[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 6, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-29917]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 6, 1994]


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Part III





Department of Commerce





_______________________________________________________________________



National Telecommunications and Information Administration



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Public Telecommunications Facilities Program; Notice of Availability of 
Funds
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration
[Docket No. 941132-4332]

 

Public Telecommunications Facilities Program: Availability of 
Funds

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce, announces that applications are 
available for planning and construction grants for public 
telecommunications facilities under the Public Telecommunications 
Facilities Program (PTFP), which is administered by NTIA.
    Applicants for grants under the PTFP must file their applications 
on or before Wednesday, February 15, 1995. NTIA anticipates making 
grant awards by September 30, 1995.
    Approximately $25.3 million is available in fiscal year 1995 for 
PTFP grants. The amount of a grant award will vary, depending on the 
application project. For fiscal year 1994, NTIA awarded $21.2 million 
in funds to 140 projects. The awards ranged from $4,102 to $850,000.
    Prospective PTFP applicants should be aware that the Congress has 
appropriated funds for a related NTIA grant program. The program, which 
is part of the National Information Infrastructure effort, is called 
the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance 
Program (TIIAP). The TIIAP's funds may be used for the planning and 
construction of telecommunications networks or for the purchase of 
telecommunications services and facilities that enhance the delivery of 
social services, such as education, culture, health care, public 
information, public safety, and other related services. The TIIAP 
program funds demonstration projects that support the formation of an 
advanced nationwide, telecommunications and information infrastructure 
incorporating the widest variety of information technologies. The 
Congress appropriated $64 million for the TIIAP in FY 1995. Formal 
announcement of the TIIAP program for FY 1995 will be made at a later 
date in a separate Federal Register notice. The TIIAP is distinct from 
the PTFP, which is the subject of this Notice. The PTFP or its 
predecessor programs have been in operation since 1962.
    The Final Rules and Policy Statement for the PTFP were published on 
November 22, 1991 (56 Fed. Reg. 59168 (1991)). These rules, codified at 
15 CFR part 2301, will be in effect for FY 1995 PTFP applications. 
Parties interested in applying for financial assistance should refer to 
these rules and to the authorizing legislation (47 U.S.C. 390-393 and 
Pub. L. 103-317) for additional information on the program's goals and 
objectives, eligibility criteria, evaluation criteria, and other 
requirements.

    Authority: The Public Telecommunications Financing Act of 1978, 
as amended, 47 U.S.C. 390-393 (Act), and Pub. L. 103-317. (Catalog 
of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 11.550)

DATES: Pursuant to 15 CFR 2301.5(c), the Administrator of NTIA hereby 
establishes the closing date for the filing of applications for grants 
under the PTFP. The closing date selected for the submission of 
applications for 1995 is Wednesday, February 15, 1995. Applications 
delivered by mail or by hand must be delivered to the address 
referenced below by 5 p.m. on or before February 15, 1995. Applicants 
whose applications are not received by the deadline will be notified 
that their applications will not be considered in the current grant 
cycle and will be returned.

ADDRESSES: To obtain an application package, submit completed 
applications, or send any other correspondence, write to: Office of 
Telecommunications and Information Applications, NTIA/DOC, 14th Street 
and Constitution Ave., NW, Room H-4625, Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis R. Connors, Director, Public 
Broadcasting, telephone: (202) 482-5802; fax: (202) 482-2156. 
Information about the PTFP can also be received electronically via 
Internet (send inquiries to [email protected]) or through the NTIA BBS 
at (202) 482-1199 (set computer modems for 8 stop bits, 0 polarity).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Application Forms and Regulations

