[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 188 (Tuesday, September 29, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58498-58499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24686]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket No. DHS-2015-0064]


Office for Interoperability and Compatibility Seeks Nominations 
for the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP) Advisory 
Panel

AGENCY: Science and Technology Directorate, DHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is once again 
seeking nominations and expressions of interest for membership on the 
Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program Advisory Panel (P25 CAP AP). 
DHS is providing the public with additional time to submit nominations 
because it wants to ensure that it has a broad and qualified pool of 
candidates to select from for the benefit of the program and its 
stakeholders. DHS previously made this request through the Federal 
Register (Docket No. DHS-2015-0041). DHS understands that the previous 
notice may have provided insufficient time for some to obtain the 
necessary components for a qualifying nomination package. The 
activities of the P25 CAP AP are expected to commence in fall 2015.
    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, created 
by DHS and operated in collaboration with the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST), for ensuring that communications 
equipment that is declared by the supplier to be P25 compliant, in 
fact, is tested against the standards with publicly published results. 
The P25 CAP AP would provide a resource by which DHS could gain insight 
into the collective interest of organizations that procure P25-
compliant equipment and a resource in DHS's continuing to establish the 
policies of the P25 CAP along with assisting the DHS Office for 
Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) in the administration of the 
Program.

DATES: All responses must be received within 15 days from the date of 
this notice at the address listed below.

ADDRESSES: Expressions of interest and nominations should be submitted 
to [email protected].
     Instructions: All submissions received must include the 
words ``Department of Homeland Security'' and DHS-2015-0064, the docket 
number for this action.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Merrill, Director, Office for 
Interoperability and Compatibility, Science and Technology Directorate, 
Department of Homeland Security, 202-254-5604 (O), 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    TIA-102/Project 25 (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 and features between the various components of a land 
mobile radio system commonly used by public safety agencies in portable 
handheld and mobile vehicle-mounted devices. The P25 standard enables 
interoperability among different suppliers' products.
    P25 CAP was developed by DHS and the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST) to test equipment designed to comply 
with P25 standards. The program provides public safety agencies with 
evidence that the communications equipment they are purchasing is 
tested against and complies with the P25 standards for performance, 
conformance, and interoperability.
    P25 CAP is a voluntary system that provides a mechanism for the 
recognition of testing laboratories based on internationally accepted 
standards. It identifies competent P25 CAP testing laboratories for 
DHS-recognition through assessments by DHS-authorized accreditation 
bodies and promotes the acceptance of compliant test results from these 
laboratories.
    As a voluntary program, P25 CAP allows suppliers to publicly attest 
to their products' compliance with a selected group of requirements 
through Summary Test Report (STR) and Supplier's Declaration of 
Compliance (SDOC) documents based on the Detailed Test Report (DTR) 
from the DHS-recognized laboratory (ies) that performed the product 
testing. In turn, P25 CAP makes these documents available to the first 
response community to inform their purchasing decisions via the 
FirstResponder.gov/P25CAP Web site.

Membership

    The Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) of the DHS is forming 
the P25 CAP Advisory Panel to provide S&T with the views of active 
local, state, tribal, territorial and Federal government officials who 
use or whose offices use portable handheld and mobile vehicle-mounted 
radios. Those government officials selected to participate in the P25 
CAP AP will be selected based on their experience with the management 
and procurement of land mobile radio systems or knowledge

