Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, 27984-27986 [2010-11898]
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 19, 2010 / Notices
may be submitted during the subsequent
15-day period to August 2, 2010.
A copy of the application will be
available for public inspection at the
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Room 2111,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20230–0002, and in the ‘‘Reading
Room’’ section of the Board’s Web site,
which is accessible via https://
www.trade.gov/ftz. For further
information, contact Claudia Hausler at
Claudia.Hausler@trade.gov or (202)
482–1379.
Dated: May 11, 2010.
Andrew McGilvray,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010–11983 Filed 5–18–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
applyonline.broadbandusa.gov. See
for more
details. The CCI application package for
electronic submissions is available at
https://www.ntia.doc.gov/
broadbandusa/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
general inquiries regarding BTOP,
contact Anthony G. Wilhelm, PhD,
Director, BTOP, Office of
Telecommunications and Information
Applications, NTIA, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue,
NW., HCHB, Room 4887, Washington,
DC 20230; BTOP Help Desk e-mail:
btop@ntia.doc.gov; BTOP Help Desk
telephone: 1–202–482–2048. Additional
information regarding BTOP, including
information regarding compliance
issues, may be obtained at https://
www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandusa/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Authority: This Notice is issued pursuant
to the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111–5, 123 Stat. 115
(2009).
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Telecommunications and
Information Administration
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[Docket No.: 0907141137–0222–10]
I. Background
RIN 0660–ZA28
A. Second Round of BTOP Funding
Broadband Technology Opportunities
Program
On January 22, 2010, NTIA published
a Notice of Funds Availability and
Solicitation of Applications (Second
NOFA) in the Federal Register
announcing general policy and
application procedures for the second
round of BTOP funding.1 The filing
deadline for CCI applications under the
Second NOFA closed on March 26,
2010.2 Under the Recovery Act, one of
the core purposes of BTOP is to fund the
advancement of broadband initiatives to
support public safety agencies.3 The
Recovery Act also provides that the
Assistant Secretary for Communications
and Information may make competitive
grants to ‘‘construct and deploy
broadband facilities that improve public
safety broadband communications
services.’’ 4 While NTIA received a
limited number of public safety-related
applications in the second round, some
applicants may have been deterred from
filing because, inter alia, they lacked the
legal authority to use the 700 MHz
public safety broadband spectrum.
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: National Telecommunications
and Information Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Funds Availability;
Reopening of Application Filing
Window for Broadband Technology
Opportunities Program Comprehensive
Community Infrastructure Projects.
SUMMARY: The National
Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) announces the
limited reopening of the Comprehensive
Community Infrastructure (CCI)
application filing window for the
Broadband Technology Opportunities
Program (BTOP) that the agency
established pursuant to the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(Recovery Act). Entities that have
received waiver authority from the
Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to use the 763–768/793–798 MHz
(700 MHz) public safety broadband
spectrum by the date of this Notice are
invited to file a BTOP application and
request BTOP funding.
DATES: All applications for funding CCI
projects under this Notice must be
submitted between June 1, 2010, at 8
a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and
July 1, 2010, at 5 p.m. EDT.
ADDRESSES: All applicants are required
to submit their applications
electronically at https://
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16:07 May 18, 2010
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1 Notice
of Funds Availability and Solicitation of
Applications, 75 FR 3792 (Jan. 22, 2010).
2 Notice of Funds Availability; Extension of
Application Closing Deadline for Comprehensive
Community Infrastructure (CCI) Projects, 75 FR
10464 (Mar. 8, 2010); Notice of Funds Availability;
Extension of Application Closing Deadline for
Comprehensive Community Infrastructure (CCI)
Projects, 75 FR 14131 (Mar. 24, 2010).
3 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009, Public Law No. 111–5, § 6001(b), 123 Stat.
115, 512–13 (2009) (Recovery Act).
