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                            Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                      Washington, D.C. 20554

                                )
In the Matter of                )
                                )
                                )
McElroy Electronics Corporation )  CWD No. 98-4
                                )
                                )
Request for Extension of Time to Complete)
Construction of Cellular System for )
Market No. 0015-A2, Minneapolis-St. Paul,)
MN/WI                           )
                                )
                                )


                             ORDER


   Adopted:  March 13, 1998             Released:  March 13, 1998


By the Acting Chief, Commercial Wireless Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau:

     1.  By this Order, we partially grant McElroy Electronics Corporation's ("McElroy") Request for
Extension of Time to complete construction of cellular Station KNKR320, Minneapolis-St. Paul (Market
No. 0015-A2). 

     2.  In its Request for Extension of Time, filed on February 27, 1998, McElroy states that it has
completed construction at two of its three authorized sites in Market 0015-A2 and is prepared to
commence operation at these two sites.  However, according to McElroy, construction on the third site,
Monticello, remains incomplete due to uncertainty surrounding the nature of permissible construction at
the site.  Specifically, McElroy states that the adjacent carrier, AT&T Wireless Services of Minnesota,
Inc. ("AT&T"), is using narrow beam antennas directed between the cardinal radials to provide service
in McElroy's service area, and that McElroy has requested the Commission to clarify whether the use of
such antennas in this manner is lawful.  McElroy maintains that construction at the Monticello site
would be "futile" and "wasteful" unless and until the Commission acts on this request, which has been
pending since October 17, 1997.  McElroy requests an extension of time to complete construction at the
Monticello site "until and including sixty days from the date the Commission either rules on the
propriety of the use of narrow beam antennas directed between the cardinal radials, or grants McElroy's
pending major modification application, whichever comes earlier."

     3.  On March 5, 1998, AT&T filed an opposition to McElroy's Request for Extension of Time,
arguing that McElroy's request does not meet the standard for an extension of time under the
Commission's rules.  AT&T contends that the Commission may grant an extension only if the licensee
demonstrates that construction is not complete due to circumstances beyond its control.  According to
AT&T, McElroy has not constructed at the Monticello site because it was awaiting a decision by the
Commission on the propriety of the use of narrow beam antennas, and this was a voluntary choice -- not
a circumstance beyond McElroy's control.  AT&T further argues that McElroy knew of AT&T's use of
narrow beam antennas as early as 1992 and did not object to the use of them at that time, and therefore it
may not now cite this use as a justification for its failure to meet its construction deadline. 

     4.  We are persuaded that granting McElroy an extension of time to construct is appropriate in
light of the unique circumstances it has presented, and we will issue an order in the near future
explaining this decision.  We will grant McElroy thirty (30) days beyond the release of such order to
construct Station KNKR320.

     5  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that McElroy's Request for Extension of Time to Complete
Construction of Cellular System for Market No. 0015-A2, Minneapolis-St. Paul, IS GRANTED TO THE
EXTENT INDICATED HEREIN.

     6  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the foregoing extension is limited to a period of thirty (30)
days from the date of the release of our subsequent order relating hereto.

          7  This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated by section 0.331 of the Commission's
rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.331.



                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


                    
                              Steven E. Weingarten
                              Acting Chief, Commercial Wireless Division
                              Wireless Telecommunications Bureau