The FCC has given the public and industry more time to weigh in on its inquiries into competition and innovation in the wireless industry.
The commission has provided a seven-day extension for reply comments on its Mobile Wireless Competition notice of inquiry to Oct. 22. It has already extended the deadline once before by two days to Oct. 15.
On Oct. 2, CTIA-The Wireless Association and Public Knowledge had asked for a 14-day extension, but the FCC is on deadline to get its national broadband plan to Congress by Feb. 17 and said that seven days was what they would get.
But it was a different story with another request for extension from CTIA and Public Knowledge. The FCC agreed to grant them the 21 more days they asked for to comment on the Wireless Innovation and Investment notice of inquiry. Originally that had had the same deadlines as the competition inquiry, including the two-day extension to Oct. 15. CTIA and Public Knowledge had asked for some separation between the deadlines for the two inquiries and the FCC agreed to move it from Oct. 15 to Nov. 5.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has made it clear he thinks mobile broadband is a crucial element in the national broadband plan.