4 Id. § 6001(g)(5), 123 Stat. at 514.
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Sfmt 4703
B. Reopening the Application Window
On May 11, 2010, the FCC adopted an
order authorizing the early deployment
of public safety broadband networks in
the 700 MHz public safety broadband
spectrum for a number of entities that
had petitioned for waiver authority for
such relief.5 To further the objectives of
the Recovery Act and to help ensure
that the core statutory purposes of BTOP
are achieved, NTIA finds that, given
these extraordinary circumstances, a
limited reopening of the CCI application
filing window is in the best interest of
the federal government.6 Accordingly,
NTIA reopens the CCI application filing
window to those entities that meet the
eligibility criteria in the Second NOFA
and that have received authority from
the FCC by the date of this Notice to
seek to use the 700 MHz public safety
broadband spectrum to deploy a public
safety broadband system.7 NTIA is
limiting eligibility under this Notice to
this group of entities to help ensure that
all BTOP grant funds can be obligated
by the statutory deadline of September
30, 2010; 8 to provide the public safety
community with the opportunity to
obtain funding for an initial set of
networks to support current NTIA
efforts to test new standards and
technologies that eventually will
support a nationwide interoperable
public safety broadband network; and to
provide an opportunity to submit an
application to entities that may have
been discouraged from applying for
BTOP funding because they did not
have the legal authority to use the 700
MHz spectrum. Entities that received a
FCC waiver and that already have
applied for the second round of BTOP
funding are not required to reapply
during this new window.
C. 700 MHz Public Safety Broadband
Network
A public safety broadband network
utilizing the 700 MHz public safety
broadband spectrum will increase the
nationwide interoperable broadband
communications capabilities of first
responders and public safety agencies
by improving the ability of public safety
entities to utilize applications made
5 Requests for Waiver of Various Petitioners to
Allow the Establishment of 700 MHz Interoperable
Public Safety Wireless Broadband Networks, Order,
PS Dkt. No. 06–229, FCC 10–79 (adopted May 11,
2010) (Waiver Order), available at https://
hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC10-79A1.pdf.
6 In the Second NOFA, NTIA anticipated that it
might wish to reopen the application window at
some point in the future and specifically put
applicants on notice that there may be another
solicitation. See Second NOFA, 75 FR at 3799.
7 See Waiver Order, at Appendix A.
8 See Recovery Act § 6001(d)(2), 123 Stat. at 513.
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 19, 2010 / Notices
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
possible by broadband technologies. It
also will improve public safety
communications by providing dedicated
broadband capacity for public safety
uses and creating a statutorily required
interoperability framework for use
across the United States. The FCC’s
National Broadband Plan recognized
that broadband technologies have the
potential to revolutionize emergency
response wireless mobile
communications and outlined
recommendations for moving 700 MHz
spectrum activities forward.9 Consistent
with the FCC’s recommendation, NTIA
and the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST) are working on
a joint initiative, the Public Safety 700
MHz Demonstration Network within the
Public Safety Communications Research
(PSCR) program, to provide a platform
to test and evaluate systems and to help
enable deployment of a nationwide
interoperable public safety broadband
network.10 This limited reopening of the
BTOP CCI application filing window
will help support the efforts of NTIA
and NIST and the testing, development,
and implementation of a 700 MHz
public safety broadband network.
Pursuant to the eligible cost
provisions set forth in the Second
NOFA, NTIA may award grants that will
fund critical expenditures related to the
deployment of a 700 MHz public safety
broadband network, including the
acquisition of broadband radio access
network components (such as antennas,
base station nodes, transceivers,
amplifiers, and remote radio heads) and
costs associated with the hardening of
existing cell sites (such as installing
backup power and enhancing security
measures).11 Grant awards also may be
used to fund costs to lease wireline or
wireless network infrastructure from
existing commercial infrastructure to
facilitate broadband connectivity for a
700 MHz public safety broadband
network, including backhaul from cell
sites and any associated installation
charges paid to a vendor.
By facilitating the expansion of
broadband communications services to
public safety agencies, BTOP advances
the objectives of the Recovery Act to
increase economic efficiency by
spurring technological advances, to
invest in infrastructure that will provide
long-term economic benefits, and to
9 Federal
Communications Commission (FCC)
National Broadband Plan, ch. 16 (March 17, 2010),
available at https://download.broadband.gov/plan/
national-broadband-plan-chapter-16-publicsafety.pdf.
10 See Public Safety Communications Research,
Projects, at https://www.pscr.gov/projects/
broadband/700mhz/700mhz.php.
11 See Second NOFA, 75 FR at 3799.
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16:07 May 18, 2010
Jkt 220001
support stabilization of state and local
government budgets in an effort to avoid
reductions in essential services.
Deployment of a public safety
broadband network in the 700 MHz
band also will enhance emergency
response capabilities through support of
broadband-enabled applications,
including: streaming video
(surveillance, remote monitoring);
digital imaging; automatic vehicle
location; computer-aided dispatching;
electronic mail; mapping and GPS;
remote database access; report
management system access; text
messaging; telemetry/remote
diagnostics; and Web access.
