Federal Communications Commission DA 21-182 DA 21-867 July 21, 2021 FCC ANNOUNCES INTENT TO RE-ESTABLISH THE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVISORY COUNCIL AND SOLICITS NOMINATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP By this Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission), consistent with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. 2. announces its intent to re-establish the Technological Advisory Council (TAC or Council) on or before August 20, 2021. The Commission intends to re-establish the TAC for a period of two (2) years, with an expected first meeting in October of 2021. By this Public Notice, we also seek nominations for membership and a chairperson. The TAC provides technical advice to the Commission and makes recommendations on the issues and questions presented to it. Among other issues, Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will ask the TAC to start looking beyond 5G and conceptualize 6G, to help set the stage for U.S. leadership. In addition, she will ask TAC to study advanced spectrum sharing techniques, implementation of artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the utilization and administration of spectrum, and other emerging technologies. In seeking nominations for the TAC, Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel will seek to diversify the group’s membership. All organizational or individual members appointed to the Council or its working groups are subject to an ethics review by the Commission’s Office of General Counsel. Some applicants possessing expertise or perspectives of interest to the Council, and who have been appointed to serve on the Council in an individual capacity (and not as the representative of a nonprofit organization, corporation, or other entity), are deemed to be Special Government Employees (SGEs). Such individuals are ineligible to serve if they are federally registered lobbyists. SGEs are subject to a variety of restrictions under the conflict of interest statutes, 18 U.S.C. § 203 et seq., and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, 5 C.F.R. Part 2635. SGEs must file confidential employee financial disclosure reports prior to beginning their service and annually thereafter. SGEs will also be subject to ethics restrictions in section 4(b) of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 154(b), and in the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR Part 19 and 5 CFR Parts 3901 and 3902. All members will have an initial and continuing obligation to disclose any interests in, or connections to, persons or entities that are, or will be, regulated by or have interests before the Commission. Council members will not be compensated for their service. Nominations for membership must be submitted to the FCC no later than August 20, 2021. Procedures for submitting nominations are set forth below. MISSION The purpose of the TAC is to provide technical advice and recommendations to the Federal Communications Commission on the issues and questions presented to it by the FCC. The TAC will focus on key issues affecting the development and deployment of emerging communications technologies to spur opportunities for innovation, competition, adoption, greater efficiencies, job creation, and other national priorities. The TAC will be organized under, and will operate in accordance with, the provisions of FACA. As authorized by FACA, the Council is authorized to facilitate its work through informal subcommittees, or other subgroups of the Council, which shall report their activities and recommendations to the Council as a whole. WHO MAY APPLY FOR MEMBERSHIP The Commission seeks applications from representatives of various sectors of the communications industry, representatives of state and local government agencies and organizations, and representatives of consumers and community organizations that wish to be considered for membership on the TAC. The Commission is particularly interested in receiving nominations and expressions of interest from individuals and organizations in the following categories: · Communications service providers, and organizations representing communications service providers, including wireline and wireless communications service providers, broadcast radio and television licensees, cable television operators and other multichannel video programming distributors, satellite communications service providers, and Internet Service Providers; · Manufacturers of communications equipment and organizations representing manufacturers of communications equipment; · Providers of internet applications or cloud-based services; · Scientists and engineers from academia, or who serve as independent consultants, who are recognized experts in their field; and · Qualified representatives of other stakeholders and interested parties with relevant expertise. Members will be selected to balance the expertise and viewpoints that are necessary to effectively address the issues to be considered by the Council. OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERS AND COUNCIL MEETINGS Members will serve at the discretion of Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel of the FCC. Members will be encouraged to participate in deliberations of at least one (1) informal subcommittee or subgroup, if any are established. The time commitment for participation in any informal subcommittee or other subgroup may be substantial. However, subcommittee or other subgroup meetings may be conducted informally, using suitable technology to facilitate the meetings, subject to oversight by the Designated Federal Officer of the TAC. Meetings of the full Council shall be open to the public and timely notice of each meeting shall be published in the Federal Register and shall be further publicized through other appropriate vehicles. All such meetings will be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities. APPLICATION PROCEDURE, DEADLINE, AND MEMBER APPOINTMENTS Organizational Applicants Applications from nonprofit organizations, corporations, or other entities (“organizational applicants”) should include the following: · Name, title, and organization of the nominee and a description of the organization, sector or other interest the nominee will represent; · Nominee’s mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number; · A statement summarizing the nominee’s qualifications and reasons why the nominee should be appointed to the Council; and · A statement, if the nominee will represent a specific organization, describing the organization as well as the benefit of having the organization represented on the Council. For applicants seeking to represent an organization or company, the applicant’s nomination to the Council must be accompanied by confirmation on the following two (2) issues: 1. The nomination must be confirmed by an authorized person (e.g., organization or company official) that such organization or company supports the nominated person to represent it on the Council. The nominating official must possess the executive authority or hold a sufficiently high-level position within the organization or company to select a representative whose actions will be legally binding on the organization or company. For example, this confirmation may be in the following format: “I am [insert official’s name], the [insert official’s title] at the [insert name of organization - e.g., company, government entity, trade association, etc.], with responsibilities for [concise description of position]. My organization supports [insert proposed member’s name], who is currently [an employee of/consultant/attorney to the company], to serve as our representative on the Commission’s Technological Advisory Council.” 2. For applicants seeking to represent an entity that is a party to an FCC contract or subcontract or providing services for the benefit of the FCC under contract or subcontract, or in the case of any applicant who is individually a party to such a contract or providing services for the benefit of the FCC under such a contract, the nomination must include the following: 1) a general description of the contract/agreement; 2) a description of the product/services that the applicant provides pursuant to the contract/agreement; 3) a list of all parties to the contract/agreement; 4) the name of the Commission contracting officer (if known); and 5) a certification of the applicant that the applicant has provided written notice to the contracting officer and the FCC Manager, Contracts and Purchasing Center, that the applicant or representative nominee, as applicable, has applied for membership on the Commission’s Technological Advisory Council. Individual Applicants Applications from individual applicants who would serve as SGEs, as defined above, should include the following: · Name, title, and organization of the nominee and a description of the interest the nominee will represent; · Nominee’s mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number; · A statement summarizing the nominee’s qualifications and reasons why the nominee should be appointed to the Council; · “A statement that the individual applicant does not have a contractual or other financial agreement (including as a subcontractor) with the Commission.” A statement that the individual applicant is not a registered federal lobbyist (as noted above, financial and other additional disclosures may also apply to individual applicants). Please note this Public Notice is not intended to be the exclusive method by which the Commission will solicit nominations to identify qualified candidates; however, all candidates for membership on the Council will be subject to the same evaluation criteria. Members will be appointed for a term not to exceed the expiration date of the Committee's charter. All nominations, including the requisite statements listed above, should be submitted to Michael Ha, Office of Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications Commission, 45 L St., NE, Washington, DC 20554 or e-mail michael.ha@fcc.gov and please include “TAC nomination” in the subject line. ACCESSIBLE FORMATS To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). More information about the TAC can be found at https://www.fcc.gov/general/technological-advisory-council. You may also contact Michael Ha, the Designated Federal Official (DFO) for the Technological Advisory Council, at (202) 418-2099, email: Michael.Ha@fcc.gov. -FCC- 2