Public Telecommunications Facilities Program: Availability of Funds

SUMMARY: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration

(NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce, announces that applications are

available for planning and construction grants for public

telecommunications facilities under the Public Telecommunications

Facilities Program (PTFP), which is administered by NTIA.

Applicants for grants under the PTFP must file their applications

on or before Wednesday, February 15, 1995. NTIA anticipates making

grant awards by September 30, 1995.

Approximately $25.3 million is available in fiscal year 1995 for

PTFP grants. The amount of a grant award will vary, depending on the

application project. For fiscal year 1994, NTIA awarded $21.2 million

in funds to 140 projects. The awards ranged from $4,102 to $850,000.

Prospective PTFP applicants should be aware that the Congress has

appropriated funds for a related NTIA grant program. The program, which

is part of the National Information Infrastructure effort, is called

the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance

Program (TIIAP). The TIIAP's funds may be used for the planning and

construction of telecommunications networks or for the purchase of

telecommunications services and facilities that enhance the delivery of

social services, such as education, culture, health care, public

information, public safety, and other related services. The TIIAP

program funds demonstration projects that support the formation of an

advanced nationwide, telecommunications and information infrastructure

incorporating the widest variety of information technologies. The

Congress appropriated $64 million for the TIIAP in FY 1995. Formal

announcement of the TIIAP program for FY 1995 will be made at a later

date in a separate Federal Register notice. The TIIAP is distinct from

the PTFP, which is the subject of this Notice. The PTFP or its

predecessor programs have been in operation since 1962.

The Final Rules and Policy Statement for the PTFP were published on

November 22, 1991 (56 Fed. Reg. 59168 (1991)). These rules, codified at

15 CFR part 2301, will be in effect for FY 1995 PTFP applications.

Parties interested in applying for financial assistance should refer to

these rules and to the authorizing legislation (47 U.S.C. 390-393 and

Pub. L. 103-317) for additional information on the program's goals and

objectives, eligibility criteria, evaluation criteria, and other

requirements.

Authority: The Public Telecommunications Financing Act of 1978,

as amended, 47 U.S.C. 390-393 (Act), and Pub. L. 103-317. (Catalog

of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 11.550)

DATES: Pursuant to 15 CFR 2301.5(c), the Administrator of NTIA hereby

establishes the closing date for the filing of applications for grants

under the PTFP. The closing date selected for the submission of

applications for 1995 is Wednesday, February 15, 1995. Applications

delivered by mail or by hand must be delivered to the address

referenced below by 5 p.m. on or before February 15, 1995. Applicants

whose applications are not received by the deadline will be notified

that their applications will not be considered in the current grant

cycle and will be returned.

ADDRESSES: To obtain an application package, submit completed

applications, or send any other correspondence, write to: Office of

Telecommunications and Information Applications, NTIA/DOC, 14th Street

and Constitution Ave., NW, Room H-4625, Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis R. Connors, Director, Public

Broadcasting, telephone: (202) 482-5802; fax: (202) 482-2156.

Information about the PTFP can also be received electronically via

Internet (send inquiries to [email protected]) or through the NTIA BBS

at (202) 482-1199 (set computer modems for 8 stop bits, 0 polarity).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Application Forms and Regulations

To apply for a PTFP grant, an applicant must file a timely and

complete application on a current form approved by the Agency. The

current application form expires on October 31, 1997, and no previous

versions of the PTFP Application Form may be used. (In accordance with

the Paperwork Reduction Act, the current application form has been

cleared under OMB control no. 0660-0003.)

All persons and organizations on the PTFP's mailing list will be

sent a copy of the current application form and the Final Rules. Those

not on the mailing list may obtain copies by contacting the PTFP at the

address or telephone, fax, computer bulletin board, or Internet numbers

noted above. Prospective applicants should read the Final Rules

carefully before submitting applications. Applicants whose applications

were deferred in FY 1994 will be mailed pertinent PTFP materials and

instructions for requesting reactivation.

Applicants should note that they must comply with the provisions of

Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs.'' The Executive Order requires applicants for financial

assistance under this program to file a copy of their application with

the Single Points of Contact (SPOC) of all states relevant to the

project. Applicants are required to serve a copy of their completed

application on the appropriate SPOC on or before February 15, 1995.