Moreover, the 700 MHz public safety
broadband network will support
applications that existing narrowband
and wideband data technologies cannot
support. The network will allow public
safety personnel to exchange missioncritical information in real time on a
common operating platform, enhancing
incident response and first-responder
safety.
D. FCC 700 MHz Waiver Order
In 2007, the FCC chose the Public
Safety Spectrum Trust Corporation
(PSST) as the Public Safety Broadband
Licensee for the 10 MHz of 700 MHz
public safety broadband spectrum.12 On
May 11, 2010, the FCC adopted an order
that permits certain state and local
governmental entities to deploy public
safety broadband systems using the 700
MHz spectrum licensed to the PSST.13
The FCC’s order now allows these
entities to expeditiously enter into
leases with the PSST for use and
development of public safety broadband
networks. Applicants filing under this
Notice are subject to the provisions of
the FCC’s order and any subsequent
rules adopted by the FCC regarding the
use of 700 MHz spectrum, including
those rules that are designed to ensure
compatibility and interoperability of
public safety networks.14
By reopening the CCI application
window only to eligible entities that
have received waiver authority from the
FCC to enter into a lease to use 700 MHz
spectrum, NTIA acknowledges that
these entities may have been
discouraged from filing a BTOP
application during the first two BTOP
12 Implementing a Nationwide, Broadband,
Interoperable Public Safety Network in the 700
MHz Band, Order, 22 F.C.C. Rcd. 20453 (2007).
13 See Waiver Order.
14 Id. at 12–13. For example, the FCC requires the
entities subject to the order to adhere to the
technical criteria that the Emergency Response
Interoperability Center will establish through rules
adopted by the FCC or the Public Safety and
Homeland Security Bureau.
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27985
funding rounds because they did not
have the legal authority to use the
spectrum before the filing deadlines.
Because applicants filing under this
Notice will be subject to the same
general policies and terms as other CCI
applicants in the second round, this
limited reopening will not advantage or
disadvantage either those entities
eligible under this Notice or those that
have filed applications earlier under the
Second NOFA.
II. Application and Submission
Information
A. Second NOFA Requirements
All applicants submitting BTOP
applications pursuant to this Notice are
subject to the requirements set forth in
the Recovery Act and the Second
NOFA. In addition, applicants should
review the application guidance,
workshop presentations, and
‘‘Frequently Asked Questions’’ located at
https://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandusa/
to help them submit their applications
and understand BTOP requirements. As
required by the CCI application,
applicants must provide documentation
that their request for a waiver
authorizing use of the 700 MHz public
safety spectrum has been granted by the
FCC. NTIA will reject applications from
entities other than those who are
authorized to use the 700 MHz public
safety broadband spectrum.
B. Filing Deadline
The application window will be open
for filing between June 1, 2010, at 8 a.m.
EDT and July 1, 2010, at 5 p.m. EDT.
NTIA recognizes that this is a short
application window given the
complexity of CCI projects, particularly
if they include a 700 MHz component.
Nevertheless, to ensure that NTIA can
fairly administer the program, comply
with the requirements set forth in the
Second NOFA, and obligate funds
before September 30, 2010, NTIA will
limit the filing window to this period.
C. Filing Instructions
As stated in the Second NOFA,
electronic submissions of applications
will allow for the expeditious review of
an applicant’s proposal consistent with
the goals of the Recovery Act. As a
result, all applicants are required to
submit their applications electronically
at https://
applyonline.broadbandusa.gov. The
electronic application system will
provide a date-and-time-stamped
confirmation number that will serve as
proof of submission. Please note that
applications will not be accepted via
paper, facsimile machine transmission,
E:\FR\FM\19MYN1.SGM
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27986
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 19, 2010 / Notices
electronic mail, or other media format.
Applicants, however, may request a
waiver of these filing instructions
pursuant to Section X.N. of the Second
NOFA.15
Dated: May 13, 2010.
Anna M. Gomez,
Acting Assistant Secretary for
Communications and Information.
