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

In the Matter of                             )
                                   )
NEW ENGLAND WIRELESS PARTNERS      )         
                                   )
Extended Implementation for Licenses              )
Participating in Wide-Area 800 MHz SMR System          )
                                   )

                             ORDER

     Adopted:  December 29, 1999        Released:  December 30, 1999

By the Deputy Chief, Commercial Wireless Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau:

1.     This Order addresses a petition filed by the participating licensees in New England Wireless
Partners' (NEWP) wide-area 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) system requesting
reconsideration of the cancellation of licenses for failure to construct.  For the reasons discussed below, we
dismiss NEWP's petition for reconsideration as untimely.

2.     NEWP was granted extended implementation authority to construct a wide-area SMR system
in the northeast United States.  Originally, NEWP was given five years to construct all frequencies at all
authorized sites within its wide-area footprint, or lose the unconstructed frequencies.  In 1995, the
Commission accelerated the extended implementation of all incumbent wide-area licensees, including
NEWP, in light of a new, geographic-area (Economic Area, or EA) based licensing scheme for the 800
MHz SMR service.  The incumbent licensees were required to rejustify their extended implementation
authorities and, if successful, were given either the remainder of their original five-year construction
periods or two years from the action on their rejustification showings, whichever was shorter.  NEWP
successfully rejustified its extended implementation and was given the remainder of its original extended
implementation period to construct its wide-area system, i.e., by July 11, 1998.  On November 4, 1998,
and again on January 5, 1999, the Licensing and Technical Analysis Branch (Branch) sent correspondence
to NEWP requesting that NEWP confirm whether or not the licensed sites comprising their wide-area
system had been constructed by the July 11, 1998 deadline.  After receiving no response, the Branch
informed NEWP in separate letters dated April 14, 1999 that the frequencies listed in the letters were
presumed to be unconstructed and therefore had been automatically cancelled.  

3.     On April 30, 1999, NEWP filed the present petition for reconsideration, arguing that
cancellation of its unconstructed licenses was premature given the decision announced on April 15, 1999 by
the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) to suspend temporarily the construction timetable for
wide-area 800 MHz SMR licensees pending the remand proceeding instigated by Fresno Mobile Radio,
Inc., et al. v. Federal Communications Commission.  We note, however, that NEWP's construction
period had lapsed approximately ten months before the Bureau temporarily suspended the construction
timetable for 800 MHz SMR licensees.  Section 90.629(c) of the Commission's rules states that extended
implementation authorizations granted under this section are conditioned upon the licensee constructing and
placing its system into operation within the authorized implementation period and in accordance with an
approved implementation plan of up to five years.  The same section continues to state that "[a]t the end of
any licensee's extended implementation period, authorizations for all stations not constructed and placed
into operation will be cancelled."  NEWP's extended implementation deadline was established in the 800
MHz Rejustification Orders as July 11, 1998.  NEWP's request to reconsider cancellation of its
unconstructed licenses was filed on April 30, 1999.  Under section 1.106 of the Commission's rules, a
petition for reconsideration must be filed within 30 days from the date of the public notice of the final
Commission action.  In this case, the final Commission action was the automatic cancellation of NEWP's
unconstructed licenses at the deadline of its extended implementation period.  Therefore, NEWP would
have had to request reconsideration within 30 days of the cancellation of its unconstructed licenses on July
11, 1998.  Because the petition was filed over ten months later, NEWP's petition is dismissed as untimely.

4.     Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to section 4(i) of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  154(i), and section 1.106 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.106,
the petition for reconsideration filed by the participating licensees in New England Wireless Partners' wide-
area 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio system on April 30, 1999, IS 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
           


                              William W. Kunze
                              Deputy Chief
                              Commercial Wireless Division
                              Wireless Telecommunications Bureau