Applicants are encouraged to contact the appropriate SPOC well before

the PTFP closing date.

NTIA requires that all applicants whose proposed projects need

authorization from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must

tender an application to the FCC for such authority on or before

February 15, 1995. (An application is tendered to the FCC when it has

been received by the Secretary of the FCC.) However, applicants are

urged to submit it with as much lead time before the PTFP closing date

as possible. The greater the lead time, the better the chance the FCC

application will be processed to coincide with NTIA's grant cycle. NTIA

will return the application of any applicant that fails to tender an

application to the FCC for any necessary authority on or before

February 15, 1995.

Indirect costs for construction applications are not supported by

this program. The total dollar amount of the indirect costs proposed in

a planning application under this program must not exceed the indirect

cost rate negotiated and approved by a cognizant Federal agency prior

to the proposed effective date of the award or 100 percent of the total

proposed direct costs dollar amount in the application, whichever is

less.

All primary applicants must submit a completed Form CD-511,

``Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other

Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace Requirements and

Lobbying.'' Applicants are further advised that:

(1) Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension. Prospective

participants (as defined at 15 CFR Part 26, Section 105) are subject to

15 CFR Part 26, ``Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension'' and the

related section of the certification form;

(2) Drug Free Workplace. Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR part 26,

Section 605) are subject to 15 CFR Part 26, Subpart F, ``Government-

wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)'' and the related

section of the certification form;

(3) Anti-lobbying. Persons (as defined at 15 CFR Part 28, Section

105) are subject to the lobbying provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1352,

``Limitation on use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal

contracting and financial transactions,'' and the lobbying section of

the certification form, which applies to applicants/bidders for grants,

cooperative agreements, and contracts for more than $100,000, and loans

and loan guarantees for more than $150,000, or the single family

maximum mortgage limit for affected programs, whichever is greater; and

(4) Anti-lobbying Disclosures. Any applicant that has paid or will

pay for lobbying using any funds must submit an SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of

Lobbying Activities,'' as required under 15 CFR Part 28, Appendix B.

For awards granted by NTIA, the recipient shall require applicants/

bidders for subgrants, contracts, subcontracts, or other lower tier

covered transactions at any tier under the grant award to submit, if

applicable, a completed Form CD-512, ``Certifications Regarding

Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion-Lower Tier

Covered Transactions and Lobbying'' and disclosure form, SF-LLL,

``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.'' Form CD-512 is intended for the

use of recipients and should not be transmitted to the Department. An

SF-LLL completed by any tier recipient or subrecipient should be

submitted to the Department in accordance with the instructions

contained in the award document.

Approving a request to amend an award to increase funding or to

extend the period of performance is at the total discretion of the

Department.

Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all Federal laws and

Federal and DOC policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to

Federal assistance awards. In addition, unsatisfactory performance by

the applicant under prior Federal awards may result in the application

not being considered for funding.

Applicants are reminded that a false statement on the application

may be grounds for denial or termination of funds and grounds for

possible punishment by a fine or imprisonment as provided in 18 U.S.C.

1001.

Special Note: As originally stated in the August 20, 1987, PTFP

Final Rules (52 FR 31496 (1987)), and as reaffirmed and clarified in a

November 22, 1991, PTFP Policy Statement (56 FR 59168 (1991)), NTIA has

established a policy which is intended to encourage stations to

increase from 25% to 50% the matching percentage for those proposals

that call for equipment replacement, improvement, or augmentation.

There are, however, some exceptions to this general policy direction.

Small community-licensee stations, for example, will not be subjected

to this policy. The same is true of a station that is licensed to a

large institution (e.g., a college or university) that can document

that it does not receive direct or in-kind support from the larger

institution. Also, a showing of extraordinary need or an emergency

situation will be taken into consideration as justification for grants

of up to 75% of the project cost for such proposals. Nonetheless,

except in these instances, the presumption of 50% funding will be the

general rule for the replacement, improvement, or augmentation of

equipment.