[FR Doc. 2010–11898 Filed 5–18–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–60–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark
Office
[Docket No.: PTO–P–2010–0040]
Electronic Filing System—Web (EFSWeb) Contingency Option
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) is increasing
the availability of its patent electronic
filing system, Electronic Filing
System—Web (EFS-Web) by providing a
new contingency option when the
primary portal to EFS-Web has an
unscheduled outage. Previously, the
entire EFS-Web system is not available
to the users during such an outage. The
contingency option in EFS-Web will
permit users to sign-on as unregistered
EFS-Web users to file new applications,
national stage submissions under the
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
submitted with the basic national fee
necessary to enter the national stage,
requests for reexamination, and certain
petitions, during an unscheduled outage
of the primary portal to EFS-Web.
DATES: Effective Date: May 19, 2010.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joni
Y. Chang, Senior Legal Advisor, Office
of Patent Legal Administration, Office of
the Associate Commissioner for Patent
Examination Policy, by telephone at
571–272–7720, or by mail addressed to:
Mail Stop Comments Patents,
Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box
1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450.
Inquiries regarding EFS-Web and
other USPTO information technology
(IT) systems may be directed to the
Patent Electronic Business Center
(Patent EBC), by telephone: 1–866–217–
15 Additional guidance for seeking a waiver of the
electronic filing requirements can be found in the
CCI Grant Guidance at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/
broadbandusa/. Note that the CCI Grant Guidance
includes key submission dates. These dates have
been superseded by the dates contained in this
Notice.
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16:07 May 18, 2010
Jkt 220001
9197 (toll-free) and 571–272–4100, or by
e-mail: ebc@uspto.gov.
Inquiries regarding IT policy for U.S.
national patent applications may be
directed to Mark Polutta, Senior Legal
Advisor, Office of Patent Legal
Administration, by telephone at 571–
272–7709.
Inquiries regarding IT policy for
international patent applications may be
directed to Tamara Graysay, Special
Program Examiner, Office of Patent
Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Legal
Administration, by telephone at 571–
272–6728.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
USPTO is increasing the availability of
EFS-Web by providing a new
contingency option in EFS-Web when
the primary portal to EFS-Web has an
unscheduled outage. Currently,
approximately eighty-seven percent of
new patent applications are being
electronically filed via EFS-Web.
Applicants experience many benefits
from filing their applications and
follow-on documents electronically. For
example, applicants promptly receive
an electronic acknowledgment receipt of
their electronic submissions and have
the ability to review their applications
or documents via the Patent Application
Information Retrieval (PAIR) system
within an hour after the USPTO receives
the electronic submissions.
Furthermore, independent inventors
and other small entity applicants who
file their applications electronically via
EFS-Web receive a discount on the basic
filing fee. Previously, when the primary
portal to EFS-Web is unavailable during
an unscheduled outage, the entire EFSWeb system is unavailable to users. The
new contingency option in EFS-Web
will minimize any inconvenience to
users who wish to file a new application
during an unscheduled outage of the
primary portal to EFS-Web.
I. EFS-Web Contingency Option
Effective immediately, the USPTO
will provide EFS-Web Contingency
Option to users to file new applications,
national stage submissions under 35
U.S.C. 371, requests for reexamination,
and certain petitions when the primary
portal to EFS-Web is unavailable during
an unscheduled outage. The USPTO
will post a notification of any
unscheduled outage of the primary
portal to EFS-Web and provide the link
to EFS-Web Contingency Option on the
EFS-Web Internet page (https://
www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/
index.jsp). The EFS-Web Contingency
Option will have the same functionality
as EFS-Web for unregistered e-filers
(https://sportal.uspto.gov/secure/portal/
efs-unregistered). It will permit users to
PO 00000
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Sfmt 4703
sign on as unregistered EFS-Web users
to file new applications, national stage
submissions under 35 U.S.C. 371
submitted with the basic national fee
necessary to enter the national stage,
requests for reexamination, and certain
petitions. However, other follow-on
documents and fee payments filed after
the initial submission of the application
or reexamination request (e.g.,
amendments and replies to Office
actions) cannot be filed using EFS-Web
Contingency Option.
