PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 16-26 January 11, 2016 FOURTEEN-DAY EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE COMMENTS AND REPLY COMMENTS ON NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING REGARDING HEARING AID COMPATIBILITY BENCHMARKS WT Docket No. 15-285 Revised Comment Deadline: January 28, 2016 Revised Reply Comment Deadline: February 12, 2016 On November 20, 2015, the Commission released the Fourth Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which provided that comments are due on January 14, 2016, and that reply comments are due on January 29, 2016. 1 On January 8, 2016, the Law Firm of Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy & Prendergast, LLP and the Rural Wireless Association, Inc. filed a Joint Request for Extension of Time to File Comments seeking to “extend the comment deadline to February 15, 2016 . . . or if the Commission is unable to extend the deadline that far, then it should at a minimum be reset for a date that is at least 7 days after . . . January 15, 2016.” 2 The Request states that the January 14 th comment deadline “falls just one day before CMRS service providers (including many Tier III service providers) are required to submit annual [hearing aid compatibility] reports for the 2015 reporting period,” and maintains that “the proximity of these deadlines means that attorneys and service provider staff who are the most knowledgeable about intricacies of the Commission’s [hearing aid compatibility] reporting and regulatory compliance procedures (and therefore best positioned to draft informative comments) will be immersed in preparing and filing service provider [hearing aid compatibility] reports” when the NPRM comments are due. 3 It is the policy of the Commission that extensions of time are not routinely granted. 4 Such extensions may be warranted when, among other things, the additional time will serve the public interest. We find that providing a limited extension in this proceeding would be beneficial to the development of a 1 See Improvements to Benchmarks and Related Requirements Governing Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets, WT Docket No. 15-285, Amendment of the Commission’s Rules Governing Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets, WT Docket No. 07-250, Fourth Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 15- 155 (rel. Nov. 20, 2015). 2 See Joint Request for Extension of Time to File Comments (Request), WT Docket Nos. 15-285 & 07-250 (Jan. 8, 2016). 3 See id. at 1-2. 4 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.46(a). complete record on the issues and that an extension of time therefore serves the public interest. Accordingly, we hereby grant a fourteen-day extension of time for comments filed in response to the NPRM and a similar extension of time for reply comments. The deadline for filing comments is therefore extended to January 28, 2016, and the deadline for filing reply comments is extended to February 12, 2016. This action is taken pursuant to authority found in Sections 4(i) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 154(i), and Sections 0.131, 0.331, and 1.46 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.131, 0.331, and 1.46. For further information, contact Eli Johnson, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, (202) 418- 1395, e-mail Eli.Johnson@fcc.gov, or Michael Rowan, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, (202) 418- 1883, e-mail Michael.Rowan@fcc.gov. By the Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. - FCC -