Government funds for completing telephone calls outside of the local service

area.

Lowest overall cost means the least expenditure of funds over the system life, price and other factors considered, including, but not necessarily limited to

(a) Prices for the FIP resources;

(b) The present value adjustment, if used; and

(c) The identifiable and quantifiable costs

(1) Directly related to the acquisition and use of the FIP resources;

(2) Of conducting the contract action; and

(3) of other administrative efforts directly related to the acquisition proc

ess.

Mail means letters, telecommunications, memoranda, post cards, documents, packages, publications, and other communications received for distribution or dispatch.

Most advantageous alternative means the alternative that provides the greatest value to the Government over the system life in terms of price or cost, quality, performance, and any other relevant factors.

National security and emergency preparedness (NSEP) means those physical, technical, and administrative characteristics of FIP systems that will ensure a prescribed level of survivability in times of national or other emergencies up to and including nuclear attack. Government common-use telecommunications systems are designed, built, tested, and maintained to meet the defined emergency mission needs of the Government entities that use them.

Obsolescence means the state of FIP hardware or software that is either in a degenerative condition which if not corrected will render the resource useless, or becoming technologically outmoded compared to other hardware or software being sold.

Optional form means a form developed by a Federal agency for use in two or more agencies and approved by GSA for nonmandatory Governmentwide use.

Outdated FIP equipment means any FIP equipment over six years old, based on the initial commercial installation date of that model of equipment,

and that is no longer in current production.

Overprinting means the printing of pertinent identical entries (e.g., agency name and address) in a captioned area on a Standard or Optional form.

Performance validation means the technical verification of the ability of a proposed FIP system configuration or replacement component to meet agency specified performance requirements.

Radar equipment means any radio detection device that provides information on range, azimuth, or elevation of objects.

Radio equipment means any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment (both transmission and reception) that is used to communicate over a distance by modulating and radiating electromagnetic waves in space without artificial guide. This does not include such items as microwave, satellite, or cellular telephone equipment.

Reassignment means the transfer of other-than-excess FIP equipment or the transfer of FIP software, within an agency.

Records means all books, papers, maps, photographs, machine readable materials, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the United States Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the Government or because of the informational value of data in them. Library and museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes, extra copies of documents preserved only for convenience of reference, and stocks of publications and of processed documents are not included.

Records creation means the production or reproduction of any record.

Records disposition means any activity with respect to disposal of temporary records no longer necessary for the conduct of business by destruction

or donation; transfer of records to Federal agency storage facilities or records centers; transfer to the National Archives of the United States of records determined to have sufficient historical or other value to warrant continued preservation; or transfer of records from one Federal agency to any other Federal agency.

Records maintenance and use means any activity involving location of records of a Federal agency; storage, retrieval, and handling of records kept at office file locations by or for a Federal agency; processing of mail by a Federal agency; or selection and utilization of equipment and supplies associated with records and copying.

Records management means the planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promoting, and other managerial activities involved with records creation, records maintenance and use, and records disposition in order to achieve adequate and proper documentation of the policies and transactions of the Federal Government and effective and economical management of agency operations (44 U.S.C. 2901(2)). Report means data or information which is transmitted for use in determining policy; planning, controlling, and evaluating operations and performance; making administrative decisions; or preparing other reports. The data or information may be in narrative, statistical, graphic, or other form and may be on paper, magnetic tape, or other media.

Reuse means the subsequent use of FIP equipment after it is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was originally acquired.

Sensitive information means any information, the loss, misuse, or unauthorized access to or modification of which could adversely affect the national interest or the conduct of Federal programs, or the privacy to which individuals are entitled under section 552a of title 5, United States Code (the Privacy Act), but which has not been specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order or an Act of Congress to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy.

Software includes

(a) Application software means a series of instructions or statements in a form acceptable to a computer, designed to cause the computer to execute an operation or operations necessary to process requirements. Application software may be either machine-dependent or machine-independent and may be general-purpose or designed to satisfy the requirements of a specialized process or a particular user.

(b) Common-use software means software that deals with applications common to many agencies, that would be useful to other agencies, and is written in such a way that minor variations in requirements can be accommodated without significant programming effort.

Sonar equipment means an apparatus that detects the presence and location of a submerged object by means of sonic, subsonic, or supersonic waves reflected back to it from the object.

Specific make and model specification means a description of the Government's requirement for FIP resources that is so restrictive that only a particular manufacturer's products will satisfy the Government's needs, regardless of the number of suppliers that may be able to furnish that manufacturer's products.

Standard form means a form prescribed by a Federal agency, pursuant to its authority, and approved by GSA for mandatory Governmentwide use.

Surplus means any excess Government-owned FIP equipment not required for the needs of Federal agencies as determined by the Administrator of General Services.

