Federal Communications Commission	DA 26-729


Before the
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554


In the Matter of

Incarcerated People’s Communications Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act

Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services

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WC Docket No. 23-62


WC Docket No. 12-375

ORDER

Adopted:  July 14, 2026		Released:  July 14, 2026

MDC Public Notice Comment Date:  July 17, 2026
MDC Public Notice Reply Comment Date:  August 3, 2026
Revised NCIC Waiver Petition Comment Date:  August 7, 2026
Revised NCIC Waiver Petition Reply Comment Date:  August 24, 2026

By the Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau:

1. By this Order, the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) grants in part and denies in part the Public Interest Parties’ Motion for Extension of Time to extend certain comment and reply comment deadlines in the above-referenced dockets. Public Interest Parties, Motion for Extension of Time, WC Docket Nos. 23-62 and 12-375, at 2 (filed July 2, 2026) (Motion for Extension of Time).  The Motion for Extension of Time was filed by the Wright Petitioners, the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry, the Pennsylvania Prison Society, the Human Rights Defense Center, Narrative Arts, The Utility Reform Network (TURN), Worth Rises, Public Knowledge, and the National Consumer Law Center (collectively, Public Interest Parties).
  Upon a finding of good cause, the Bureau grants an extension of the comment and reply comment deadlines pertaining to the waiver petition filed by Network Communications International Corp., d/b/a NCIC Correctional Services (NCIC), See Request for Waiver of Network Communications International Corp., d/b/a NCIC Correctional Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62 and 12-375 (filed June 17, 2026) (NCIC Waiver Petition).  
 to August 7, 2026 and August 24, 2026, respectively.  However, the Bureau denies the Public Interest Parties’ request to extend the comment and reply comment deadlines pertaining to the Mandatory Data Collection (MDC) Public Notice.  Accordingly, the MDC Public Notice comment and reply comment deadlines remain July 17, 2026 and August 3, 2026, respectively. See Wireline Competition Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics Seek Comment on Proposed 2026 Mandatory Data Collection for Incarcerated People’s Communications Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62 and 12-375, Public Notice, DA 26-567, at 1 (WCB/OEA June 8, 2026) (MDC Public Notice); See Federal Communications Commission, Wireline Competition Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics Seek Comment on Proposed 2026 Mandatory Data Collection for Incarcerated People’s Communications Services, 91 Fed. Reg. 36552 (June 17, 2026) (Federal Register notice establishing MDC Public Notice comment and reply comment deadlines).  

2. On June 8, 2026, the Bureau and the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) released a Public Notice seeking comment on the contours and specific requirements of the proposed 2026 MDC. See MDC Public Notice at 1.
   MDC comments and reply comments are due July 17, 2026 and August 3, 2026, respectively. See WCB and OEA Seek Comment on 2026 IPCS MDC, 91 Fed. Reg. 36552; see Comment Dates for Proposed 2026 Mandatory Data Collection for Incarcerated People’s Communications Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62 and 12-375, Public Notice, DA 26-614, at 1 (WCB/OEA June 22, 2026).
  On June 17, 2026, NCIC submitted a petition for waiver of the Commission’s audio and video incarcerated people’s communications services (IPCS) rate cap rules to charge above the effective rate caps at certain correctional facilities it serves. See NCIC Waiver Petition at 1-3.
  On June 24, 2026, the Bureau released a Public Notice which established comment and reply comment dates pertaining to the NCIC waiver petition of July 24, 2026 and August 10, 2026, respectively. Wireline Competition Bureau Seeks Comment on NCIC’s Petition for Waiver of Certain IPCS Regulatory Requirements, WC Docket Nos. 23-62 and 12-375, Public Notice, DA 26-621, at 1 (WCB June 24, 2026).
 
3. On July 2, 2026, the Public Interest Parties filed a motion seeking a two-week extension of comment and reply deadlines for both the MDC Public Notice and the NCIC waiver petition. Motion for Extension of Time at 1.  While we refer to this motion as seeking a collective two week extension for the associated deadlines, the specific revised dates which petitioners sought were as follows:  the MDC Public Notice comment deadline was proposed to be July 31, 2026; the NCIC Waiver Petition comment deadline was proposed to be August 7, 2026; the MDC Public Notice reply comment deadline was proposed to be August 17, 2026; and the NCIC Waiver Petition reply comment deadline was proposed to be August 24, 2026.  Id. at 2.
  The Public Interest Parties argue that commenters will benefit from extended comment and reply comment deadlines, discussing “certain challenges” raised by overlapping comment periods, the impact of the July 4 holiday weekend, the importance of the issues presented, the volume of recent advocacy in these dockets, and the significant effort, resources, and time required in light of these difficulties. Id. at 2-3.
  In turn, they argue that these extensions would provide the Commission a more thorough and well-developed record and would be consistent with prior Commission findings, as warranted under section 1.46 of the Commission’s rules. Id. at 1-3.
  