    To apply for a PTFP grant, an applicant must file a timely and 
complete application on a current form approved by the Agency. The 
current application form expires on October 31, 1997, and no previous 
versions of the PTFP Application Form may be used. (In accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act, the current application form has been 
cleared under OMB control no. 0660-0003.)
    All persons and organizations on the PTFP's mailing list will be 
sent a copy of the current application form and the Final Rules. Those 
not on the mailing list may obtain copies by contacting the PTFP at the 
address or telephone, fax, computer bulletin board, or Internet numbers 
noted above. Prospective applicants should read the Final Rules 
carefully before submitting applications. Applicants whose applications 
were deferred in FY 1994 will be mailed pertinent PTFP materials and 
instructions for requesting reactivation.
    Applicants should note that they must comply with the provisions of 
Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs.'' The Executive Order requires applicants for financial 
assistance under this program to file a copy of their application with 
the Single Points of Contact (SPOC) of all states relevant to the 
project. Applicants are required to serve a copy of their completed 
application on the appropriate SPOC on or before February 15, 1995. 
Applicants are encouraged to contact the appropriate SPOC well before 
the PTFP closing date.
    NTIA requires that all applicants whose proposed projects need 
authorization from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must 
tender an application to the FCC for such authority on or before 
February 15, 1995. (An application is tendered to the FCC when it has 
been received by the Secretary of the FCC.) However, applicants are 
urged to submit it with as much lead time before the PTFP closing date 
as possible. The greater the lead time, the better the chance the FCC 
application will be processed to coincide with NTIA's grant cycle. NTIA 
will return the application of any applicant that fails to tender an 
application to the FCC for any necessary authority on or before 
February 15, 1995.
    Indirect costs for construction applications are not supported by 
this program. The total dollar amount of the indirect costs proposed in 
a planning application under this program must not exceed the indirect 
cost rate negotiated and approved by a cognizant Federal agency prior 
to the proposed effective date of the award or 100 percent of the total 
proposed direct costs dollar amount in the application, whichever is 
less.
    All primary applicants must submit a completed Form CD-511, 
``Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other 
Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace Requirements and 
Lobbying.'' Applicants are further advised that:
    (1) Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension. Prospective 
participants (as defined at 15 CFR Part 26, Section 105) are subject to 
15 CFR Part 26, ``Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension'' and the 
related section of the certification form;
    (2) Drug Free Workplace. Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR part 26, 
Section 605) are subject to 15 CFR Part 26, Subpart F, ``Government-
wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)'' and the related 
section of the certification form;
    (3) Anti-lobbying. Persons (as defined at 15 CFR Part 28, Section 
105) are subject to the lobbying provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1352, 
``Limitation on use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal 
contracting and financial transactions,'' and the lobbying section of 
the certification form, which applies to applicants/bidders for grants, 
cooperative agreements, and contracts for more than $100,000, and loans 
and loan guarantees for more than $150,000, or the single family 
maximum mortgage limit for affected programs, whichever is greater; and
    (4) Anti-lobbying Disclosures. Any applicant that has paid or will 
pay for lobbying using any funds must submit an SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of 
Lobbying Activities,'' as required under 15 CFR Part 28, Appendix B.
    For awards granted by NTIA, the recipient shall require applicants/
bidders for subgrants, contracts, subcontracts, or other lower tier 
covered transactions at any tier under the grant award to submit, if 
applicable, a completed Form CD-512, ``Certifications Regarding 
Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion-Lower Tier 
Covered Transactions and Lobbying'' and disclosure form, SF-LLL, 
``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.'' Form CD-512 is intended for the 
use of recipients and should not be transmitted to the Department. An 
SF-LLL completed by any tier recipient or subrecipient should be 
submitted to the Department in accordance with the instructions 
contained in the award document.
    Approving a request to amend an award to increase funding or to 
extend the period of performance is at the total discretion of the 
Department.
    Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all Federal laws and 
Federal and DOC policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to 
Federal assistance awards. In addition, unsatisfactory performance by 
the applicant under prior Federal awards may result in the application 
not being considered for funding.
    Applicants are reminded that a false statement on the application 
may be grounds for denial or termination of funds and grounds for 
possible punishment by a fine or imprisonment as provided in 18 U.S.C. 
1001.
    Special Note: As originally stated in the August 20, 1987, PTFP 
Final Rules (52 FR 31496 (1987)), and as reaffirmed and clarified in a 
November 22, 1991, PTFP Policy Statement (56 FR 59168 (1991)), NTIA has 
established a policy which is intended to encourage stations to 
increase from 25% to 50% the matching percentage for those proposals 
that call for equipment replacement, improvement, or augmentation. 
There are, however, some exceptions to this general policy direction. 
Small community-licensee stations, for example, will not be subjected 
to this policy. The same is true of a station that is licensed to a 
large institution (e.g., a college or university) that can document 
that it does not receive direct or in-kind support from the larger 
institution. Also, a showing of extraordinary need or an emergency 
situation will be taken into consideration as justification for grants 
of up to 75% of the project cost for such proposals. Nonetheless, 
except in these instances, the presumption of 50% funding will be the 
general rule for the replacement, improvement, or augmentation of 
equipment.
    A point of clarification is in order: NTIA expects to continue 
funding projects to activate stations or to extend service at up to 75% 
of the total project cost. NTIA will do this because applicants 
proposing to provide first service to a geographic area ordinarily 
incur considerable costs that are not eligible for NTIA funding; such 
costs include those for construction or renovation of buildings and 
other similar expenses.

