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 PUBLIC  NOTICE  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  St.,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 DA  06-  630  March  20,  2006 
 CHANGES  AND  ENHANCEMENTS  TO  THE  FCCS  TOWER  CONSTRUCTION  NOTIFICATION  SYSTEM  (TCNS) 
 FOR  INDIAN  TRIBES,  NATIVE  HAWAIIAN  ORGANIZATIONS  AND  THE  COMMUNICATIONS  INDUSTRY 
 PUBLIC  DEMONSTRATION  &  LIVE  WEB  CAST  TO  BE  HELD  MARCH  30,  2006 
 As  part  of  a  continuing  effort  to  improve  the  Federal  Communications  Commissions  (FCC)  Tower  Construction  Notification  System  (TCNS)  that  was  introduced  in  February  2004,  the  Wireless 
 Telecommunications  Bureau  and  the  Consumer  and  Governmental  Affairs  Bureau  of  the  FCC  announce  a  public  demonstration  and  live  web  cast  of  changes  and  enhancements  to  be  made  to  TCNS.  The  FCC  will 
 hold  the  public  demonstration  on  Thursday,  March  30,  2006,  from  1:  00  to  3:  00  p.  m. 
 The  TCNS  is  a  voluntary  system  to  facilitate  licensees,  applicants  and  private  tower  constructors  (collectively  industry)  identification  of  and  early  communication  with  federally-  recognized  Indian 
 Tribes,  including  Alaska  Native  Villages  (collectively  Tribes),  Native  Hawaiian  Organizations  (NHOs),  and  State  Historic  Preservation  Officers  (SHPOs).  The  TCNS  is  an  interactive,  login  and  password-protected 
 system,  which  allows  tower  builders  to  notify  Tribes  and  NHOs  of  proposed  construction,  and  allows  the  Tribes/  NHOs  to  reply  to  tower  builders  by  using  the  system.  The  TCNS  is  not  to  be  used  in 
 place  of  the  consultation  that  is  required  under  Section  106  of  the  National  Historic  Preservation  Act  (NHPA). 


 The  public  demonstration  will  take  place  in  the  FCCs  6th  Floor  South  Conference  Room  (Room  6-  B516)  at  the  FCCs  Washington,  D.  C.  Headquarters,  located  at  445  Twelfth  Street,  S.  W.  The  FCC 
 requests  that  interested  parties  pre-  register  for  the  live  event  by  March  28,  2006  (see  registration  information  below).  Interested  parties  may  go  to  http://  esupport.  fcc.  gov/  fccevents/  reports/  submitmsg.  jsp 
 through  April  5  th  at  5  PM  to  send  questions  to  the  FCC,  or  to  provide  suggestions  regarding  potential  future  enhancements. 


 Following  the  presentation,  a  video  recording  of  the  event  and  all  materials  related  to  the  event  will  be  available  at  the  following  address:  http://  wireless.  fcc.  gov/  papers2006.  html.  For  additional 
 information  or  assistance,  you  may  visit  the  Web  at  http://  esupport.  fcc.  gov.  You  may  also  call  the  FCC  Support  Center  at  (877)  480-  3201  (TTY  202-  414-  1255).  Hours  are  from  8  a.  m.  to  7:  00  p.  m.  Eastern 
 Standard  Time,  Monday  through  Friday  (except  Federal  holidays).  To  provide  quality  service  and  ensure  security,  all  telephone  calls  are  recorded. 


 Registration: 
 Pre-  registration  for  the  public  demonstration  to  be  held  on  Thursday,  March  30,  2006,  is  requested.  The  live  demonstration  will  take  place  at  the  FCC  Headquarters  from  1:  00  p.  m.  to  3:  00  p.  m. 
 Please  pre-  register  for  the  live  demonstration  at  http://  esupport.  fcc.  gov/  fccevents/  reports/  submitmsg.  jsp,  or  contact  Eugene  Chun  by  telephone  at  202-  513-  4575,  by  Tuesday,  March  28,  2006.  Please  provide 
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 your  name,  affiliation,  telephone  number  and  e-  mail  address  when  you  pre-  register.  The  FCC  will  confirm  your  registration  by  return  e-  mail. 
 Remote  Attendance: 
 The  March  30,  2006,  demonstration  will  also  be  available  for  remote  attendance  via  live  streaming  video  through  your  web  browser.  It  is  highly  recommended  that  you  install  the  required 
 software  and  test  your  connection  a  few  days  prior  to  the  March  30,  2006,  scheduled  event.  Beginning  March  23,  2006,  you  will  be  able  to  find  information  relating  to  performing  the  needed  installation  and 
 pre-  test  at:  http:/  support.  fcc.  gov/  streamingmedia.  htm 
 Enhancements: 
 The  new  enhancements  to  TCNS  will  benefit  Tribes,  NHOs,  and  industry  by  making  TCNS  more  user-  friendly  and  a  more  productive  tool  for  submitting  and  responding  to  TCNS  notifications.  These 
 enhancements  will  save  Tribes  and  NHOs  time  and  resources  when  responding  to  notifications  regarding  the  proposed  construction  of  towers  and  other  Commission  undertakings  in  the  context  of  reviews 
 required  under  Section  106  of  the  NHPA.  Therefore,  Tribes  and  NHOs  will  be  able  to  more  effectively  protect  archaeological  resources  and  sites  of  traditional  and  cultural  importance  to  them.  Other 
 enhancements  will  benefit  industry  by  streamlining  the  process  for  referring  proposed  constructions  where  a  Tribe  or  NHO  has  not  timely  responded  to  good  faith  efforts  at  contact.  1 