System life means a projection of the time period that begins with the installation of the FIP resource and ends when the agency's need for that resource has terminated.

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) means a machine that uses typed input and output, usually with a visual text display, to enable individuals with hearing or speech impairments to communicate over a telecommunications network.

Telecommunications facilities' means equipment used for such modes of transmission as telephone, data, facsimile, video, radio, audio, and such corollary items as switches, wire,

cable, access arrangements, and communications security facilities.

means

Telecommunications resources telecommunications equipment, facilities, and services.

Telecommunications services means the transmission, emission, or reception of signals, signs, writing, images, sounds, or intelligence of any nature, by wire, cable, satellite, fiber optics, laser, radio, or any other electronic, electric, electromagnetic, or acoustically coupled means. The term includes the telecommunications facilities necessary to provide such services.

Telecommunications switching function means any service or equipment that has a primary function to switch telephone calls at a location. This term excludes service or equipment necessary to meet agency requirements that cannot be met by an existing switching function.

Television equipment means any equipment (both transmission and reception) used for the conversion of transient visual images into electrical signals that can be transmitted by radio or wire to distant receivers where the signals can be reconverted to the original visual images. This does not include such items as monitors for computers or computer terminals or video conferencing equipment.

Toll-free telephone service means any incoming circuit arrangement that allows the public to make long distance telephone calls to authorized locations at Government expense. Toll-free telephone service is used for providing or obtaining information concerning Government programs, such as social welfare, disaster aid, veterans affairs, and income tax assistance.

[55 FR 53390, Dec. 28, 1990; 56 FR 4948, Feb. 7, 1991, as amended at 59 FR 61282, Nov. 30, 1994; 61 FR 14, Jan. 2, 1996]

CFR means Code of Federal Regulations.

DPA means delegation of procurement authority.

DSO means designated senior official. FAR means Federal Acquisition Regulation.

FED-STD means Federal Telecommunications Standards.

FIP means Federal information processing.

FIPS means Federal Information Processing Standards.

FIPS PUBS means Federal Information Processing Standards Publications.

FIRMR means Federal Information Resources Management Regulation.

FMSS means financial management systems software.

FPMR means Federal Property Management Regulations.

FR means FEDERAL REGISTER. FSTS means Federal Secure Telephone Service.

GAO means General Accounting Office.

GPO means Government Printing Office.

GSA means General Services Administration.

Cost.

Original Acquisition

OMB means Office of Management and Budget.

POTS means Purchase of Telephones and Services.

PRA means Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, as amended.

U.S.C. means United States Code.

USPS means United States Postal Service.

[55 FR 53390, Dec. 28, 1990, as amended at 61 FR 14, Jan. 2, 1996]

Sec.

PART 201-6-PREDOMINANT

CONSIDERATIONS

§201-6.001 General.

(a) The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, as amended, (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) legally introduced into the Federal Government the concept that information is a valuable asset and should be managed as such. The Act requires that the head of each executive agency designate a senior official who shall report to the agency head and be responsible for carrying out the agency's information resources management (IRM) responsibilities. The Paperwork Reduction Act is administered by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and is primarily implemented in OMB Circular No. A-130. The information management goals of the Paperwork Reduction Act are to

(1) Reduce the paperwork burden the Federal Government imposes on the public and on State and local governments;

(2) Minimize the cost to the Federal Government of collecting, maintaining, using, and disseminating information;

(3) Maximize the usefulness of information collected, maintained, and disseminated by the Federal Government;

(4) Coordinate, integrate, and where practical, make uniform, Federal information policies and practices; and

(5) Ensure that FIP resources are acquired and used by the Federal Government in a manner which improves serv

ice delivery and program management, increases productivity, improves the quality of decisionmaking, reduces waste and fraud, and reduces the information collection burden on the public; and

(6) Ensure that the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of information by the Federal Government is consistent with applicable laws, regulations, and executive orders.

(b) GSA's Governmentwide role in information management stems from its records management authorities and responsibilities under the National Archives and Records Administration Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-497, 44 U.S.C. Ch. 29), and its responsibilities under section 111 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended (40 U.S.C. 759), to provide for economic and efficient acquisition of Federal information processing (FIP)

The policies prescribed in subchapter B are designed to promote the economic and efficient management and use of information by emphasizing the importance for agencies to—

(a) Manage information as a valuable asset throughout its life cycle, from collection or creation through disposition;

(b) Plan for the steps in the information life cycle;

(c) Understand their information requirements before determining their requirements for FIP resources;

(d) Establish an active and continuing program for economical and efficient management of the agency's records, as required by 44 U.S.C. 3102;

(e) Manage agency records, irrespective of the medium (paper, electronic, or other) on which the record is created, used, or filed;

(f) Ensure that individuals responsible for implementing the agency's