Attachment 2004GCI ltr march 23

2004GCI ltr march 23

WITHDRAWAL submitted by General Communication Inc

withdraw petition

2004-03-23

This document pretains to SAT-WAV-19980803-00061 for Waiver on a Satellite Space Stations filing.

IBFS_SATWAV1998080300061_1118825

March 23, 2004 Tina M. Pidgeon (202) 457—8812 tpidgeon@gci.com VIA HAND DELIVERY Re s ‘10CEelveq Ms. Marlene H. Dortch RECEEVED MAR 2 5 on Secretary 2004 Federal Communications Commission ,_ Poticy p Tar 445 12"" Street SW MAR 2 3 2004 ’ntemafiOnaJ B?j;ga, Washington, D.C. 20554 FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS CommISgION C OFFICE OF ThE sEcRETARY Re: Request to Withdraw Petition for Waiver SAT—WAV—19980803—00061 Dear Ms. Dortch: On August 3, 1998, General Communication, Inc. (GCI) filed a Petition for Waiver, which was assigned the above—referenced file number. By the Petition, GCI sought to extend a waiver previously granted in 1996, which waiver permitted GCI to construct and operate earth station facilities in approximately 50 bush communities for the purpose of offering competitive, facilities—based message telephone service (MTS).‘ In the absence of the waiver, such deployment was prohibited under the "Alaska Bush Policy", adopted in 1984, which precluded installing or operating more than one satellite earth station in any Alaska Bush community for interstate MTS." Since initial grant of the limited waiver of this policy in 1996, GCI has continued to operate the subject earth station facilities under successive grants of special temporary authority. On August 12, 2003, the Commission repealed the Alaska Bush Policy, stating that "allowing facilities—based competition of interstate MTS in Alaska Bush communities will encourage improvement in the quality of service available in those communities, promote more efficient delivery of service, and reduce the incentives for overcharging for use of these facilities."" As a result, GCI is in the process of securing standard earth station authorizations for each of these sites, for which a waiver is no longer required. Because the matter before the Commission in the Petition for Waiver has been resolved by the August 2003 Order, GCI respectfully requests withdrawal of the 1998 Petition for Waiver. \ Petition of General Communication, Inc. for a Partial Waiver ofthe Bush Earth Station Policy, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 11 FCC Red 2535 (Int‘l Bur. 1996). * See Policies Governing the Ownership and Operation ofDomestic Satellite Earth Stations in the Bush Communities in Alaska, Final Decision, 96 FCC 24 522 (1984). > Policy for Licensing Domestic Satellite Earth Stations in the Bush Communities ofAlaska, IB Docket No. 02—30; RM No. 7246, Report and Order, FCC 03—197 (Aug. 12, 2003) at «[ 1 (4ugust 2003 Order). 1130 17th Street, N.W., Suite 410, Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 842—8816 FAX

Ms. Marlene H. Dortch March 23, 2004 Page 2 of 2 Please date—stamp the enclosed copy as received and return it with our messenger. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Respectfully submitted, Tina M. Pidgeon Vice President, Federal Regulatory Affairs ce: Frank Peace International Bureau via facsimile


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Document Modified: 2015-12-16 14:55:01
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