II. Documentation Concerning Discrimination Complaints

    The NTIA Administrator is hereby extending a blanket waiver to all 
PTFP FY 1995 applicants and grant recipients exempting them from the 
requirements contained at 15 CFR 2301.5(d)(2)(xvii) and 2301.21(b)(1-
2). Based on its experience, NTIA has found these requirements to be 
too burdensome and generally not pertinent to the PTFP's selection 
criteria. This blanket waiver means that FY 1995 PTFP applicants will 
not be required to provide a detailed list and explanation of any 
complaints of discrimination currently pending or decided against the 
applicant before any court or governmental agency. Moreover, FY 1995 
PTFP grant recipients, once their projects are completed, will not be 
required to submit such documentation on their Annual Status Reports; 
nor will recipients have to provide the special academic certification 
concerning their admissions policies or their policies regarding the 
receiving or providing of services. Applicants are reminded, however, 
that they are still obligated to comply with the general Federal 
statutes relating to nondiscrimination, as stated in 15 CFR 
2301.22(b)(15) and in Assurance No. 36 of the PTFP Application Form.

III. Eligible and Ineligible Costs

    Eligible equipment for the 1995 grant round includes apparatus 
necessary for the production, interconnection, captioning, broadcast, 
or other distribution of programming, including but not limited to 
studio equipment; audio and video storage, processing, and switching; 
terminal equipment; towers, antennas, transmitters, remote control 
equipment, transmission line, translators, microwave equipment, mobile 
equipment, satellite communications equipment, instructional television 
fixed service equipment, subsidiary communications authorization 
transmitting and receiving equipment, cable television equipment, and 
optical fiber communications equipment.
    NTIA recognizes that digital technology will be an important means 
for the more efficient creation and distribution of programming in the 
future. Consequently, public broadcasters seeking to replace, upgrade, 
and buy new equipment which employs digital technology will be 
permitted, when appropriate, to use PTFP funds for such purposes.
    The following list provides clarification regarding several 
equipment and other cost areas that will be helpful in preparing 
applications. NTIA reserves the right to eliminate any costs, whether 
specified here or not, that it determines are not appropriate prior to 
the awarding of a grant.

