40614 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 127 / Friday, June 30, 2000 / Notices

1NTIA is preparing a separate test plan to

measure the effects of UWB signals on GPS

receivers. NTIA intends to post that UWB–GPS test

plan on the NTIA homepage in late-July and will

seek public comment at that time.

The applicant is requesting to harass

the species of cetaceans listed below in

the North Atlantic and Mediterranean

Sea during the course of research on the

impact of noise on marine mammals.

The research will involve a variety of

potential takes by harassment including:

close approach for tagging; attachment

of tags; focal follows; and playbacks of

sound. In addition, the applicant

requests authorization to import to the

U.S. and export to foreign countries skin

samples collected during the course of

suction-cup tag retrieval. Incidental

harassment of all species of cetaceans

may occur through vessel approach,

photographic identification and

behavioral research. The research will

be carried out over a five-year period.

The following species may be taken

by harassment during the course of the

research: Minke whale (Balaenoptera

acutorostrata), Sei whale (Balaenoptera

borealis), Blue whale (Balaenoptera

musculus), Finback whale

(Balaenoptera physalus), Humpback

whale (Megaptera novaeangliae),

Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis),

Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala

macrorhynchus), Long-finned pilot

whale (Globicephala melas), Risso’s

dolphin (Grampus griseus), Killer whale

(Orcinus orca), False killer whale

(Pseudorca crassidens), Striped dolphin

(Stenella coeruleoalba), Rough-toothed

dolphin (Steno bredanensis), Bottlenose

dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), Pygmy

sperm whale (Kogia breviceps), Dwarf

sperm whale (Kogia simus), Sperm

whale (Physeter macrocephalus),

Bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon

ampullatus), Blainville’s beaked whale

(Mesoplodon densirostris), Gervais’

beaked whale (Mesoplodon europaeus),

Sowerby’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon

bidens), True’s beaked whales

(Mesoplodon mirus), and Cuvier’s

beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris).

In compliance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), NMFS is preparing

an environmental assessment which

will be available from the Chief, Permits

and Documentation Division, at the

address listed above.

Concurrent with the publication of

this notice in the Federal Register,

NMFS is forwarding copies of this

application to the Marine Mammal

Commission and its Committee of

Scientific Advisors.

Dated: June 26, 2000.

Ann D. Terbush,

Chief, Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–16536 Filed 6–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and

Information Administration

[Docket No. 000623194–0194–01]

RIN 0660–XX09

Notice, Request for Comments on

Ultrawideband Systems Test Plan

AGENCY: National Telecommunications

and Information Administration, U.S.

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice, request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Institute for

Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) and

the Office of Spectrum Management

(OSM) of the National

Telecommunications and Information

Administration (NTIA) invite interested

parties to review and comment on a

proposed test plan for developing

accurate, repeatable, and practical

methods for characterizing the very

narrow pulses (and pulse trains) of

ultrawideband (UWB) systems and

collecting the information to estimate or

measure the potential for UWB systems

to interfere with existing (narrowband,

channelized, band-limited, and

wideband) radio communications or

sensing systems. This test plan covers

the effects of UWB signals on selected

Federal radio receivers, but does not

include effects on Global Positioning

System (GPS) receivers.1

The UWB test plan will be posted on

the NTIA homepage at:

<www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/

uwbtestplan>. Interested parties may

also obtain a copy of the test plan from

ITS or OSM.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to

submit comments on the test plan no

later than July 17, 2000.

SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS: The

Department invites the public to submit

comments on the UWB test plan in

paper or electronic form. Comments

may be mailed to Paul Roosa, Office of

Spectrum Management, National

Telecommunications and Information

Administration, Room 4099 HCHB,

1401 Constitution Ave., NW,

Washington, DC 20230. Paper

submissions should include a diskette

in ASCII, WordPerfect (please specify

version) or Microsoft Word (please

specify version) format. Diskettes

should be labeled with the name and

organizational affiliation of the filer, and

the name and version of the word

processing program used to create the

document.

In the alternative, comments may be

submitted electronically to the

following electronic mail address:

<uwbtestplan@ntia.doc.gov>.

Comments submitted via electronic mail

should also be submitted in one or more

of the formats specified above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

William Kissick, Institute for

Telecommunication Sciences,

telephone: (303) 497–7482; or electronic

mail: <billk@its.bldrdoc.gov>; or Paul

Roosa, National Telecommunications

and Information Administration,

telephone:(202) 482–1559; or electronic

mail: <proosa@ntia.doc.gov>. Media

enquiries should be directed to the

Office of Public Affairs, National

Telecommunications and Information

Administration, at (202) 482–7002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Recent

advances in microcircuit and other

technologies have resulted in the

development of pulsed radar and

communications systems with very

narrow pulse widths and very wide

bandwidths. These ultrawideband

(UWB) systems have instantaneous

bandwidths of at least 25 percent of the

center frequency of the device. UWB

systems can perform a number of useful

telecommunication functions that make

them very appealing for both the

commercial and government

applications. These systems have very

wide information bandwidths, are

capable of accurately locating nearby

objects, and can use processing

technology with UWB pulses to ‘‘see

through objects’’ and communicate

using multiple propagation paths. The

bandwidths of UWB devices, however,

are so wide that, although their output

powers in many cases are low enough

to be authorized under the unlicensed

device regulations of the NTIA and the

Federal Communications Commission

(FCC), some of the systems emit signals

in bands in which such transmissions

are not permitted because of potential

harmful effects on critical

radiocommunication services.