Specifically, EFS-Web Contingency
Option will only permit users to
electronically file the following items as
unregistered EFS-Web users:
1. Provisional patent applications
under 35 U.S.C. 111(b);
2. Nonprovisional utility patent
applications under 35 U.S.C. 111(a)
(including reissue utility patent
applications);
3. Nonprovisional design patent
applications under 35 U.S.C. 171
(including reissue design patent
applications);
4. International applications under
PCT Article 11 for filing in the United
States Receiving Office;
5. National stage submissions under
35 U.S.C. 371 submitted with the basic
national fee necessary to enter the
national stage;
6. Requests for ex parte reexamination
under 35 U.S.C. 302 for utility or design
patents;
7. Requests for inter partes
reexamination under 35 U.S.C. 311 for
utility or design patents;
8. Petitions to make special based on
age under 37 CFR 1.102(c) when filed as
an e-petition using the EFS-Web SB130
form, for the automatic processing of the
e-petition (for more information see
https://www.uspto.gov/ebc/portal/efs/
sb130_instructions.doc);
9. Petitions to accept an
unintentionally delayed payment of
maintenance fee under 37 CFR 1.378(c)
when filed as an e-petition using the
EFS-Web SB66 form, for the automatic
processing of the e-petition (for more
information see https://www.uspto.gov/
ebc/portal/efs/sb0066e_fill.doc); and
10. Petition to make special under the
accelerated examination program (must
be filed with a nonprovisional utility
patent application under 35 U.S.C.
111(a)).
Documents filed via EFS-Web
Contingency Option as part of the
submissions listed above must meet the
same file format requirements
established for EFS-Web, e.g., file size
and PDF embedded-font requirements.
The same file validation performed in
EFS-Web will be performed in EFS-Web
Contingency Option. Similar to EFS-
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 96 (Wednesday, May 19, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27984-27986]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-11898]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
[Docket No.: 0907141137-0222-10]
RIN 0660-ZA28
Broadband Technology Opportunities Program
AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Funds Availability; Reopening of Application Filing
Window for Broadband Technology Opportunities Program Comprehensive
Community Infrastructure Projects.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) announces the limited reopening of the Comprehensive Community
Infrastructure (CCI) application filing window for the Broadband
Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) that the agency established
pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(Recovery Act). Entities that have received waiver authority from the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to use the 763-768/793-798 MHz
(700 MHz) public safety broadband spectrum by the date of this Notice
are invited to file a BTOP application and request BTOP funding.
DATES: All applications for funding CCI projects under this Notice must
be submitted between June 1, 2010, at 8 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time
(EDT) and July 1, 2010, at 5 p.m. EDT.
ADDRESSES: All applicants are required to submit their applications
electronically at https://applyonline.broadbandusa.gov. See
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more details. The CCI application package
for electronic submissions is available at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandusa/ broadbandusa/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general inquiries regarding BTOP,
contact Anthony G. Wilhelm, PhD, Director, BTOP, Office of
Telecommunications and Information Applications, NTIA, U.S. Department
of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., HCHB, Room 4887,
Washington, DC 20230; BTOP Help Desk e-mail: btop@ntia.doc.gov; BTOP
Help Desk telephone: 1-202-482-2048. Additional information regarding
BTOP, including information regarding compliance issues, may be
obtained at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandusa/.
Authority: This Notice is issued pursuant to the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-5, 123 Stat. 115
(2009).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
A. Second Round of BTOP Funding
On January 22, 2010, NTIA published a Notice of Funds Availability
and Solicitation of Applications (Second NOFA) in the Federal Register
announcing general policy and application procedures for the second
round of BTOP funding.\1\ The filing deadline for CCI applications
under the Second NOFA closed on March 26, 2010.\2\ Under the Recovery
Act, one of the core purposes of BTOP is to fund the advancement of
broadband initiatives to support public safety agencies.\3\ The
Recovery Act also provides that the Assistant Secretary for
Communications and Information may make competitive grants to
``construct and deploy broadband facilities that improve public safety
broadband communications services.'' \4\ While NTIA received a limited
number of public safety-related applications in the second round, some
applicants may have been deterred from filing because, inter alia, they
lacked the legal authority to use the 700 MHz public safety broadband
spectrum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Notice of Funds Availability and Solicitation of
Applications, 75 FR 3792 (Jan. 22, 2010).
\2\ Notice of Funds Availability; Extension of Application
Closing Deadline for Comprehensive Community Infrastructure (CCI)
Projects, 75 FR 10464 (Mar. 8, 2010); Notice of Funds Availability;
Extension of Application Closing Deadline for Comprehensive
Community Infrastructure (CCI) Projects, 75 FR 14131 (Mar. 24,
2010).
\3\ American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law
No. 111-5, Sec. 6001(b), 123 Stat. 115, 512-13 (2009) (Recovery
Act).
