In article , Steve Stone
writes:

Subject: AMATEUR RADIO ENTHUSIASTS COME OUT SWINGING IN OPPOSITION TO
NPRM ON BPL
From: Steve Stone
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 02:33:23 GMT

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AMATEUR RADIO ENTHUSIASTS COME OUT SWINGING IN OPPOSITION TO NPRM ON BPL
INTERFERENCE ISSUES

Amateur radio enthusiasts are submitting copious comments that are
flooding the docket for the FCC's notice of proposed rulemaking on
broadband-over-powerline technologies. The comments are coming
well in advance of a May 3 due date.

"Submitting copious comments?!?!?"

As of the close of offices on 17 March 2004, there were exactly 25,
that's TWENTY-FIVE comments on Et Docket 04-37. There are
exactly 5 on ET Docket 04-29.

THIRTY comments (a few are doubles in each docket) is "copious?"


If you want "copiousness" then go to ET Docket 03-104 where there
were 5,731 comments filed as of close of 17 Mar 04.

The only problem is that NOI 03-104 has ended.

If you look carefully down a few hundred on the ECFS page for 03-104
you will see that ALL the documents filed between 6 Feb 04 and
20 Feb 04 are "Sunshine"...the staff can't look at them to use for
decision-making. Noticeable RED letters on those Sunshine notes.


The FCC approved the NPRM on Feb. 12 and released it 11 days later,
but it was not published in the Federal Register until today, starting
a 45-day clock for comments. Reply comments are due 30 days later. -
Howard Buskirk,

Okay when is the "today" in the second line?

If you MUST quote someone playing reporter, please try to get the
proper dates in there. You posted this on 18 Mar 04 as indicated on
the header. [it's still 17 Mar 04 here on the west coast as I write this
and has been circulating in the Internet posted on 17 Mar 04 in the
USA - USA is on 7 time zones, none of which are UTC] The FCC
stated RELEASE date of 04-29 was 23 Feb 04. What is the date
you are claiming for publishing in the Federal Register?

I count 46 days left until 3 May 04 from today, 17 March 04 (Saint
Patrick's Day). "45 days" would mean you have posted in
ADVANCE of a news break. Not a good thing in journalism circles
and won't look good on your reporter's resume...not even if you get
supernatural advance copies of a newspaper.

But, "45 days" isn't the end of comments. There's 60 [SIXTY] days
from publishing in the Federal Register for Replies to Comments.

Not everyone reads the Federal Register at breakfast. Some don't
even read petitions carefully.

Okay, there's still ALL of April to file comments on NPRM 04-29.
Your name hasn't come up on the FCC's ECFS yet you are
here trying to "scoop" someone?

If you want a "news scoop," investigate some dates. Look at the
first document in the ECFS under docket 04-37...that's NPRM
04-29 and indicated as posted 23 Feb 04. However...the next
document is a preliminary statement by the National Antenna
Consortium and Amhearst Alliance and it is dated 19 Feb 04 (the
document itself bears that date)! Which is what there?

The next two comments have posting dates of 24 Feb 04.

Find out why NPRM 04-29 is under docket 04-37 instead of the
other docket in the ECFS, 04-29. If there is a docket 04-29,
why is the NPRM posted under docket 04-37?

Why isn't the "Sunshine" notice continued on about 500 comments
under docket 03-104 from 21 Feb 04 to today? That NOI should
be toast...but the FCC hasn't removed 03-104 from the "hot button"
listing on the FCC Consumer Complaints page.

If you can't consider a compound error situation at the FCC, then
wonder why the mixup in dockets and that 03-104 is still there
receiving comments when they won't be seen by staff? Can you
smell something strange going on in DC (besides the usual)
like diverting citizens' attention to post in what amounts to a
digital trash bucket?

LHA / WMD