The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted an Order which implements new filing procedures for certain formal complaint proceedings and will require parties to utilize the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) for their submissions. Specifically, the FCC will now require electronic filing through ECFS in two categories of cases: (a) formal complaints under Section 208 of the Communications Act; and (b) pole attachment complaints under Section 224 of the Communications Act. All pleadings, attachments, exhibits, and other documents in Section 208 and Section 224 complaint proceedings also must be filed using ECFS. Prior to the decision, parties were required to file paper copies of the complaints with the FCC Secretary’s Office which was time-consuming and made it difficult for the public to track case developments. Pursuant to the new procedures, parties will use the “Submit a Non-Docketed Filing” module in ECFS to electronically file complaints, after which FCC staff will review them for conformance with procedural rules and then assign each one a unique ECFS docket number. The new procedures will become effective 30 days after the Order is published in the Federal Register.