 Upon  logging  onto  TCNS,  Tribes  and  NHOs  will  have  access  to:  1)  a  new  batch  Reply  functionality,  a  new  linkcreen;  2)  add  language  regarding  their  preferences  and  procedures  and;  3)  more 
 detailed  instructions  for  using  the  mapping  function  to  set  their  geographic  areas  of  interest.  The  new  Reply  screen  will  display  in  one  place  all  of  the  active  notifications  to  which  the  Tribe  or  NHO  has  not 
 yet  responded,  including  the  Notification  ID  Numbers,  the  dates  the  notifications  were  received,  and  a  summary  of  the  proposed  location  and  tower  builder.  Rather  than  having  to  submit  separate  responses  to 
 each  notification,  Tribes  and  NHOs  will  be  able  simultaneously  to  send  identical  responses  to  multiple  notifications.  Tribes  and  NHOs  may  choose  from  several  preset  responses  or  they  may  compose  their 
 own  reply. 
 The  new  Add  Details  function  will  make  it  easier  for  Tribes  and  NHOs  to  add  language  specifying  their  preferences  and  procedures.  This  language  is  sent  by  the  system  to  all  applicants  who 
 submit  notifications  that  are  sent  to  the  Tribe  or  NHO.  Many  Tribes  and  NHOs  have  chosen  language  specifying  that  if  they  do  not  respond  to  a  TCNS  notification  within  30  days,  they  have  no  interest  in 
 participating  in  pre-  construction  review  for  the  site.  This  new  enhancement  will  enable  Tribes  and  NHOs  to  choose  this  standard  language  with  a  single  click,  or  they  may  enter  a  description  of  their  own 
 procedures  and  preferences.  The  system  provides  links  to  examples  of  possible  types  of  language  that  can  be  used.  Use  of  such  language  can  relieve  Tribes  and  NHOs  of  the  burden  of  responding  individually  to 
 some  or  all  of  the  notifications,  while  protecting  their  interest  in  cultural  preservation. 
 Industry  will  also  benefit  from  the  enhancements  to  TCNS.  When  an  applicant  logs  onto  TCNS,  it  will  now  have  the  new  options  to:  (a)  refer  a  TCNS  notification  to  the  FCC  for  follow-  up  with  a 
 Tribe/  NHO;  or  (b)  refer  a  notification  to  the  FCC  for  follow-  up  with  a  Tribe/  NHO,  where  the  notification  was  originally  submitted  to  the  Tribe  or  NHO  outside  of  TCNS.  If  an  applicant  refers  a  notification  to  the 
 FCC  for  follow-  up  with  a  Tribe/  NHO,  an  e-  mail  will  be  generated  to  the  applicant  confirming  the  referral.  (We  note  that  referrals  should  not  be  made  to  the  FCC  using  this  system  if  the  Tribe/  NHO  has  requested 
 additional  information  from  an  applicant.  In  the  event  such  a  Tribe  or  NHO  does  not  respond  after  an 


 1  See  Clarification  of  Procedures  for  Participation  of  Federally  Recognized  Indian  Tribes  and  Native 
 Hawaiian  Organizations  Under  the  Nationwide  Programmatic  Agreement,  Declaratory  Ruling,  FCC  05-  176,  released  October  6,  2005,  http://  wireless.  fcc.  gov/  siting/. 
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 applicant  has  provided  the  requested  information,  or  if  a  substantive  or  a  procedural  disagreement  arises  between  an  applicant  and  a  Tribe  or  NHO,  the  applicant  must  seek  guidance  from  the  FCC.)  2 
 Once  the  enhancements  are  deployed,  applicants  will  also  be  able  to  identify  easily  the  Tribes/  NHOs  that  have  indicated  that  if  the  Tribe/  NHO  does  not  respond  to  the  applicant  within  30  days 
 after  notification  through  TCNS,  the  Tribe/  NHO  has  no  interest  in  participating  in  pre-  construction  review  for  the  proposed  site.  Additionally,  the  system  will  let  the  applicant  know  whether  a  Tribe/  NHO 
 has  set  its  geographic  preferences  on  TCNS,  and  whether  a  Tribe/  NHO  has  submitted  a  reply  to  a  tower  notification  through  TCNS.  If  a  Tribe/  NHO  has  already  responded  to  a  tower  notification  through  TCNS, 
 the  applicant  will  be  able  to  view  the  response. 
 Deployment: 
 The  aforementioned  changes  and  enhancements  to  TCNS  will  be  available  to  the  public  on  Friday,  March  31,  2006.  Once  the  changes  and  enhancements  are  deployed,  you  may  direct  your 
 questions  to  the  FCC  Support  Center  at  (877)  480-  3201  (TTY  202-  414-  1255)  and  select  Option  #2.  For  additional  information  or  assistance,  you  may  also  visit  the  Web  at  http://  esupport.  fcc.  gov  or  contact: 


 Anne  Marie  Wypijewski,  Senior  Attorney  (717)  338-  2508  or  e-  mail  annemarie.  wypijewski@  fcc.  gov.  Diane  Dupert,  Program  Analyst,  (717)  338-  2568  or  e-  mail  diane.  dupert@  fcc.  gov. 


 For  further  information  relating  to  TCNS,  please  consult  the  Commissions  web  page  dedicated  to  this  program  (http://  wireless.  fcc.  gov/  outreach/  notification/  index.  html),  also  accessible  through  the 
 Commissions  Tribal  homepage  (http://  www.  fcc.  gov/  indians). 


 --  FCC  -- 


 2  See  Nationwide  Programmatic  Agreement  Regarding  the  Section  106  National  Historic  Preservation  Act  Review 
 Process,  Memorandum  Opinion  and  Order,  FCC  04-  222  (rel.  Oct.  5,  2004). 
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