\4\ Id. Sec. 6001(g)(5), 123 Stat. at 514.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Reopening the Application Window
On May 11, 2010, the FCC adopted an order authorizing the early
deployment of public safety broadband networks in the 700 MHz public
safety broadband spectrum for a number of entities that had petitioned
for waiver authority for such relief.\5\ To further the objectives of
the Recovery Act and to help ensure that the core statutory purposes of
BTOP are achieved, NTIA finds that, given these extraordinary
circumstances, a limited reopening of the CCI application filing window
is in the best interest of the federal government.\6\ Accordingly, NTIA
reopens the CCI application filing window to those entities that meet
the eligibility criteria in the Second NOFA and that have received
authority from the FCC by the date of this Notice to seek to use the
700 MHz public safety broadband spectrum to deploy a public safety
broadband system.\7\ NTIA is limiting eligibility under this Notice to
this group of entities to help ensure that all BTOP grant funds can be
obligated by the statutory deadline of September 30, 2010; \8\ to
provide the public safety community with the opportunity to obtain
funding for an initial set of networks to support current NTIA efforts
to test new standards and technologies that eventually will support a
nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network; and to
provide an opportunity to submit an application to entities that may
have been discouraged from applying for BTOP funding because they did
not have the legal authority to use the 700 MHz spectrum. Entities that
received a FCC waiver and that already have applied for the second
round of BTOP funding are not required to reapply during this new
window.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Requests for Waiver of Various Petitioners to Allow the
Establishment of 700 MHz Interoperable Public Safety Wireless
Broadband Networks, Order, PS Dkt. No. 06-229, FCC 10-79 (adopted
May 11, 2010) (Waiver Order), available at https://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-79A1.pdf.
\6\ In the Second NOFA, NTIA anticipated that it might wish to
reopen the application window at some point in the future and
specifically put applicants on notice that there may be another
solicitation. See Second NOFA, 75 FR at 3799.
\7\ See Waiver Order, at Appendix A.
\8\ See Recovery Act Sec. 6001(d)(2), 123 Stat. at 513.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. 700 MHz Public Safety Broadband Network
A public safety broadband network utilizing the 700 MHz public
safety broadband spectrum will increase the nationwide interoperable
broadband communications capabilities of first responders and public
safety agencies by improving the ability of public safety entities to
utilize applications made
[[Page 27985]]
possible by broadband technologies. It also will improve public safety
communications by providing dedicated broadband capacity for public
safety uses and creating a statutorily required interoperability
framework for use across the United States. The FCC's National
Broadband Plan recognized that broadband technologies have the
potential to revolutionize emergency response wireless mobile
communications and outlined recommendations for moving 700 MHz spectrum
activities forward.\9\ Consistent with the FCC's recommendation, NTIA
and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are
working on a joint initiative, the Public Safety 700 MHz Demonstration
Network within the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR)
program, to provide a platform to test and evaluate systems and to help
enable deployment of a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband
network.\10\ This limited reopening of the BTOP CCI application filing
window will help support the efforts of NTIA and NIST and the testing,
development, and implementation of a 700 MHz public safety broadband
network.
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\9\ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) National Broadband
Plan, ch. 16 (March 17, 2010), available at https://download.broadband.gov/plan/national-broadband-plan-chapter-16-public-safety.pdf.
\10\ See Public Safety Communications Research, Projects, at
https://www.pscr.gov/projects/broadband/700mhz/700mhz.php.
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Pursuant to the eligible cost provisions set forth in the Second
NOFA, NTIA may award grants that will fund critical expenditures
related to the deployment of a 700 MHz public safety broadband network,
including the acquisition of broadband radio access network components
(such as antennas, base station nodes, transceivers, amplifiers, and
remote radio heads) and costs associated with the hardening of existing
cell sites (such as installing backup power and enhancing security
measures).\11\ Grant awards also may be used to fund costs to lease
wireline or wireless network infrastructure from existing commercial
infrastructure to facilitate broadband connectivity for a 700 MHz
public safety broadband network, including backhaul from cell sites and
any associated installation charges paid to a vendor.
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\11\ See Second NOFA, 75 FR at 3799.
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By facilitating the expansion of broadband communications services
to public safety agencies, BTOP advances the objectives of the Recovery
Act to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances,
to invest in infrastructure that will provide long-term economic
benefits, and to support stabilization of state and local government
budgets in an effort to avoid reductions in essential services.
