[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 82 (Thursday, April 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23795-23796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10332]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

[Docket No. 110418247-1247-01]


Low-Power Television and Translator Upgrade Program: Notice of 
Final Closing Date

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final closing date for receipt of applications and 
change in census database.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA) announces that the final Closing Date for receipt of 
applications for the Low-Power Television and Translator Upgrade 
Program (Upgrade Program) will be Monday, July 2, 2012. NTIA also 
announces that it will use population data from the newly available 
2010 U.S. Census for applications received after July 1, 2011 in 
determining whether a facility meets the rurality eligibility 
requirement of the Upgrade Program. Applications submitted up to and 
including July 1, 2011, can continue to use the population reported in 
the 2000 Census. All other requirements for the Upgrade Program remain 
unchanged as set forth in the Notice of Availability of Funds and 
Program Guidelines (Upgrade Program NOFA), 74 FR 22402 (May 12, 2009), 
available at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/lptv/LP-Upgrade-NOFA-FRMay-1209.pdf.

DATES: NTIA will continue to process applications received by the first 
business day of each month as long as funds are available (Closing 
Dates), but the last Closing Date will be July 2, 2012. Applicants must 
ensure that the carrier they use guarantees delivery of the application 
by 5 p.m., Eastern Time on the Closing Dates. Applications received 
after any of the monthly Closing Dates will be held until the next 
grant round. Applicants should note that all material sent via the U.S. 
Postal Service (including ``Overnight'' or ``Express Mail'') is subject 
to delivery delays of up to two weeks due to mail security procedures 
at the Department of Commerce. 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 and Time, 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.

ADDRESSES: To submit completed applications or send any other 
correspondence, write to the Upgrade Program at the following address: 
NTIA/Upgrade Program, Room H-4812, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230. Application materials 
may be obtained electronically via the Internet at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/lptv. Applications submitted by facsimile will not be 
accepted. The Upgrade Program application is not available for 
submission through the Grants.gov Web site.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Cooperman, Upgrade Program 
Director, Public Broadcasting Division, NTIA Office of 
Telecommunications and Information Applications, telephone: (202) 482-
5802; fax: (202) 482-2156; e-mail: [email protected]. Information 
about the Upgrade Program can also be obtained electronically via the 
Internet at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/lptv.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 12, 2009, NTIA published the Upgrade 
Program NOFA, which established a procedure through which NTIA would 
process applications received by the first business day of each month 
as long as funds were available.
    Although the Federal Communications Commission has not established 
a deadline for the conversion of analog low-power television facilities 
to digital broadcasting,\1\ pursuant to Section 3009 of the Digital 
Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 (the Act), NTIA's 
authority to make payments for the Upgrade Program expires on September 
30, 2012.\2\ Since NTIA must complete payments to Upgrade Program grant 
recipients by the end of September 2012, NTIA is providing potential 
applicants with approximately fourteen months advance notice of the 
final Closing Date.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Memorandum 
Opinion and Order In the Matter of Amendment of Parts 73 and 74 of 
the Commission's Rules to Establish Rules for Digital Low Power 
Television, Television Translator, and Television Booster Stations 
and to Amend Rules for Digital Class A Television Stations, MB 
Docket 103-185, FCC 10-172, 25 F.C.C. Rcd. 13833 (rel. Sept. 17, 
2010).
    \2\ The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 
2005 is Title III of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Public Law 
109-171, 120 Stat. 4, 21 (Feb. 8, 2006). Section 2(b) of the DTV 
Transition Assistance Act, Pub L. 110-295, 122 Stat. 2872 (July 30, 
2008), amended section 3009 to clarify the period during which NTIA 
could make awards for the Upgrade Program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As of April 2011, NTIA has approximately $32 million available for 
award as reimbursement grants in the

[[Page 23796]]

Upgrade Program account. NTIA will process applications received by the 
first business day of each month and will provide information monthly 
on the Upgrade Program Internet site regarding the amount of remaining 
funds available. In order to ensure that NTIA and the Grants Office 
complete processing of applications and issuing awards by September 30, 
2012, NTIA must receive final Upgrade Program applications no later 
than 5 p.m., Eastern Time, July 2, 2012.
    If NTIA or the Grants Office determines that an application 
submitted for the July 2, 2012, last Closing Date requires additional 
information, the applicant must provide the requested information 
within ten business days or NTIA will discontinue processing the 
application.
    NTIA also announces that it will use population data from the newly 
available 2010 U.S. Census for applications received after July 1, 
2011, in determining whether an application meets the statutory 
requirement to ``upgrade low-power television stations from analog to 
digital in eligible rural communities.'' \3\ Applications submitted up 
to and including July 1, 2011, can continue to use the population 
reported in the 2000 Census to determine station eligibility.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ The Act at Sec.  3009 (emphasis added). NTIA's 
interpretation and implementation of this requirement is discussed 
at length in the Upgrade Program NOFA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    After July 1, 2011, population figures from the 2000 Census will 
continue to be available on the Upgrade Program Web site, http://www.ntia.doc.gov/lptv/Application/, and may be used as a preliminary 
guide to determine eligibility. Almost all stations showing an NTIA-
calculated population of significantly less than 20,000 using 2000 
Census data should continue to be eligible for the Upgrade Program. 
NTIA will provide 2010 Census population figures for any facility that 
requests such information. Potential applicants may e-mail a request, 
which must include the FCC Facility ID number, to: [email protected]. 
For applications submitted after July 1, 2011, applicants may also use 
the other methods of determining eligibility discussed in the Upgrade 
Program NOFA so long as those methods rely on 2010 Census data.
    Upgrade Program staff remain available to assist potential 
applicants in complying with program requirements. All Upgrade Program 
instructions and forms remain available on the NTIA Internet site at 
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/lptv.

    Dated: April 25, 2011.
Bernadette McGuire-Rivera,
Associate Administrator, Office of Telecommunications and Information 
Applications.
[FR Doc. 2011-10332 Filed 4-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P