4. On July 6, 2026, NCIC filed in opposition.  NCIC contends that overlapping comment schedules are not exceptional, but rather, that such schedules are common Commission practice and do not warrant an extension under section 1.46 of the Commission’s rules. NCIC Opposition to Motion for Extension of Time, WC Docket Nos. 23-62 and 12-375, at 1-3 (filed July 6, 2026) (Opposition to Motion for Extension); see also 47 CFR § 1.46.
  Further, it argues that the Public Interest Parties have been on notice of the MDC Public Notice and the waiver since the respective filing dates of June 8 and June 18, which afford commenters sufficient time to develop their responses without extension. Opposition to Motion for Extension at 3.  The NCIC Waiver Petition was received in the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) on June 17, 2026.
  NCIC further argues that extended comment and reply comment deadlines would prejudice NCIC’s interests in obtaining appellate relief from the interim rates, which NCIC argues, are below the cost of providing IPCS at many locations. Id. at 3.
  
5. We grant the Public Interest Parties’ request to extend the deadlines for the NCIC Waiver Petition.  Section 1.46 of the Commission’s rules provides that “[i]t is the policy of the Commission that extension of time shall not be routinely granted.” 47 CFR § 1.46.
  Upon review, however, we agree that the overlapping deadlines may compress the time available for parties to prepare fulsome comments, and find that an extension of the comment deadlines for the NCIC Waiver Petition will ease those constraints.  While some overlap may still exist, affording commenters more time to comment on the waiver request will facilitate the development of a more complete record, in part by reducing the congestion facing parties who may be interested in both matters.  We therefore find an extension of the NCIC Waiver Petition comment deadlines is in the public interest, consistent with prior Commission practice. See, e.g., Incarcerated People’s Communications Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62 and 12-375, Order, 40 FCC Rcd 10239, 10239-40, paras. 3-5 (WCB 2025) (granting the National Sheriffs’ Association’s Motion for Extension of Time in the interest of receiving a well-developed record); see also Incarcerated People’s Communications Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62 and 12-375, Order, 39 FCC Rcd 12270, 12272, para. 5 (WCB 2024) (finding good cause to grant the Public Interest Parties’ Motion for Extension of Time in the interest of receiving more fulsome comments and compiling a more complete record); see also Incarcerated People’s Communications Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62 and 12-375, Order, 38 FCC Rcd 5064, 5066, paras. 6-7 (WCB 2023) (granting in part the Public Interest Parties’ Motion for Extension of Time to delay the reply comment deadline to receive more thoughtful responses but denying in part to delay the initial comment deadline) (2023 Extension Order).  
  Further, we disagree that this extension would materially prejudice NCIC; while they allege that maintaining the current timing “will allow [NCIC] to better allocate resources and plan compliance,” they have not sufficiently supported why a two-week extension would result in significant financial harm, particularly where the Commission is under no deadline to rule on the waiver request following the conclusion of the comment cycle. Opposition to Motion for Extension at 3.
  Therefore, upon review of the factual issues raised in the NCIC Waiver Petition and the congestion between the relevant comment cycles, we are persuaded that a two-week extension sufficiently balances any potential prejudice to NCIC with the Commission’s interest in receiving as complete a record as possible.  
6. We deny, however, the Public Interest Parties’ request to extend the filing deadlines for the comments and reply comments to the MDC Public Notice.  In the 2025 IPCS Report and Order, the Commission directed WCB and OEA to conduct an additional data collection to enable it to set permanent rate caps for both audio and video IPCS. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services, WC Docket Nos. 23-62 and 12-375, Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 40 FCC Rcd 9365, 9404, para. 81 (2025 IPCS Report and Order) (“That delegation included a direction to WCB and OEA to determine the timing and scope of the data collection, ‘provided that such collection shall be conducted as soon as practicable.’”).
  Due to the time necessary to evaluate public comment on the MDC Public Notice and the proposed information collection, Federal Communications Commission, Notice; Request for Comments, 91 Fed. Reg. 38435 (June 25, 2026).
 as well as the time necessary to receive, process, and analyze the collected data, a delay in either deadline could, in turn, lead to additional delay in the Commission’s ability to set permanent rate caps derived from that data. Martha Wright-Reed Act § 3(a); see also 2023 Extension Order, 38 FCC Rcd at 5066, paras. 6-7 (declining to extend filing deadlines for initial comments to the IPCS Data Collection Public Notice and the 2023 IPCS Information Collection because a delay in these deadlines could jeopardize the Commission’s ability to meet its statutory obligations).
  By contrast, there is no concomitant proceeding which depends on the Bureau’s resolution of NCIC’s Waiver Petition.  Commenters to the NCIC Waiver Petition may take additional time to submit relevant data bearing on the factual issues raised in the waiver petition without prejudice to the timing of any future IPCS order.  Accordingly, we find that an extension of the deadlines for comments and reply comments to the MDC Public Notice is against the public interest as it risks delay of the Commission’s IPCS ratemaking proceeding. Opposition to Motion for Extension at 2 (“The Commission should not grant an extension where doing so will duly delay the proceeding or prejudice any of the parties.”).

7. 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, and 1.46, that the Motion for Extension of Time filed by the Public Interest Parties on July 2, 2026 is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART as described herein.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that pursuant to section 4(i)-(j) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 154(i)-(j), and sections 0.91, 0.291, and 1.46 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR §§ 0.91, 0.291, 1.46, the deadlines to file comments and reply comments in response to the NCIC Waiver Petition in the above-captioned dockets ARE EXTENDED to August 7, 2026 and August 24, 2026, respectively.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that pursuant to 1.102(b)(1) of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR § 1.102(b)(1), this Order SHALL BE EFFECTIVE upon release.

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



Joseph S. Calascione 
Chief
Wireline Competition Bureau

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