[[Page 58499]]

of conformity assessment programs and methods. OIC will select 
candidates in light of the desire to balance viewpoints required to 
effectively address P25 CAP issues under consideration. OIC is 
particularly interested in receiving nominations and expressions of 
interest from individuals in the following categories:
     State, tribal, territorial, or local government agencies 
and organizations with expertise in communications issues and 
technologies.
     Federal government agencies with expertise in 
communications or homeland security matters.
    While OIC can call for a meeting of the P25 CAP AP as it deems 
necessary and appropriate, for member commitment and planning purposes, 
it is anticipated that the P25 CAP AP will meet approximately 3-4 times 
annually in their role of providing guidance and support to the P25 
CAP.
    Those selected to serve on the P25 CAP AP will be required to sign 
a gratuitous services agreement and will not be paid or reimbursed for 
their participation; however, DHS S&T will reimburse the travel 
expenses associated with the participation of non-Federal members in 
accordance with Federal Travel Regulations. OIC reserves the right to 
select primary and alternate members to the P25 CAP AP for terms 
appropriate for the accomplishment of the Board's mission. Members 
serve at the pleasure of the OIC Director.
    Registered lobbyists pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 
1995 are not eligible for membership on the P25 CAP AP and will not be 
considered.

Roles and Responsibilities

    The duties of the P25 CAP AP will include providing recommendations 
of its individual members to OIC regarding actions and steps OIC could 
take to promote the P25 CAP. The duties of the P25 CAP AP may include 
but are not limited to its members reviewing, commenting on, and 
advising on:
    a. The laboratory component of the P25 CAP under established, 
documented laboratory recognition guidelines.
    b. Proposed Compliance Assessment Bulletins (CABs).
    c. Proposed updates to previously approved CABs, as Notices of 
Proposed CABs, to enable comment and input on the proposed CAB 
modifications.
    d. OIC updates to existing test documents or establishing new test 
documents for new types of P25 equipment.
    e. Best practices associated with improvement of the policies and 
procedures by which the P25 CAP operates.
    f. Existing test documents including but not limited to Supplier 
Declarations of Compliance (SDOCs) and Summary Test Reports (STRs) 
posted on the FirstResponder.gov/P25CAP Web site.
    g. Proposed P25 user input for improving functionality through the 
standards-making process.

Nominations/Expressions of Interest Procedures and Deadline

    Nominations and expressions of interest shall be received by OIC no 
later than 15 days from the date of this notice at the address listed 
above ([email protected]). Nominations and expressions of interest 
received after this date shall not be considered. Each nomination and 
expression of interest must provide the following information as part 
of the submission:
     A cover letter that highlights a history of proven 
leadership within the public safety community including, if applicable, 
a description of prior experience with law enforcement, fire response, 
emergency medical services, emergency communications, National Guard, 
or other first responder roles and how the use of communications in 
those roles qualifies the nominee to participate on the P25 CAP AP.
     Name, title, and organization of the nominee.
     A resume summarizing the nominee's contact information 
(including the mailing address, phone number, facsimile number, and 
email address), qualifications, and expertise to explain why the 
nominee should be appointed to the P25 CAP AP.
     The resume must demonstrate a minimum of ten years (10) 
years of experience directly using P25 systems in an operational 
environment in support of established public safety communications or 
from a system implementer/administrator perspective; a bachelor's or 
associate degree with an emphasis in communications and engineering may 
be substituted for three (3) years, a master's/professional 
certification for seven (7) years, and a Ph.D. for ten (10) years of 
the requirement.
     The resume must discuss the nominee's familiarity with the 
current P25 CAP, including documents that are integral to the process 
such as the SDOCs, STRs, and CABs referenced in this notice
     A letter from the nominee's supervisor indicating the 
nominee's agency's support for the nominee to participate on the P25 
CAP AP.
     Disclosure of Federal boards, commissions, committees, 
task forces, or work groups on which the nominee currently serves or 
has served within the past 12 months.
     A statement confirming that the nominee is not registered 
as a lobbyist pursuant to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.
    Additional information can be found as follows:
Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program and Compliance Assessment 
Bulletins
    http://www.firstresponder.gov/P25%20CAP%20Resources/Pages/P25CAPResources.aspx
    http://www.firstresponder.gov/P25%20CAP%20Resources/Pages/Policy.aspx

     Dated: September 23, 2015.
 Reginald Brothers,
Under Secretary, DHS Science and Technology Directorate.
[FR Doc. 2015-24686 Filed 9-28-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-9F-P