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


In the Matter of                   )
                               )
Memorandum of Agreement between         )         
the Federal Communications Commission   )
and Elkins Institute, Inc.              )
                                 

                    ORDER ON RECONSIDERATION 

Adopted:  April 5, 1999                 
     Released:  April 5, 1999 


By the Deputy Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau:

     1.  By letter dated September 30, 1998, the Chief of the Public Safety and Private Wireless Division
(Division), Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, notified Mr. Bill Elkins and Ms. Laura Elkins and Mr.
J. David Byrd that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was cancelling the Commercial Operator
License Examination Manager (COLEM)  agreement between the FCC and Elkins Institute, Inc.  The Elkins
Corporation (Bill and Laura Elkins, et al, and hereinafter referred to as "Elkins") filed a Petition for
Reconsideration of the Division's cancellation action.  BFT Training Unlimited, Inc. d/b/a the Elkins
Institute (BFT) also filed a Motion for Petition for Reconsideration of the same action.

     2.  Section 405 of the Communications Act, as amended (Act), sets forth the requirements that a
petitioner must satisfy before we may consider the petitioner's pleadings on reconsideration.  Section 405
of the Act, as implemented by Section 1.106(f) of the Rules, requires a petition for reconsideration to be filed
within thirty days from the release date of the Commission's action.   For the purposes of Section  405,
computation of the thirty-day period is determined in accordance with Section 1.4 of the Commission's
Rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.4.  As stated above, the letter cancelling the Elkins Institute MOA was  dated September
30, 1998.  Thus, pursuant to Section 1.4(b)(5) of the Rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.4(b)(5), September 30, 1998, is the
day to be used in the computation of the thirty-day period.    Therefore, the first day of the thirty-day 
reconsideration period was October 1, 1998, and the last day to file a petition  for reconsideration was
October 30, 1998.   

     3.  Both Elkin's Petition for Reconsideration and BFT's Motion for Petition for Reconsideration bear
the FCC Mail Room stamp showing receipt on November 2, 1998.  This is consistent with BFT's letter dated
October 30, 1998, transmitting its pleadings in this matter, that states that four copies were to be delivered
to the office of the Chief of the Public Safety and Private Wireless Division by overnight mail.   BFT sent
a copy of its Motion for Petition for Reconsideration, via telecopier, to the Division on October 30, 1998.
Section 106(i) of the Commission's Rules, however, requires that petitions for reconsideration be submitted
to the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C. 20554.  The Commission has
held that even hand-delivering a petition for reconsideration to "the appropriate Bureau custodians of such
documents" does not comply with Section 1.106(i).  As a result, we conclude that the faxed courtesy copy
provided to the Division does not constitute filing of the petition for reconsideration.   Therefore, we find
that both petitions were filed late.  Furthermore, we note that the Commission has consistently held that it
is without authority to extend or waive the statutory 30-day filing period for petitions for reconsideration
specified in Section 405 of the Communications Act.  This is true even if the petition for reconsideration
is filed only one day late.  Consequently, we conclude that the Elkins Petition for Reconsideration and the
BFT Motion for Petition for Reconsideration must be dismissed as untimely filed.

      4.  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that pursuant to Sections 4(i) and 405 of the Communications
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  154(i) and 405, and Section 1.106(f) and (i) of the Commission's
Rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.106(f),(i), the Petition for Reconsideration filed by Elkins Corporation on November
2, 1998, and the Motion for Petition for Reconsideration filed by BFT Training Unlimited, Inc. d/b/a/ the
Elkins Institute, on November 2, 1998, ARE DISMISSED.

     5.  This action is taken under delegated authority pursuant to sections 0.131 and 0.331 of the
Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.131, 0.331.

                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION




                              Kathleen O'Brien Ham
                              Deputy Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau


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