A point of clarification is in order: NTIA expects to continue

funding projects to activate stations or to extend service at up to 75%

of the total project cost. NTIA will do this because applicants

proposing to provide first service to a geographic area ordinarily

incur considerable costs that are not eligible for NTIA funding; such

costs include those for construction or renovation of buildings and

other similar expenses.

II. Documentation Concerning Discrimination Complaints

The NTIA Administrator is hereby extending a blanket waiver to all

PTFP FY 1995 applicants and grant recipients exempting them from the

requirements contained at 15 CFR 2301.5(d)(2)(xvii) and 2301.21(b)(1-

2). Based on its experience, NTIA has found these requirements to be

too burdensome and generally not pertinent to the PTFP's selection

criteria. This blanket waiver means that FY 1995 PTFP applicants will

not be required to provide a detailed list and explanation of any

complaints of discrimination currently pending or decided against the

applicant before any court or governmental agency. Moreover, FY 1995

PTFP grant recipients, once their projects are completed, will not be

required to submit such documentation on their Annual Status Reports;

nor will recipients have to provide the special academic certification

concerning their admissions policies or their policies regarding the

receiving or providing of services. Applicants are reminded, however,

that they are still obligated to comply with the general Federal

statutes relating to nondiscrimination, as stated in 15 CFR

2301.22(b)(15) and in Assurance No. 36 of the PTFP Application Form.

III. Eligible and Ineligible Costs

Eligible equipment for the 1995 grant round includes apparatus

necessary for the production, interconnection, captioning, broadcast,

or other distribution of programming, including but not limited to

studio equipment; audio and video storage, processing, and switching;

terminal equipment; towers, antennas, transmitters, remote control

equipment, transmission line, translators, microwave equipment, mobile

equipment, satellite communications equipment, instructional television

fixed service equipment, subsidiary communications authorization

transmitting and receiving equipment, cable television equipment, and

optical fiber communications equipment.

NTIA recognizes that digital technology will be an important means

for the more efficient creation and distribution of programming in the

future. Consequently, public broadcasters seeking to replace, upgrade,

and buy new equipment which employs digital technology will be

permitted, when appropriate, to use PTFP funds for such purposes.

The following list provides clarification regarding several

equipment and other cost areas that will be helpful in preparing

applications. NTIA reserves the right to eliminate any costs, whether

specified here or not, that it determines are not appropriate prior to

the awarding of a grant.

A. Equipment and Supplies

(1) Buildings and Modifications to Buildings. (a) Eligible: Small

equipment shelters that are part of satellite earth stations,

translators, microwave interconnection facilities, and similar

facilities. (b) Ineligible: Purchase or lease of buildings and

modifications to buildings, including the renovation of space for

studios intended to house eligible equipment; costs associated with

removing old equipment.

(2) Land and Land Improvements. (a) Eligible: Site preparation

necessary to construct towers and guy anchors for transmission and

interconnection equipment. (b) Ineligible: Purchase or lease of land.

(3) Moving Costs. Ineligible: Moving costs required by relocation

of transmitter or studio equipment.

(4) Reception Equipment. (a) Eligible: Fixed frequency demodulator,

as required by good engineering practice for monitoring the off-air

transmission of signals; subcarrier demodulator; telemetry transmitters

and receivers; satellite receivers; and subcarrier decoders for the

handicapped. (b) Ineligible: Consumer-type TV sets and FM receivers.

(5) Tower Modifications. (a) Eligible: Strengthening or modifying a

commercial entity's tower to accommodate a public broadcasting entity

(structural modifications on towers and/or antenna changes must meet

EIA and any required local standards). (b) Ineligible: Modifying or

strengthening the applicant's tower to accommodate a commercial entity.

(6) Production and Control Room Equipment. (a) Eligible: Standard

production studio and control room equipment for TV or radio program

production. (b) Ineligible: Consumer-type mixers, tape recorders,

turntables, CD players, etc. Ancillary production devices such as

stopwatches and stop-clocks, building lights, sound effects and sound

effects equipment, scenery and props, cycloramas, sound insulation

devices and materials, draperies and related equipment for production

use, film and still photography processing, film sound synchronization

editing.

(7) Video Equipment. (a) Eligible: Videotape editing and processing

equipment that conforms to broadcast-standard quality equipment for

field recording and production editing. (b) Ineligible: Consumer level

videotape recording formats not accepted in the industry as broadcast-

standard quality.

