[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68283-68284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21767]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[DOT-OST-2023-0118]


Commercial eLoran Capability

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology 
(OST-R), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Request for Information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is issuing this 
Request for Information (RFI) to determine if there is interest from 
private entities in offering a U.S. commercial enhanced Long Range 
Navigation (eLoran) service to the general public in the United States 
on a fee-for-service basis without any Federal investment, subsidy, 
procurement commitment or other commitment of credit or budgetary 
resources. If respondent has an interest in offering a U.S.-based 
commercial eLoran service on a fee-for-service basis, identify what 
impediments stand in the way of respondent offering a U.S. commercial 
eLoran service. If lack of access to any federally-controlled assets 
and non-budgetary assistance related to utilizing such federally-
controlled assets are identified as impediments to offering such a 
service, a subsequent Request for Information may be issued to obtain 
additional data.

DATES: Responses should be filed by November 2, 2023. All questions 
concerning this RFI shall be emailed to [email protected] within 7 days 
of publication of this RFI. Questions and comments are highly 
encouraged, but DOT cannot commit to answering any question(s) received 
by DOT more than 7 calendar-days after the date on which this RFI is 
published.

ADDRESSES: You may file responses identified by the docket number DOT-
OST-2023-0118 by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    When submitting questions and comments, please refer to the 
specific relevant text of this RFI. Each question submitted to DOT 
should be stated in such a way that there would be no objection to 
DOT's publishing that precise question (and its answer) in a formal 
Amendment to the RFI. That is, each question should be worded in such a 
way that the publication of that question (and its answer) would not 
divulge any information that would be considered proprietary or 
confidential. Further, any question concerning any apparent error, 
omission, or ambiguity in this RFI shall include the questioner's 
supporting rationale as well as a description of the remedies that the 
questioner is asking DOT to consider. All questions that DOT decides to 
answer will be collectively answered in writing.
    Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket number 
DOT-OST-2023-0118 at the beginning of your submission. All submissions 
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided, unless proprietary and 
other sensitive information is so marked with requested disposition 
instructions.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
submissions received in any of our dockets by the name of the 
individual submitting the document (or signing the submission, if 
submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act statement in the Federal 
Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78), or you may visit 
http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
    Docket: For access to the docket and comments received, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov or to the street address listed above. 
Follow the online instructions for accessing the docket.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Overview

    The primary and most recognizable Positioning, Navigation, and 
Timing (PNT) service supporting critical infrastructure is the United 
States' Global Positioning System (GPS). However, because GPS relies on 
signals broadcast from satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), signal 
strength at the receiver is low and thus vulnerable to intentional and 
unintentional disruptions. In 2020, the U.S. Department of 
Transportation's Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe 
Center) conducted field demonstrations of candidate PNT technologies 
that could offer complementary service in the event of GPS disruptions. 
The purpose of the demonstrations was to gather information on PNT 
technologies at a high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) that can work 
in the absence of GPS.
    Such PNT technologies complement GPS and increase PNT robustness to 
enhance national and homeland security by making critical 
infrastructure more resilient, and to improve efficiency of U.S. 
commercial transportation, telecommunications, energy, financial and 
industrial systems. The culmination of the Demonstration was the 2021 
Report to Congress on Complementary PNT and GPS Backup Technologies 
Demonstration Report to Congress: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/55765.
    As a result of the 2021 DOT Report to Congress, DOT finds that:
    (1) No single solution for the provision of Complementary PNT 
services can meet the diversity of critical infrastructure application 
requirements, and
    (2) It would be inefficient and anti-competitive for the Federal 
Government to procure or otherwise fund a specific

[[Page 68284]]

Complementary PNT solution for non-Federal users.
    Rather than building or otherwise procuring a new system, DOT in 
partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, in support of 
Executive Order 13905, Strengthening National Resilience Through 
Responsible Use of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Services, is 
better positioned to enable and encourage the owners and operators of 
critical infrastructure to be responsible users of PNT by leveraging 
commercially available PNT technologies to secure access to 
Complementary PNT services. The private sector is then encouraged to 
design critical infrastructure systems in a manner that recognizes the 
risk associated with the use of, and potential dependence on, external 
PNT services.

2. Responses

    Responses are limited to ten (10) 8.5'' x 11'' pages with 1'' 
margins, and 12-point font (Arial or Times New Roman), not including 
financial tables, appendices and other supporting materials which shall 
have no limitation. Pages must be numbered and submitted electronically 
via email as Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat files. Please send 
responses to the contact information provided in the For Further 
Information Contact section of the notice.
    Abbreviations should be defined either on first use or in a 
glossary. Charts and graphics should have quantitative data clearly 
labeled. Assumptions should be clearly identified. Proprietary and 
other sensitive information should be so marked with requested 
disposition instructions. Submitted responses shall be UNCLASSIFIED 
unless prior arrangements are made with the Contracting Office. 
Submitted materials will not be returned.
    This is an RFI only. This request is for information purposes, and 
shall not be construed as a solicitation announcement, invitation for 
bids, request for proposals or quotes, or an indication that the 
Government will contract for the items contained in this notice.
    Additionally, responses will be treated only as information for the 
Government to consider. Respondents will not be entitled to payment for 
direct or indirect costs that are incurred in responding to this RFI. 
Further, this request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals 
or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. 
Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, 
restricted or competition sensitive information contained in their 
responses.

    Issued In Washington, DC.
Robert C. Hampshire,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, U.S. Department 
of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2023-21767 Filed 10-2-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P