********************************************************    
                         NOTICE
********************************************************

This document was converted from
WordPerfect to ASCII Text format.

Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.

All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.

Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.

If you need the complete document, download the
WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available.

*****************************************************************
                            Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                      Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of                )
                                )
                                )
Inquiry Concerning the Deployment of)   CC Docket No. 98-146
Advanced Telecommunications Capability to)
All Americans in a Reasonable and Timely)
Fashion, and Possible Steps To Accelerate)
Such Deployment Pursuant to Section 706)
of the Telecommunications Act of 1996)


                             ORDER


      Adopted:  October 27, 1998        Released:  October 27, 1998


By the Deputy Chief, Common Carrier Bureau:


     1.  On August 7, 1998, the Commission released a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) to examine the
deployment of advanced telecommunications capability.  The NOI required parties to file Comments
on or before September 8, 1998, and Reply Comments on or before October 8, 1998.  On October
20, 1998, Information Renaissance filed a Petition for Electronic Posting of Comments and for
Extension of Time to File Reply Comments ("Petition").  Information Renaissance is a non-profit
group in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which "promotes community networking and the use of the
Internet to increase public participation in government."

     2.  In its Petition, Information Renaissance states that it has been unable to read all the Reply
Comments filed herein because obtaining hard copies of them "will strain the budgets of most public
interest groups" and because the vast majority of them have not been posted on the Commission's
Electronic Comment Filing System ("ECFS").  Information Renaissance therefore proposes that the
deadline for Reply Comments be extended until a period of time after all Reply Comments have
been posted on the ECFS. 

     3.  We deny Information Renaissance's request.  We appreciate the difficulties under which
Information Renaissance and other public interest groups labor, especially under the relatively
compressed pleading schedule in this proceeding.  We do not believe, however, that we can extend
the filing date for Reply Comments without compromising the Commission's ability to meet the
implementation schedule mandated by Congress.  It is on these grounds that we recently denied a
request for extension filed by the Personal Communications Industry Association.  We deny
Information Renaissance's Petition for the same reasons.

     4.  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the Request for Extension of Time filed by the
Information Renaissance is DENIED. 

                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



                              Lawrence E. Strickling
                              Deputy Chief, Common Carrier Bureau