4 In addition to TDI, Consumer Groups include National Association of the Deaf (“NAD”), Association of Late- Deafened Adults (“ALDA”), Hearing Loss Association of America (“HLAA”), Cerebral Palsy and Deaf Organization (“CPADO”), Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network (“DHHCAN”), California Coalition of Agencies Serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (“CCASDHH”), and Technology Access Program at Gallaudet University (“TAP”). 5 See id. at 3. As Consumer Groups explain, “[b]oth sets of issues raised in the FNPRM—(1) synchronization requirements for apparatus covered by the Commission’s . . . closed captioning rules and (2) closed captioning requirements for DVD and Blu-ray players—primarily implicate the interests of consumers and the consumer electronics industry. . . .” Id. 6 See id. at 4. Federal Communications Commission DA 13- 1785 2 2. As set forth in Section 1.46 of the Commission’s rules,7 the Commission’s policy is that extensions of time for filing comments in rulemaking proceedings shall not be routinely granted. In the instant case, however, we find that granting an extension of the comment and reply comment periods will serve the public interest by allowing consumer and industry representatives additional time to engage in collaborative consideration of the FNPRM issues and by facilitating the development of a more complete record. Further, given that the Commission has temporarily extended the deadline for compliance with the closed captioning rules for DVD and Blu-ray players and has not adopted apparatus synchronization requirements, we find that the request for 60 additional days for filing comments, with 30 days thereafter for filing reply comments, would not impose a burden on industry. 3. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 4(i) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 154(i), and Sections 0.61, 0.283, and 1.46 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.61, 0.283, and 1.46, the Motion for Extension of Time filed by Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. et al. IS GRANTED, the deadline to file comments in this proceeding is extended to November 4, 2013, and the deadline to file reply comments in this proceeding is extended to December 4, 2013. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION William T. Lake Chief, Media Bureau 7 47 C.F.R. § 1.46(a).