The NTIA and the FCC have

developed spectrum management

procedures for unlicensed devices

(conventional electronic devices with

narrow bandwidths), but these

procedures do not currently address

UWB devices, which were unknown

when these procedures were adopted.

Thus, NTIA and the FCC must work

closely with each other, current users of

the radio spectrum, and the UWB

community to determine how UWB

devices can operate without adversely

impacting existing radioVerDate 11<MAY>2000 18:23 Jun 29, 2000 Jkt 190000 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\30JNN1.SGM pfrm08 PsN: 30JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 127 / Friday, June 30, 2000 / Notices 40615

communication systems. The difficulty

in measuring both the UWB signal

characteristics and their effect on other

devices exacerbates the difficulties of

this coordination. The pulses are very

narrow, often in the low nanosecond or

picosecond range, requiring new

measurement techniques and equipment

to measure the signal characteristics

accurately. Further, the interference

effects of very narrow pulses with high

repetition rates and aggregations of

similar devices, such as could occur in

some applications of UWB technology,

are not well understood.

The NTIA has therefore undertaken

this measurement program to develop

information to help address the

implementation and operation of UWB

systems. The objectives of this test plan

are to:

1. Develop measurement procedures

that use commercial-off-the-shelf

(COTS) measurement equipment to

accurately portray UWB emission

characteristics;

2. Observe effects of UWB signals in

the intermediate frequency (IF) sections

of selected receivers, and determine the

susceptibility of conventional radio

receivers to UWB emissions;

3. Provide a basis for development of

a one-on-one interference analysis

procedure to determine the minimum

needed separation distances or the

maximum peak and average effective

isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of UWB

devices to ensure compatibility;

4. Perform a limited set of

measurements to validate the one-onone interference analysis (above)

between UWB signals and selected

Federal radio receivers, particularly

radio navigation and safety-of-life

systems; and

5. Investigate how multiple UWB

emissions add together within a single

receiver.

Kathy D. Smith,

Chief Counsel.

[FR Doc. 00–16576 Filed 6–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–60–P

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary; Meeting of the

DoD Healthcare Quality Initiative

Review Panel

AGENCY: Department of Defense.

ACTION: An executive/administration

meeting for DoD Healthcare Quality

Initiatives Review Panel has been

scheduled for July 6 & 7, 2000.

SUMMARY: This notice set forth the

meeting of the DoD Healthcare Quality

Initiatives Review Panel. Notice of

meeting is required under The Federal

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463).

DATES: July 6 & 7, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Sheraton Crystal City, 1800

Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA

22202.

TIME: July 6th, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.;

July 7th, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

information please contact Gia Edmonds

at (703) 933–8325.

Dated: June 23, 2000.

L.M. Bynum,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison

Officer, Department of Defense.

[FR Doc. 00–16578 Filed 6–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5001–10–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary; Defense

Science Board

AGENCY: Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of Advisory Committee

Meeting.

SUMMARY: The Defense Science Board

(DSB) Task Force on Unconventional

Nuclear Warfare Defense will meet in

closed session on July 10–11, 2000, at

Strategic Analysis, Inc., 3601 Wilson

Boulevard, Suite 500, Arlington, VA.

This Task Force will determine the

adequacy of DoD’s ability to detect,

identify, respond, and prevent

unconventional nuclear attacks by

terrorists or subnational entities, and the

appropriate role(s) and capability of

DoD to provide protection against

unconventional nuclear attacks in

support of homeland defense.

The mission of the Defense Science

Board is to advise the Secretary of

Defense and the Under Secretary of

Defense for Acquisition, Technology &

Logistics on scientific and technical

matters as they affect the perceived

needs of the Department of Defense. At

these meetings, the Defense Science

Board Task Force will review and

evaluate the Department’s ability to

provide information

In accordance with Section 10(d) of

the Federal Advisory Committee Act,

P.L. No. 92–463, as amended (5 U.S.C.

App. II, (1994)), it has been determined

that these Defense Science Board

meetings, concern matters listed in 5

U.S.C. § 552b(c)(1) (1994), and that

accordingly these meeting will be closed

to the public.

Dated: June 22, 2000.

L.M. Bynum,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison

Officer, Department of Defense.

[FR Doc. 00–16577 Filed 6–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5001–10–M

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Rehabilitation Services Administration

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Competitive

Preference for Fiscal Year 2001 for the

Rehabilitation Long-Term Training, and

Rehabilitation Continuing Education

Program.

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for

the Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services proposes adding

competitive preference points to the

competitions for the Rehabilitation

Long-Term Training, and Rehabilitation

Continuing Education Program for fiscal

year 2001. This notice contains

proposed language for adding

competitive preference points. This

notice does not invite applications.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before July 31, 2000.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning

the addition of competitive preference

points should be addressed to Mary C.

Lynch, U.S. Department of Education,

400 Maryland Avenue, SW, room 3322,

Switzer Building, Washington, DC

20202–2649.

Comments may also be sent through

the Internet: mary_lynch@ed.gov

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary Lynch. Telephone: (202)

205–8291.

If you use a telecommunications

device for the deaf (TDD), you may call

the Federal Information Relay Service

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8399. Internet:

Mary—Lynch@ed.gov

Individuals with disabilities may

obtain this document in an alternate

format (e.g., Braille, large print,

audiotape, or computer diskette) on

request to the contact person listed in

the preceding paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Invitation to Comment

We invite you to submit comments

regarding this proposed notice. We

invite you to assist us in complying

with the specific requirements of

Executive Order 12866 and its overall

requirement of reducing regulatory

burden that might result from this

proposed notice. Please let us know of

any further opportunities we should

take to reduce potential costs or increase