[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 23, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9188-9189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-4206]



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Part VII





Department of Commerce





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National Telecommunications and Information Administration



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Public Telecommunications Facilities Program: Closing Date; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 23, 2000 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

[Docket No. 991210330-0034-02]
RIN 0660-ZA10


Public Telecommunications Facilities Program: Closing Date

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 the solicitation of 
applications for a grant for the Pan-Pacific Education and 
Communications Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) Program. 
Applications for the PEACESAT Program grant will compete for funds from 
the Public Broadcasting, Facilities, Planning and Construction Funds 
account. An announcement regarding the submission of applications for 
the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) which is also 
funded from this account, was published in the Federal Register on 
December 23, 1999.
    Applicants for grants for the PEACESAT Program must file their 
applications on or before March 29, 2000. NTIA anticipates making the 
grant award by September 30, 2000. NTIA shall not be liable for any 
proposal preparation costs.

DATES: Applications for the PEACESAT Program grant must be received on 
or before 5:00 p.m. on March 29, 2000. Applicants sending applications 
by the United States Postal Service or commercial delivery services 
must ensure that the carrier will be able to guarantee delivery of the 
application by the Closing Date and Time. NTIA will not accept mail 
delivery of applications posted on the Closing Date or later and 
received after the above deadline. However, if an application is 
received after the Closing Date due to (1) carrier error, when the 
carrier accepted the package with a guarantee for delivery by the 
Closing Date, or (2) significant weather delays or natural disasters, 
NTIA will, upon receipt of proper documentation, consider the 
application as having been received by the deadline. Applicants 
submitting applications by hand delivery are notified that, due to 
security procedures in the Department of Commerce, all packages must be 
cleared by the Department's security office. The security office is 
located in Room 1874, located at Entrance No. 10 on the 15th St. N.W. 
side of the building.

ADDRESSES: To submit completed applications, or send any other 
correspondence, write to: NTIA/PTFP, Room H-4625, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Cooperman, Director, Public 
Broadcasting Division, telephone: (202) 482-5802; fax: (202) 482-2156.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Application Forms and Requirements

    Funding for the PEACESAT Program is provided pursuant to Public Law 
106-113, the ``Consolidated Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 2000.'' 
Public Law 106-113 provides that ``notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Pan-Pacific Education and Communications Experiments by 
Satellite (PEACESAT) Program is eligible to compete for Public 
Broadcasting Facilities, Planning and Construction funds.'' The 
PEACESAT Program was authorized under Public Law 100-584 (102 Stat. 
2970) and also Public Law 101-555 (104 Stat. 2758) to acquire satellite 
communications services to provide educational, medical, and cultural 
needs of Pacific Basin communities. The PEACESAT Program has been 
operational since 1971 and has received funding from NTIA for support 
of the project since 1988.
    Public Law 106-113 appropriated $26.5 million for this account to 
be awarded for Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) 
grants and for PEACESAT Program grants. The solicitation notice for the 
PTFP Program was published in the Federal Register on December 23, 1999 
(64 Fed. Reg. 72225). Applications submitted in response to this 
solicitation for PEACESAT applications are not subject to the 
requirements of the December 23, 1999 Notice and are exempt from the 
PTFP regulations at 15 CFR Part 2301. NTIA anticipates making a single 
award for approximately $450,000 for the PEACESAT Program in FY2000.
    NTIA requests that each applicant for a PEACESAT Program grant 
supply one (1) original signed application and five (5) copies, unless 
doing so would present a financial hardship, in which case the 
applicant may submit one(1) original and two (2) copies of the 
application. The application form consists of the Standard Form 424 
Application for Federal Assistance; Standard Form 424A Budget 
Information--Non-Construction Programs; Standard Form 424 B, 
Assurances; Standard Form CD-511 Certification; and Standard Form LLL, 
Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable). These requirements 
are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act and have been approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 0348-0043, 
0348-0044, 0348-0040 and 0348-0046.
    Applicants are not required to respond to a collection of 
information sponsored by the Federal government, and the government may 
not conduct or sponsor this collection, unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number or if we fail to provide you with this notice.
    Eligible applicants will include any for-profit or non-profit 
organization, public or private entity, other than an agency or 
division of the Federal government. Individuals are not eligible to 
apply for the PEACESAT Program funds.
    Grant recipients under this program will not be required to provide 
matching funds toward the total project cost.
    The costs allowable under this Notice are not subject to the 
limitation on costs contained in the December 23, 1999 Notice regarding 
the PTFP Program.

II. Administrative Requirements; Scope of Project and Eligible 
Costs; Evaluation and Selection Process

    Public Law 106-113 was enacted November 29, 1999. Public Law 106-
113 made funds from the Public Broadcasting, Facilities, Planning and 
Construction Funds account available to the PEACESAT Program. Funds 
appropriated to the Public Broadcasting, Facilities, Planning and 
Construction Funds account do not carry fiscal year limitations. A 
notice published on March 16, 1999 set forth the scope of the project 
and eligible costs, and a description of the evaluation and selection 
process for applications. Since funds for the Public Broadcasting, 
Facilities, Planning and Construction Funds account are available 
without limitations, the administrative requirements; scope of project 
and eligible costs criteria; and evaluation and selection process 
criteria set forth in the March 16, 1999 notice apply to the 1999 
PEACESAT program and to all subsequent years. A copy of the March 
16,1999 Notice is available to potential applicants from NTIA at the 
address listed in the Address section and is also available on the 
INTERNET at www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/peacesat/peacesat.html If, in the 
future, NTIA changes the administrative requirements; the scope of 
project and eligible costs criteria; or the evaluation and selection 
process criteria, a new

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notice will be published containing the new criteria and requirements.

III. Project Period

    Any project awarded pursuant to this notice will be for a one-year 
period.

    Authority: Pub. L. 106-113, ``Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
Fiscal Year 2000.''

Dr. Bernadette McGuire-Rivera,
Associate Administrator, Office of Telecommunications and Information 
Applications.
[FR Doc. 00-4206 Filed 2-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P