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 14-302 Released: March 5, 2014 COMMENT DEADLINES EXTENDED IN SPECIAL ACCESS PROCEEDING WC Docket No. 05-25 RM-10593 New Comment Date: October 6, 2014 New Reply Comment Date: November 17, 2014 On December 11, 2012, the Commission adopted a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking requiring providers and purchasers of special access and certain entities providing “best efforts” service to submit data and information for a comprehensive evaluation of the special access market. 1 In the Further Notice, the Commission sought comment on possible changes to its rules for granting pricing flexibility for the special access services provided by incumbent local exchange carriers in price cap areas; the Commission invited interested parties to provide such comments after the Commission collected data for the market analysis to enable commenters to include analysis of such data in their comments. 2 The Bureau has been working diligently to implement the data collection, which is subject to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) approval per the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 3 In July 2013, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) extended the deadlines for filing 1 See Special Access for Price Cap Local Exchange Carriers; AT&T Corporation Petition for Rulemaking to Reform Regulation of Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier Rates for Interstate Special Access Services, WC Docket No. 05- 25, RM-10593, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 27 FCC Rcd 16318 (2012) (Further Notice). 2 Id. at 16352, para. 80. Comments were due August 19, 2013; reply comments were due September 30, 2013. See Special Access for Price Cap Local Exchange Carriers; AT&T Corporation Petition for Rulemaking to Reform Regulation of Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier Rates for Interstate Special Access Services, 78 Fed. Reg. 2600 (Jan. 11, 2013). 3 Since the release of the Further Notice, the Bureau has met with industry about the adopted questions and received comments during the PRA review. See Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission, Comments Requested, 78 Fed. Reg. 9911 (Feb. 12, 2013), and see Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Request for Comments, 78 Fed.Rg. 73861. On June 28, 2013, the Bureau released a Public Notice seeking comment on a draft protective order for handling confidential information obtained by the collection. See Wireline Competition Bureau Seeks Comment on Protective Order for Special Access Data Collection, WC Docket No. 05-25, RM 10593, Public Notice, 28 FCC Rcd 9170 (2013). On September 18, 2013, the Bureau also released an order that clarified the scope of the data collection to reduce burdens, provided instructions and other specifications for submitting data, and modified and amended questions and definitions contained in the data collection. See Special Access for Price Cap Local Exchange Carriers; AT&T Corporation Petition for Rulemaking to Reform Regulation of Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier Rates for Interstate Special Access Services, WC Docket No. 05-25, RM-10593, Report and Order, DA 13-1909, at para. 33 (Wireline Comp. Bur. rel. September 18, 2013). 2comments and reply comments regarding the rule changes to March 19, 2014, and April 30, 2014, respectively, “so that parties may prepare their comments after the data are collected and made available for review.” 4 The Bureau expects to begin collecting data in summer, 2014, following OMB approval of the data collection. Collection of the data is necessary before parties can comment on the questions posed in the Further Notice. Accordingly, we extend the deadline for filing comments and reply comments so that parties may prepare their comments after the data are collected and made available for review. 5 The new comment date is October 6, 2014, and the new reply comment date is November 17, 2014. For further information regarding this proceeding, contact William Layton, Pricing Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, 202-418-0868 or William.Layton@fcc.gov. - FCC - 4 Comment Deadlines Extended In Special Access Proceeding, WC Docket No. 05-25, RM-10593, Public Notice, 28 FCC Rcd 11125 (2013). 5 47 C.F.R. § 0.91(m).