(8) Furniture and Office Equipment. (a) Eligible: Consoles required

to mount equipment such as audio consoles and video switchers. (b)

Ineligible: Such items as office furniture, office equipment, studio

clocks and systems, blackboards, office intercoms, equipment inventory

labels and label-makers, word processors, telephones and telephone

systems, and printing and duplication equipment.

(9) Expendable Items and Spare Parts. (a) Eligible: A transmitter

spare parts kit and one set of final and driver tubes for a transmitter

awarded in the grant. A spare parts kit for video tape recorders

awarded in the grant. (b) Ineligible; Spare lenses, spare circuit

components, spare parts kits for studio equipment except as noted

above; recording tape, film, reels, cartridge tapes, records, CDs, and

record or tape cleaning equipment; art and graphics supplies;

maintenance supplies, including replacement final and driver tubes

normally considered in the industry as normal maintenance-budget-

provided items and similar items.

(10) Backup Equipment. (a) Eligible: Hot standby or backup

microwave for the main studio-to-transmitter link only; a backup or

spare exciter for a television transmitter, as required by good

engineering practice. (b) Ineligible: Redundant equipment, such as

spare transmitters, or costs associated with them, as well as backup

microwave equipment (except as noted above).

(11) Electric Power. (a) Eligible: Generally, all primary power

costs from the output of the main power meter panel; regulators and

surge protectors, as required by good engineering practice, to

stabilize transmitter RF output. Where primary power is not available

or is unusable for broadcast, then PTFP may provide funding for those

devices needed to power the facility if the need for that equipment is

fully documented in the application. (b) Ineligible: Costs of

installing primary power to the facility, including transformers, power

lines, gasoline or diesel powered generators, and related equipment.

(12) Test and Maintenance Equipment. (a) Eligible: Required test

equipment, as indicated by good engineering practice for the

maintenance of the project equipment. (b) Ineligible: Maintenance

equipment such as hand and power tools, storage cabinets, and

maintenance services.

(13) Air Conditioning and Ventilation. (a) Eligible: The costs to

provide ventilation of eligible project equipment, such as ducting for

transmitters, as required by good engineering practice. Transmitter air

conditioning can be applied for and will be supported if the need is

well-documented in the application. (b) Ineligible: Unless

exceptionally well-documented, air conditioning for transmitters,

control rooms, or equipment rooms, studios, mobile units, and other

operational rooms and offices.

(14) Remote Vans. (a) Eligible: Items to equip a remote van for

audio/video production. (b) Ineligible: All vehicles.

B. Other Expenses

(1) Construction Applications: NTIA generally will not fund salary

expenses, including staff installation costs, pre-application legal and

engineering fees. Certain ``pre-operational expenses'' are eligible for

funding. (See 15 CFR 2301.1.) Despite this provision, NTIA regards its

primary mandate to be funding the acquisition of equipment and only

secondarily funding salaries. (A discussion of this issue appears in

the PTFP Final Rules, 56 FR 59172 (1991).)

(2) Planning Applications. (a) Eligible: Salaries are eligible

expenses for all planning grant applications, but should be fully

described and justified within the application. Planning grant

applications may lease office equipment, furniture and space, and may

purchase expendable supplies under the terms of Section 392(c) of the

Act. (b) Ineligible: Planning grant applications cannot include the

cost of constructing or operating a telecommunications facility.

(3) Audit Costs. (a) Non-Profit Organizations: Non-profit

organizations receiving payments of more than $25,000 in Federal funds

during a one-year period are required to have an audit conducted in

accordance with Federal guidelines. Audits for non-profit organizations

are performed in one of two ways. An NTIA/PTFP-specific audit can be

performed if the organization receives funds solely from NTIA. If the

organization receives funds from more than one Federal source during

the year that the audit is conducted, an organization-wide audit must

be performed under OMB Circular A-133. (Note that Corporation for

Public Broadcasting funding is not considered a Federal source.)

