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Resources
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Request for Planning Funding Guidance and Forms
If you require funding for activities associated with planning for the reconfiguration of your 800 MHz radio system, you may submit a Request for Planning Funding (RFPF) and negotiate a Planning Funding Agreement (PFA) with Sprint Nextel. The RFPF Form, together with supporting documentation, will serve as the basis for requesting funding from Sprint Nextel for reconfiguration planning activities.
Specific planning activities required will vary based on the size and scope of your existing system. The TA does not recommend a PFA for all licensees. In particular, for licensees with fewer than 500 subscriber units or less than 30 business days of resource effort for planning, the TA encourages licensees to consider including planning costs with actual reconfiguration costs in the Cost Estimate included in the Frequency Reconfiguration Agreement (FRA).
Guidance for Licensees in the U.S.-Canada Border Regions
The FCC provided that licensees in the U.S.-Canada border regions seeking planning funding should submit a Request for Planning Funding by October 14, 2008. As the TA continues to work on determining the new frequency assignments for the Canadian border regions, licensees who require funding for planning activities should complete a Request for Planning Funding (RFPF) Form as soon as possible, but no later than October 14 even if they have not yet received an FPR.
Licensees in the U.S.-Canada border regions will commence PFA negotiations with Sprint Nextel after the TA forwards the RFPF to Sprint Nextel. If you and Sprint Nextel have not reached an agreement by October 14, 2008, you will have an additional 30 days to continue PFA negotiations under the monitoring of a TA mediator. If, at the end of the 30 day period, there is no agreement on a PFA, you and Sprint Nextel will participate in active mediation for 20 days. If you do not reach agreement during the mediation period, the TA will refer any remaining disputed issues to the PSHSB within 10 days of the close of the mediation period.
RFPF Forms and Instructions
The following RFPF resources have been designed to facilitate your development of an RFPF. All RFPF submissions must be completed in the template format provided by the TA. Please use RFPF Form version 2.7.
Once you have completed your RFPF Form and accompanying Statement of Work (SOW), you should submit it to the TA by fax to 888-701-4380 or via email to comments@800TA.org.
RFPF Instructions
RFPF Form/Template
RFPF Checklist
Sample RFPFs
The TA has developed sample RFPFs to provide insight into the level of detail expected in the RFPF process. The samples include: (1) a "completed" RFPF Form and supporting SOW for a fictional licensee reconfiguring a large/medium system and (2) a sample RFPF Form for a licensee reconfiguring a small system. The samples are not intended to guide the licensee on what may be acceptable activities or costs for their specific system or situation.
Sample RFPF/SOW - Small System
Sample RFPF/SOW - Medium/Large System
Planning Funding Statistics
To assist public safety licensees with the preparation of planning cost estimates and to expedite the process of negotiating PFAs with Sprint Nextel, the TA has published a set of cost metrics that identify typical licensee planning costs and rates in approved PFAs, based on system size. The metrics are available here.
Planning Funding Agreement Fast Track Option
The Fast Track Option provides a means for licensees and Sprint Nextel to streamline their efforts to execute a Planning Funding Agreement. Fast Track does not require anything different when submitting your Request for Planning Funding - rather, it allows licensees, whose RFPF submissions meet certain guidelines, to secure planning funding faster.
To qualify for the Fast Track Option, the following guidelines should be met:
- Do you have a reasonably accurate subscriber unit count prior to submitting the RFPF?
- Does the RFPF include ALL anticipated planning costs, both internal and external, and equate to $55 or less per subscriber unit?
- Is the percentage of total project management costs 25% or less of the total requested funding?
- Is the percentage of total legal costs 8% or less of the total requested funding?
The TA will validate that the RFPF meets these guidelines for the Fast Track Option, confirm that the submission conforms to TA instructions, and ensure that costs are reasonable and prudent expenses and directly related to the retuning of an 800 MHz system. Once accepted by the TA, the RFPF will be sent to Sprint Nextel to enter into a PFA on the basis of the licensee's total cost per unit.
Additional information about the Fast Track Option is available in the PFA Fast Track Fact Sheet and in the RFPF Instructions.
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