[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 29 (Tuesday, February 12, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9889-9890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03091]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; State and Local 
Implementation Grant Program Application Documentation and Reporting 
Requirements

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before April 15, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Requests for additional information 
or copies of the information collection instruments and instructions 
should be sent to Laura M. Pettus, Program Specialist, Office of 
Telecommunications and Information Applications, National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Room 4878, Washington, DC 20230 
(or via email at [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (Act, Pub. 
L. 112-96, 126 Stat. 156 (2012).) (Act) was signed by the President on 
February 22, 2012. The Act meets a long-standing priority of the 
Administration, as well as a critical national infrastructure need, to 
create a single nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband 
network (PSBN) that will, for the first time, allow police officers, 
fire fighters, emergency medical service professionals, and other 
public safety officials to effectively communicate with each other 
across agencies and jurisdictions. The Act establishes the First 
Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) as an independent authority 
within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA) and authorizes it to take all actions necessary to ensure the 
design, construction, and operation of a nationwide public safety 
broadband network (PSBN), based on a single, national network 
architecture.
    FirstNet is responsible for, at a minimum, ensuring nationwide 
standards for the use of and access to the network; issuing open, 
transparent, and competitive requests for proposals (RFPs) to build, 
operate, and maintain the network; encouraging these RFPs to leverage, 
to the maximum extent economically desirable, existing commercial 
wireless infrastructure to speed deployment of the network; and 
overseeing contracts with non-federal entities to build, operate, and 
maintain the network.
    The Act also charges NTIA with establishing the State and Local 
Grant Implementation Program (SLIGP) to assist State, regional, tribal, 
and local jurisdictions with identifying, planning, and implementing 
the most efficient and effective means to use and integrate the 
infrastructure, equipment, and other architecture associated with the 
nationwide PSBN to satisfy the wireless broadband and data services 
needs of their jurisdictions.
    The Act directed NTIA, in consultation with FirstNet, to establish 
programmatic requirements for SLIGP by August 22, 2012. NTIA met the 
Act's directive by issuing a Notice that described the scope of 
allowable activities that SLIGP will fund, defined eligible costs, and 
discussed prioritizing grants for activities that ensure coverage in 
rural as well as urban areas. Because the appointment of the FirstNet 
Board occurred on August 20, 2012, NTIA had only just started to 
consult with the Board on the SLIGP requirements at the time it issued 
the Notice on August 21, 2012. As a result, NTIA did not announce 
procedures for the submission of grant applications in the August 21 
Notice nor did it begin accepting grant applications at that time. 
Instead, NTIA announced that, subject to the activities of FirstNet, it 
intended to release a Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) and open the 
application window during the first quarter of calendar year 2013.
    Moreover, the Act's framework contemplates that FirstNet will 
closely coordinate its activities with State, regional, tribal, and 
local governments and imposes a statutory requirement that FirstNet 
consult with these entities as it takes all actions necessary to build, 
deploy, and operate the nationwide PSBN. Specifically, the Act requires 
FirstNet to consult with State, regional, tribal, and local governments 
about the distribution and expenditure of any amounts required to carry 
out its responsibilities, including (i) The construction of a core 
network and any radio access network build-out; (ii) placement of 
towers; (iii) coverage areas of the network; (iv) adequacy of hardware, 
security, reliability, and resiliency requirements; (v) assignment of 
priority to local users and selection of entities seeking network 
access; and (vi) training needs of local users.
    Additionally, the Act specifies that these required consultations 
are to occur between FirstNet and the single point of contact that the 
State is required to designate in its application for grant funds under 
SLIGP. Thus, progress in meeting FirstNet's responsibilities under the 
Act, including its required consultations, is inextricably linked to 
the establishment of SLIGP. FirstNet must rely on NTIA to establish 
SLIGP as the principal means to facilitate its required consultations. 
At the same time, without funding assistance from SLIGP, the States 
will lack the resources to consult effectively with FirstNet and 
provide it with information needed for it to proceed with the design 
and construction of a nationwide PSBN in an effective and timely 
manner, as required by the Act.
    In order to meet these objectives, DOC/NTIA requested an emergency 
review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This request was 
approved on January 7, 2013; approval

[[Page 9890]]

ends on July 31, 2013. The publication of this notice allows NTIA to 
begin the process to extend the approval for the standard three years.

 II. Method of Collection

    Electronically via grants.gov, and paper format.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0660-0038.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a currently 
approved information collection).
    Affected Public: State, regional, local, and tribal government 
organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 56.
    Estimated Time Per Response: Application, 10 hours; Quarterly 
report, 4 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,456.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: February 6, 2013.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-03091 Filed 2-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P