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



In the Matter of

Performance Measurements and Standards for
Unbundled Network Elements and
Interconnection

Performance Measurements and Reporting
Requirements for Operations Support
Systems, Interconnection, and Operator
Services and Directory Assistance

Deployment of Wireline Services Offering
Advanced Telecommunications Capability

Petition of Association for Local
Telecommunications Services for Declaratory
Ruling
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CC Docket No. 01-318



CC Docket No. 98-56 




CC Docket No. 98-147


CC Docket Nos. 98-147, 96-98, 98-141


                             Order

   Adopted:  December 7, 2001           Released:  December 7, 2001

By the Chief, Policy and Program Planning Division:

1.     On November 19, 2001, the Commission released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
establishing the pleading cycle for comments and reply comments in the above-captioned docket. 
The deadline for comments was established as 30 days after the Notice for this proceeding was
published in the Federal Register, and the deadline for reply comments was 51 days after
publication in the Federal Register.  These dates are December 31, 2001 and January 22, 2002,
respectively.
2.     On December 3, 2001, the United States Telecom Association (USTA) filed a Motion
for Extension of Time to extend the date for comments and reply comments by 30 days. 
According to USTA, it seeks this extension to permit its membership the opportunity "to
undertake the dialogue necessary to pursue an industry wide solution" to unbundled network
element (UNE) performance standards in response to the UNE Measurements and Standards
Notice.  USTA argues that the current comment schedule, which, it notes, falls within the
upcoming holiday season, would not provide USTA's members an adequate opportunity to
consider the issues raised in this proceeding and that an extension would not prejudice the
interests of other parties.  
3.     On December 4, 2001, BellSouth Corporation (BellSouth) filed comments in support
of USTA's extension request, noting that during this holiday season, many of BellSouth's
personnel who are necessary to address the issues raised in this proceeding are often unavailable. 
BellSouth argues that affording the parties additional time to prepare comments will facilitate the
development of a more complete record that will, in turn, enable the Commission to conclude this
proceeding in a reasonable and timely manner.  On December 5, 2001, the Competitive
Telecommunications Association (CompTel) filed similar comments in support of the USTA
Motion.  Like BellSouth, CompTel contends that a modest extension of the comment period
would permit interested parties to provide more substantive and complete comments on the
complex issues raised in the UNE Measurements and Standards Notice.  CompTel argues that
the subject matter about which the Commission requested comment will require a great deal of
inter-company coordination between operations, engineering, provisioning and policy experts to
provide the Commission with the most useful information.  CompTel notes that the upcoming
holiday season will only exacerbate an undertaking that will already be complicated by the
dispersion of expertise within the organizations of both competitive and incumbent carriers.
4.     It is the policy of the Commission that extensions of time are not routinely granted. 
In this instance, however, the Bureau finds that USTA, BellSouth, and CompTel have shown
good cause for a limited extension of the deadline for filing comments and reply comments in this
proceeding.  Because of the complexity and the sheer number of issues presented in the UNE
Measurements and Standards Notice, the Commission's desire to obtain a complete record with
input from both carriers and state public utility commissions, and the impending holiday season, a
21-day extension is granted for both comments and reply comments from the dates those
comments were due initially.
5.     Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to authority found in section 4(i) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  154(i), and sections 0.91, 0.291 and 1.46
of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR  0.91, 0.291, 1.46, USTA's Motion for Extension of Time
IS GRANTED to the extent described herein to establish a new comments deadline of January 22,
2002 and reply comments deadline of February 12, 2002. 
                         
                    FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



                         Michelle M. Carey
                         Chief,  Policy and Program Planning Division
                         Common Carrier Bureau