The Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) extended the reply comment deadline on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Use of the 5.850-5.925 GHz Band, released on December 17, 2019 (NPRM). The NPRM was published in the Federal Register on February 6, 2020, establishing the comment due date of March 9, 2020, and reply comment due date of April 6, 2020.2 On March 20, 2020, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) each sought a 90-day extension of the reply comment filing date. AASHTO and ITS America each ask for the extension to review and reply to the extensive record generated by the comments in the midst of the disruptions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is the general policy of the Commission that extensions of time shall not be routinely granted. Under the circumstances presented, the FCC concludes that a limited 21-day extension of the reply comment deadline is warranted in order to develop the record to the fullest extent possible in this proceeding. Interested parties can use this time to develop complete, fully supported reply comments. Accordingly, pursuant to Section 4(i) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,5 and Section 1.46 of the Commission’s rules, the extended deadline for filing reply comments is April 27, 2020.