Deployment of a public safety broadband network in the 700 MHz band
also will enhance emergency response capabilities through support of
broadband-enabled applications, including: streaming video
(surveillance, remote monitoring); digital imaging; automatic vehicle
location; computer-aided dispatching; electronic mail; mapping and GPS;
remote database access; report management system access; text
messaging; telemetry/remote diagnostics; and Web access.
Moreover, the 700 MHz public safety broadband network will support
applications that existing narrowband and wideband data technologies
cannot support. The network will allow public safety personnel to
exchange mission-critical information in real time on a common
operating platform, enhancing incident response and first-responder
safety.
D. FCC 700 MHz Waiver Order
In 2007, the FCC chose the Public Safety Spectrum Trust Corporation
(PSST) as the Public Safety Broadband Licensee for the 10 MHz of 700
MHz public safety broadband spectrum.\12\ On May 11, 2010, the FCC
adopted an order that permits certain state and local governmental
entities to deploy public safety broadband systems using the 700 MHz
spectrum licensed to the PSST.\13\ The FCC's order now allows these
entities to expeditiously enter into leases with the PSST for use and
development of public safety broadband networks. Applicants filing
under this Notice are subject to the provisions of the FCC's order and
any subsequent rules adopted by the FCC regarding the use of 700 MHz
spectrum, including those rules that are designed to ensure
compatibility and interoperability of public safety networks.\14\
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\12\ Implementing a Nationwide, Broadband, Interoperable Public
Safety Network in the 700 MHz Band, Order, 22 F.C.C. Rcd. 20453
(2007).
\13\ See Waiver Order.
\14\ Id. at 12-13. For example, the FCC requires the entities
subject to the order to adhere to the technical criteria that the
Emergency Response Interoperability Center will establish through
rules adopted by the FCC or the Public Safety and Homeland Security
Bureau.
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By reopening the CCI application window only to eligible entities
that have received waiver authority from the FCC to enter into a lease
to use 700 MHz spectrum, NTIA acknowledges that these entities may have
been discouraged from filing a BTOP application during the first two
BTOP funding rounds because they did not have the legal authority to
use the spectrum before the filing deadlines. Because applicants filing
under this Notice will be subject to the same general policies and
terms as other CCI applicants in the second round, this limited
reopening will not advantage or disadvantage either those entities
eligible under this Notice or those that have filed applications
earlier under the Second NOFA.
II. Application and Submission Information
A. Second NOFA Requirements
All applicants submitting BTOP applications pursuant to this Notice
are subject to the requirements set forth in the Recovery Act and the
Second NOFA. In addition, applicants should review the application
guidance, workshop presentations, and ``Frequently Asked Questions''
located at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandusa/ to help them submit
their applications and understand BTOP requirements. As required by the
CCI application, applicants must provide documentation that their
request for a waiver authorizing use of the 700 MHz public safety
spectrum has been granted by the FCC. NTIA will reject applications
from entities other than those who are authorized to use the 700 MHz
public safety broadband spectrum.
B. Filing Deadline
The application window will be open for filing between June 1,
2010, at 8 a.m. EDT and July 1, 2010, at 5 p.m. EDT. NTIA recognizes
that this is a short application window given the complexity of CCI
projects, particularly if they include a 700 MHz component.
Nevertheless, to ensure that NTIA can fairly administer the program,
comply with the requirements set forth in the Second NOFA, and obligate
funds before September 30, 2010, NTIA will limit the filing window to
this period.
C. Filing Instructions
As stated in the Second NOFA, electronic submissions of
applications will allow for the expeditious review of an applicant's
proposal consistent with the goals of the Recovery Act. As a result,
all applicants are required to submit their applications electronically
at https://applyonline.broadbandusa.gov. The electronic application
system will provide a date-and-time-stamped confirmation number that
will serve as proof of submission. Please note that applications will
not be accepted via paper, facsimile machine transmission,
[[Page 27986]]
electronic mail, or other media format. Applicants, however, may
request a waiver of these filing instructions pursuant to Section X.N.
of the Second NOFA.\15\
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\15\ Additional guidance for seeking a waiver of the electronic
filing requirements can be found in the CCI Grant Guidance at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandusa/. Note that the CCI Grant Guidance
includes key submission dates. These dates have been superseded by
the dates contained in this Notice.
Dated: May 13, 2010.
Anna M. Gomez,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information.
[FR Doc. 2010-11898 Filed 5-18-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P
