Federal Communications Commission DA 23-13 Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Call Authentication Trust Anchor ) ) ) WC Docket No. 17-97 ORDER Adopted: January 5, 2023 Released: January 5, 2023 By the Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau: I. INTRODUCTION 1. By this Order, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) grants a Motion filed by the Cloud Communications Alliance, NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, USTelecom – The Broadband Association, the Voice on the Net Coalition, and WTA – Advocates for Rural Broadband seeking an extension of 12 days for filing reply comments in the above-captioned proceeding. Motion of Cloud Communications Alliance, NCTA, NTCA, USTelecom, the Voice on the Net Coalition, and WTA for Extension of Time, WC Docket No. 17-97 (filed Dec. 22, 2022) (Dec. 22 Extension Request). II. BACKGROUND 2. On October 27, 2022, the Commission adopted a Notice of Inquiry to seek comment on caller ID authentication for non-Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Call Authentication Trust Anchor, WC Docket No. 17-97, Notice of Inquiry, FCC 22-81 (rel. Oct. 28, 2022). To further the Commission’s efforts to protect Americans from illegally spoofed robocalls, the Notice sought focused comment on potential authentication solutions for non-IP networks and the nexus between non-IP caller ID authentication and the IP transition generally. Id. at 8, 17, paras. 15, 37. Interested parties were required to file their initial comments by December 12, 2022 and their reply comments by January 11, 2023. 3. Pursuant to section 1.46 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR § 1.46. Cloud Communications Alliance, NCTA, NTCA, USTelecom, the Voice on the Net Coalition, and WTA filed a joint motion for an extension of time on December 22, 2022 to submit their reply comments. As justifications for the extension, the parties point to the complexity of issues raised in the Notice and the initial round of comments and the challenges caused by key staff taking leave during the holiday season. Dec. 22 Extension Request at 1-2. Many of the companies potentially affected by this proceeding, the parties argue, are smaller companies with limited resources that are unable to provide significant feedback over this holiday period. See id. at 2. III. DISCUSSION 4. As set forth in section 1.46 of the Commission’s rules, it is the policy of the Commission that extensions of time shall not be routinely granted. 47 CFR § 1.46(a). However, the Commission may consider an extension “to the extent that good cause for an extension is demonstrated.” See e.g., Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls; Call Authentication Trust Anchor, CG Docket No. 17-59 and WC Docket No. 17-97, Order, 36 FCC Rcd 15572, 15573, para. 4 (WCB & CGB 2021) (2021 Extension Request Order). The criteria for granting requests for extensions of time “are that the extension be in the public interest, cause no harm to any party in the proceeding, and cause no significant delay.” 2021 Extension Request Order, 36 FCC Rcd at 15573, para. 4. The Commission has previously found that an extension of time is warranted when it is “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.” Id. 5. Here, the Bureau finds good cause to grant the extension request. The holiday season, including two Federal holidays, See Office of Personnel Management, Federal Holidays, https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/. fell within the reply comment period, and the Bureau is cognizant of the challenges this poses to commenters, specifically smaller companies with more limited resources over the holiday season. The Bureau finds that an extension of 12 days to file reply comments is warranted to allow interested parties the time to meaningfully review and reply to the information in the record, and that this brief extension will not harm any party in the proceeding nor cause a significant delay in the Commission’s ability to consider the issues raised in this proceeding in a timely manner. 2021 Extension Request Order, 36 FCC Rcd at 15573, para. 5 (finding good cause to grant a 14-day extension for filing comments and reply comments where “[t]he Thanksgiving and Christmas Federal holidays both fall within two days of the original comment and reply comment deadlines, thus effectively shortening the normal time for filing comments”). Thus, the Bureau extends the deadline for the filing of reply comments until January 23, 2023. 6. To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice). 7. For additional information on this proceeding, contact Connor Ferraro, Wireline Competition Bureau, Competition Policy Division, at Connor.Ferraro@fcc.gov or (202) 418-1322. IV. ORDERING CLAUSES 8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to sections 0.204, 0.291, and 1.46 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR §§ 0.204, 0.291, 1.46, that the Motion for Extension of the Reply Comment deadline is hereby GRANTED. 9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the date for filing reply comments in response to the Notice is EXTENDED to January 23, 2023. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Trent Harkrader Chief Wireline Competition Bureau 2