[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 80 (Thursday, April 25, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24428-24429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09805]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket No. DHS-2013-0027]


P25 Compliance Assessment Program for Communications Equipment

AGENCY: Science and Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security is seeking Expressions of 
Interest from laboratory accreditation bodies, which are International 
Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Full Members and 
signatories to the ILAC mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) and 
which are capable of providing accreditation services for laboratories 
participating in the Project 25 (P25) Compliance Assessment Program 
(P25 CAP).
    P25 is a standard which enables interoperability among digital two-
way land mobile radio communications products created by and for public 
safety professionals. P25 CAP is a formal, independent process for 
ensuring that communications equipment that is declared by the 
manufacturer to be P25 compliant in fact meets P25 standards. 
Accreditation of the test laboratories that carry out the compliance 
assessment is currently conducted by P25 CAP itself, but DHS is 
considering a transition to compliance assessment by third-party 
laboratory accreditation organizations.
    As a first step in the process, the DHS is gauging interest from 
laboratory accreditation bodies. This Request for Expressions of 
Interest (REI) is for information and planning purposes only. It is not 
a broad agency announcement, Request for Proposals or Quotations, or 
other form of solicitation for bids, and it is not a commitment or 
obligation by DHS to make award of any contractual instrument or make 
any payment.

DATES: May 28, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Expressions of interest should be submitted to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cuong Luu, Program Manager, Office for 
Interoperability and Compatibility, U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security, tel: 202-254-6374, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    P25 is a standards development process for the design, manufacture, 
and evaluation of interoperable digital two-way land mobile radio 
communications products created by and for public safety professionals. 
The goal of P25 is to specify formal standards for interfaces between 
the various components of a land mobile radio system commonly used by 
emergency responders in portable handheld and mobile vehicle-mounted 
devices. The P25 standard enables interoperability among different 
manufacturers' products.
    P25 CAP was developed by DHS and the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST) to identify equipment that complies 
with P25 standards. P25 CAP provides first responders with 
documentation of interoperability they need to inform their purchasing 
decisions. P25 CAP is a voluntary program that allows manufacturers to 
publicly attest to their products' compliance with P25 standards 
through a Suppliers' Declaration of Compliance Document (SDoC), 
substantiated by an Official Summary Test Report. P25 CAP makes

[[Page 24429]]

these documents available to the first response community on the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Responder Knowledge Base 
(RKB) Web site at http://www.rkb.us.
    P25 CAP accepts test reports from certified first (where the 
laboratory is operated by the manufacturer), second (where the 
laboratory is operated by the Federal government), and third party 
laboratories (where the laboratory is operated by an independent 
party).
    Products are tested for performance, conformance, and 
interoperability. The relevant technical requirements and test methods 
have been selected by P25 CAP, and the currently accredited 
laboratories have been assessed for their competence to test to 
specific or all of the test criteria. The current P25 CAP laboratory 
recognition process is detailed in NIST Handbook 153.
    Eight test laboratories are currently accredited under P25 CAP. P25 
CAP has informed these eight laboratories that they may be required to 
seek re-accreditation from any DHS-identified designated laboratory 
accreditation body(ies) in order to maintain their P25 CAP 
accreditation. The P25 CAP will consider accreditation organizations 
for participation and will recognize laboratories appropriately-
accredited by any DHS-identified designated accreditation bodies. P25 
CAP has developed a transition plan that will allow time for DHS-
designated laboratory accreditation body(ies) to develop and offer an 
accreditation program for P25 CAP testing. This transition program may 
include appropriate workshops for interested parties, i.e., candidate 
laboratories, radio manufacturers, and others.

Expressions of Interest

    Laboratory accreditation bodies are invited to respond to this 
notice with an expression of interest, including (1) the name of 
organization; (2) a contact person; (3) telephone number; and (4) email 
address.
    Laboratory accreditation bodies participating in the P25 CAP 
program will be required to: (a) Maintain their ILAC MRA Signatory 
status; (b) Nominate subject matter expert assessors; (c) Participate 
in P25-provided training activities, and (d) Accredit laboratories to 
the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025, the international standard for 
requirement for competence of testing and calibration laboratories, and 
P25 CAP specific requirements.
    A responding laboratory accreditation body should also discuss its: 
(e) Access to assessors with expertise in areas relevant to the P25 
standard; (f) Prior experience with similar technologies; and (g) 
Accreditation of one or more of the currently designated laboratories 
for similar technologies.
    Expressions of Interest should note the FRN docket number in the 
subject line and be no longer than 10 pages. They the above factors and 
be submitted to [email protected]. Responses to this notice will be 
acknowledged by DHS. Information obtained as a result of this notice 
will be used as considerations for the restructuring of the P25 CAP.
    Interested parties should avoid including any business confidential 
or proprietary information in its expression of interest. If such 
information must be included, it should be clearly marked and the 
interested party must provide justification as to why such information 
is confidential and/or proprietary. DHS will handle such information in 
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).
    This Request for Expressions of Interest is for information and 
planning purposes only. It is not a broad agency announcement, Request 
for Proposals or Quotations, or other form of solicitation for bids, 
and it is not a commitment or obligation by DHS to make award of any 
contractual instrument or make any payment. The cost for the 
preparation and submission of a response to this notice is solely the 
responsibility of the interested party. DHS will make no payment(s) 
associated with this Request for Expressions of Interest.
    Additional information can be found at:
    Project 25: http://www.safecomprogram.gov/currentprojects/project25.
    Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program and Compliance Assessment 
Bulletins: http://www.safecomprogram.gov/currentprojects/project25cap.
    NIST Handbook 153: http://www.safecomprogram.gov/SiteCollectionDocuments/NISTHandbook1532009REVEdition_16Jul09.pdf.
    P25 CAP Laboratory Recognition (eight laboratories and their scopes 
of recognition): http://www.safecomprogram.gov/currentprojects/project25cap/webpages/lr.aspx.
    FEMA Responder Knowledge Base: https://www.rkb.us.

    Dated: April 12, 2013.
Tara O'Toole,
Under Secretary for Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2013-09805 Filed 4-24-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-9F-P