A. Equipment and Supplies

    (1) Buildings and Modifications to Buildings. (a) Eligible: Small 
equipment shelters that are part of satellite earth stations, 
translators, microwave interconnection facilities, and similar 
facilities. (b) Ineligible: Purchase or lease of buildings and 
modifications to buildings, including the renovation of space for 
studios intended to house eligible equipment; costs associated with 
removing old equipment.
    (2) Land and Land Improvements. (a) Eligible: Site preparation 
necessary to construct towers and guy anchors for transmission and 
interconnection equipment. (b) Ineligible: Purchase or lease of land.
    (3) Moving Costs. Ineligible: Moving costs required by relocation 
of transmitter or studio equipment.
    (4) Reception Equipment. (a) Eligible: Fixed frequency demodulator, 
as required by good engineering practice for monitoring the off-air 
transmission of signals; subcarrier demodulator; telemetry transmitters 
and receivers; satellite receivers; and subcarrier decoders for the 
handicapped. (b) Ineligible: Consumer-type TV sets and FM receivers.
    (5) Tower Modifications. (a) Eligible: Strengthening or modifying a 
commercial entity's tower to accommodate a public broadcasting entity 
(structural modifications on towers and/or antenna changes must meet 
EIA and any required local standards). (b) Ineligible: Modifying or 
strengthening the applicant's tower to accommodate a commercial entity.
    (6) Production and Control Room Equipment. (a) Eligible: Standard 
production studio and control room equipment for TV or radio program 
production. (b) Ineligible: Consumer-type mixers, tape recorders, 
turntables, CD players, etc. Ancillary production devices such as 
stopwatches and stop-clocks, building lights, sound effects and sound 
effects equipment, scenery and props, cycloramas, sound insulation 
devices and materials, draperies and related equipment for production 
use, film and still photography processing, film sound synchronization 
editing.
    (7) Video Equipment. (a) Eligible: Videotape editing and processing 
equipment that conforms to broadcast-standard quality equipment for 
field recording and production editing. (b) Ineligible: Consumer level 
videotape recording formats not accepted in the industry as broadcast-
standard quality.
    (8) Furniture and Office Equipment. (a) Eligible: Consoles required 
to mount equipment such as audio consoles and video switchers. (b) 
Ineligible: Such items as office furniture, office equipment, studio 
clocks and systems, blackboards, office intercoms, equipment inventory 
labels and label-makers, word processors, telephones and telephone 
systems, and printing and duplication equipment.
    (9) Expendable Items and Spare Parts. (a) Eligible: A transmitter 
spare parts kit and one set of final and driver tubes for a transmitter 
awarded in the grant. A spare parts kit for video tape recorders 
awarded in the grant. (b) Ineligible; Spare lenses, spare circuit 
components, spare parts kits for studio equipment except as noted 
above; recording tape, film, reels, cartridge tapes, records, CDs, and 
record or tape cleaning equipment; art and graphics supplies; 
maintenance supplies, including replacement final and driver tubes 
normally considered in the industry as normal maintenance-budget-
provided items and similar items.
    (10) Backup Equipment. (a) Eligible: Hot standby or backup 
microwave for the main studio-to-transmitter link only; a backup or 
spare exciter for a television transmitter, as required by good 
engineering practice. (b) Ineligible: Redundant equipment, such as 
spare transmitters, or costs associated with them, as well as backup 
microwave equipment (except as noted above).
    (11) Electric Power. (a) Eligible: Generally, all primary power 
costs from the output of the main power meter panel; regulators and 
surge protectors, as required by good engineering practice, to 
stabilize transmitter RF output. Where primary power is not available 
or is unusable for broadcast, then PTFP may provide funding for those 
devices needed to power the facility if the need for that equipment is 
fully documented in the application. (b) Ineligible: Costs of 
installing primary power to the facility, including transformers, power 
lines, gasoline or diesel powered generators, and related equipment.
    (12) Test and Maintenance Equipment. (a) Eligible: Required test 
equipment, as indicated by good engineering practice for the 
maintenance of the project equipment. (b) Ineligible: Maintenance 
equipment such as hand and power tools, storage cabinets, and 
maintenance services.
    (13) Air Conditioning and Ventilation. (a) Eligible: The costs to 
provide ventilation of eligible project equipment, such as ducting for 
transmitters, as required by good engineering practice. Transmitter air 
conditioning can be applied for and will be supported if the need is 
well-documented in the application. (b) Ineligible: Unless 
exceptionally well-documented, air conditioning for transmitters, 
control rooms, or equipment rooms, studios, mobile units, and other 
operational rooms and offices.
    (14) Remote Vans. (a) Eligible: Items to equip a remote van for 
audio/video production. (b) Ineligible: All vehicles.

B. Other Expenses

    (1) Construction Applications: NTIA generally will not fund salary 
expenses, including staff installation costs, pre-application legal and 
engineering fees. Certain ``pre-operational expenses'' are eligible for 
funding. (See 15 CFR 2301.1.) Despite this provision, NTIA regards its 
primary mandate to be funding the acquisition of equipment and only 
secondarily funding salaries. (A discussion of this issue appears in 
the PTFP Final Rules, 56 FR 59172 (1991).)
    (2) Planning Applications. (a) Eligible: Salaries are eligible 
expenses for all planning grant applications, but should be fully 
described and justified within the application. Planning grant 
applications may lease office equipment, furniture and space, and may 
purchase expendable supplies under the terms of Section 392(c) of the 
Act. (b) Ineligible: Planning grant applications cannot include the 
cost of constructing or operating a telecommunications facility.
    (3) Audit Costs. (a) Non-Profit Organizations: Non-profit 
organizations receiving payments of more than $25,000 in Federal funds 
during a one-year period are required to have an audit conducted in 
accordance with Federal guidelines. Audits for non-profit organizations 
are performed in one of two ways. An NTIA/PTFP-specific audit can be 
performed if the organization receives funds solely from NTIA. If the 
organization receives funds from more than one Federal source during 
the year that the audit is conducted, an organization-wide audit must 
be performed under OMB Circular A-133. (Note that Corporation for 
Public Broadcasting funding is not considered a Federal source.)
    Federal guidelines allow NTIA/PTFP to include an amount for audit 
costs as part of a grant award. NTIA/PTFP policy permits non-profit 
organizations to include up to $5,000 for audit costs in an 
application. Because audit costs may vary depending on the size and 
scope of an organization's operations, NTIA/PTFP recommends that 
applicants obtain estimates from auditors to determine the appropriate 
amount to include in their applications. Construction Grant Applicants 
should list the amount requested for audit costs in Part II, Section 
D--Other Project Costs, 1. Outside Services of the PTFP Application 
Form. Planning Grant Applicants should include the amount on line 7, 
Other, in Part III--Budget Information for Planning Grant Applicants of 
the PTFP Application Form.
    (b) Government Agencies, Indian Tribes, and Educational 
Institutions: State and local governments, Indian tribes, and 
educational institutions are also subject to federal audit requirements 
if they receive over $25,000 in Federal funds during a one-year period. 
NTIA/PTFP can allow only an amount for audit costs equal to the NTIA/
PTFP percentage of all Federal funds received by an entity. It is 
expected that the NTIA/PTFP percentage of the Federal funds received by 
state and local governments and educational institutions would be 
minimal in any one year, and NTIA/PTFP does not anticipate that these 
entities will include an amount for audit costs in their applications. 
These entities are not precluded from including such an amount in their 
applications, however, and the merit of such requests will be reviewed 
on a case-by-case basis.