Federal guidelines allow NTIA/PTFP to include an amount for audit

costs as part of a grant award. NTIA/PTFP policy permits non-profit

organizations to include up to $5,000 for audit costs in an

application. Because audit costs may vary depending on the size and

scope of an organization's operations, NTIA/PTFP recommends that

applicants obtain estimates from auditors to determine the appropriate

amount to include in their applications. Construction Grant Applicants

should list the amount requested for audit costs in Part II, Section

D--Other Project Costs, 1. Outside Services of the PTFP Application

Form. Planning Grant Applicants should include the amount on line 7,

Other, in Part III--Budget Information for Planning Grant Applicants of

the PTFP Application Form.

(b) Government Agencies, Indian Tribes, and Educational

Institutions: State and local governments, Indian tribes, and

educational institutions are also subject to federal audit requirements

if they receive over $25,000 in Federal funds during a one-year period.

NTIA/PTFP can allow only an amount for audit costs equal to the NTIA/

PTFP percentage of all Federal funds received by an entity. It is

expected that the NTIA/PTFP percentage of the Federal funds received by

state and local governments and educational institutions would be

minimal in any one year, and NTIA/PTFP does not anticipate that these

entities will include an amount for audit costs in their applications.

These entities are not precluded from including such an amount in their

applications, however, and the merit of such requests will be reviewed

on a case-by-case basis.

IV. Purchase of American-Made Equipment and Products

Prospective PTFP applicants are hereby notified that they will be

encouraged to purchase, to the greatest extent practicable, American-

made equipment and products with funding provided under this program in

accordance with Congressional intent as set forth in the resolution

contained in Public Law 103-317, Sections 607 (a) and (b).

V. Selection Process and Project Period

PTFP grants are awarded on the basis of a competitive review

process. Before being selected for a grant award, a given application

for PTFP funding will undergo many stages of review, all of which apply

the program's Funding Criteria listed in the Final Rules (15 CFR

2301.13 and 2301.14). The review includes the following: an evaluation

by PTFP staff; a technical assessment by staff engineers; a review by

outside readers, all of whom have demonstrated expertise in either

public broadcasting or distance learning; and a rating by National

Advisory Panels, composed of representatives of the major national

public radio and television organizations. In addition, NTIA gives

``special consideration'' to the applications according to the level of

involvement of women and minorities in the control and operation of the

applicant's station or project or the degree to which the project's

programming will be specifically directed towards meeting the needs and

interests of minority groups or women. Documentation of substantial

involvement by minorities or women may increase a given application's

competitiveness.

The PTFP Director presents recommendations to the NTIA

Administrator on a proposed slate of grant recipients. Acting on these

recommendations, the NTIA Administrator selects the applications to be

negotiated for possible grant award. In making the selections, the

Administrator will consider the following:

The degree to which the slate of applications, taken as a

whole, satisfies the program's stated purposes (see 47 U.S.C. Sec. 390

and 15 CFR Sec. 2301.2);

The geographic distribution of the proposed grant awards;

The Director's recommendations;

The evaluations of the various reviewers;

The program's priorities and the special applications

category, as stated in 15 CFR Sec. 2301 (Appendix) (1991);

The extent of the involvement of minorities or women in

the projects;

Consideration as to whether the application is for a

broadcast or a nonbroadcast project; and,

The availability of funds.

After the applications are selected in this manner, negotiations

take place between PTFP staff and the applicant. These negotiations are

intended to resolve whatever differences might exist between the

applicant's original request and what PTFP proposes to fund. During

negotiations, some applications may be dropped from the proposed slate,

due to lack of Federal Communications Commission licensing authority,

applicant inability to make adequate assurance certifications, or other

reasons. When the negotiations are completed, the PTFP Director

recommends final grant-award action to the NTIA Administrator. Applying

the same factors as listed above, the Administrator then makes the

final selection of grant recipients from the pool of negotiated

application projects.

Planning grant award periods customarily do not exceed one year,

whereas construction grant award periods commonly range from one to two

years. Although these time frames are generally applied to the award of

all PTFP grants, variances in project periods may be based on specific

circumstances of an individual proposal.

Dr. Charles M. Rush,

Acting Associate Administrator, Office of Telecommunications and

Information Applications.

[FR Doc. 94-29917 Filed 12-5-94; 8:45 am]

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