The FCC should extend commenting deadlines for its...

of the FCC’s implementation of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) -- are due Sept. 3 and replies Sept. 30. Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Inc., National Association of the Deaf and other groups want a 60-day extension for comments to Nov. 2, with replies due Dec. 2, so they'll have more time to reach a consensus with the consumer electronics industry, said their filing. “We have spoken with a CEA representative and are optimistic that we will be able to convene a meeting between consumer and industry representatives by early October,” said the consumer groups. “Extending the comment and reply comment deadlines would allow the meeting to occur before comments are filed, thereby affording an opportunity to improve the quality of the record.” The groups also need the extension because their pro-bono legal counsel, the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law and Policy Clinic, is “generally inoperative” during the summer, making it hard for the groups to file comments in September, said the filing. The FCC should grant the extension “to ensure that people who are deaf or hard of hearing, the primary beneficiaries of the IP captioning rules under the CVAA, are not denied the ability to weigh in on the critical accessibility issues raised in the FNPRM,” said the consumer groups.