IV. Purchase of American-Made Equipment and Products

    Prospective PTFP applicants are hereby notified that they will be 
encouraged to purchase, to the greatest extent practicable, American-
made equipment and products with funding provided under this program in 
accordance with Congressional intent as set forth in the resolution 
contained in Public Law 103-317, Sections 607 (a) and (b).

V. Selection Process and Project Period

    PTFP grants are awarded on the basis of a competitive review 
process. Before being selected for a grant award, a given application 
for PTFP funding will undergo many stages of review, all of which apply 
the program's Funding Criteria listed in the Final Rules (15 CFR 
2301.13 and 2301.14). The review includes the following: an evaluation 
by PTFP staff; a technical assessment by staff engineers; a review by 
outside readers, all of whom have demonstrated expertise in either 
public broadcasting or distance learning; and a rating by National 
Advisory Panels, composed of representatives of the major national 
public radio and television organizations. In addition, NTIA gives 
``special consideration'' to the applications according to the level of 
involvement of women and minorities in the control and operation of the 
applicant's station or project or the degree to which the project's 
programming will be specifically directed towards meeting the needs and 
interests of minority groups or women. Documentation of substantial 
involvement by minorities or women may increase a given application's 
competitiveness.
    The PTFP Director presents recommendations to the NTIA 
Administrator on a proposed slate of grant recipients. Acting on these 
recommendations, the NTIA Administrator selects the applications to be 
negotiated for possible grant award. In making the selections, the 
Administrator will consider the following:
     The degree to which the slate of applications, taken as a 
whole, satisfies the program's stated purposes (see 47 U.S.C. Sec. 390 
and 15 CFR Sec. 2301.2);
     The geographic distribution of the proposed grant awards;
     The Director's recommendations;
     The evaluations of the various reviewers;
     The program's priorities and the special applications 
category, as stated in 15 CFR Sec. 2301 (Appendix) (1991);
     The extent of the involvement of minorities or women in 
the projects;
     Consideration as to whether the application is for a 
broadcast or a nonbroadcast project; and,
     The availability of funds.
    After the applications are selected in this manner, negotiations 
take place between PTFP staff and the applicant. These negotiations are 
intended to resolve whatever differences might exist between the 
applicant's original request and what PTFP proposes to fund. During 
negotiations, some applications may be dropped from the proposed slate, 
due to lack of Federal Communications Commission licensing authority, 
applicant inability to make adequate assurance certifications, or other 
reasons. When the negotiations are completed, the PTFP Director 
recommends final grant-award action to the NTIA Administrator. Applying 
the same factors as listed above, the Administrator then makes the 
final selection of grant recipients from the pool of negotiated 
application projects.
    Planning grant award periods customarily do not exceed one year, 
whereas construction grant award periods commonly range from one to two 
years. Although these time frames are generally applied to the award of 
all PTFP grants, variances in project periods may be based on specific 
circumstances of an individual proposal.
Dr. Charles M. Rush,
Acting Associate Administrator, Office of Telecommunications and 
Information Applications.
[FR Doc. 94-29917 Filed 12-5-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-M