[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 11]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR1755.3]

[Page 410-413]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
    CHAPTER XVII--RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 1755--TELECOMMUNICATIONS STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1755.3  Field trials.

    (a) Except as covered in Bulletin 345-3, no loan funds shall be 
advanced for any product if any item to be included in the project is 
not included in the ``List of Materials Acceptable for Use on Telephone 
Systems of RUS Borrowers,'' RUS Bulletin 344-2. When new items of 
materials or equipment are considered for acceptance by RUS or when a 
previously accepted item has been subjected to such major modifications 
that its suitability cannot be determined based on laboratory data and/
or field experience, a field trial shall be required if RUS so 
determines. This field trial consists of limited field installations of 
the materials or equipment in closely monitored situations designed to 
determine, to RUS's satisfaction, their operational effectiveness under 
actual field conditions. Field trials are to be used only as a means for 
determining, to RUS's satisfaction, the operational effectiveness of a 
new or revised product under actual field conditions. Both the 
manufacturer and borrower are responsible for assuring that the field 
trial is carried out and that the required information on the product's 
performance is received by RUS in a timely manner. The use of materials 
or equipment derived from new inventions or concepts untried within the 
telephone industry is defined as ``an experiment'' and shall be handled 
as a special case using procedures considered appropriate by RUS to meet 
the individual experiment.
    (b) To qualify for a field trial, the new and improved materials and 
equipment must appear to RUS to offer one or more of the following 
benefits:
    (1) Improved performance.
    (2) Decreased cost.
    (3) Broader application.
    (c) The item of material or equipment subject to field trial may be 
only part of the total amount of materials or equipment included in a 
bid or it

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may be the key component of the facility or system provided; therefore, 
RUS shall have authority to require that a satisfactory plan be provided 
to maintain or restore service in the event that the materials and 
equipment fail to meet established performance requirements. RUS shall 
limit the quantity of new materials and equipment installed on any field 
trial and shall also limit the number of field trials for a given 
product to what RUS considers reasonable to provide the necessary 
information.
    (d) A borrower may participate in a field trial only if, in RUS's 
opinion, the borrower possesses:
    (1) Adequate financial resources so that no delay in the project 
will result from lack of funds.
    (2) The financial stability to overcome difficulties which may 
result from an unsuccessful field trial. The borrower must be able to 
restore and maintain service until the manufacturer meets its financial 
obligations with respect to the field trial.
    (3) Qualified personnel to enable it to discharge its 
responsibilities.
    (4) A record satisfactory to RUS for maintaining equipment and plant 
facilities and for providing RUS with information when requested.
    (5) Willingness to participate in the field trial and awareness of 
the effort and responsibility this entails.
    (e) The test site for the field trial shall be, in RUS's opinion, 
readily accessible and provide the conditions, such as temperature 
extremes, high probability of lightning damage, etc., for which the 
product is being evaluated. The material or equipment involved shall be 
covered by an RUS specification or a suitable standard acceptable to 
RUS. The supplier is required to submit test data to show conformance 
with the applicable specification or standard. Further testing shall be 
performed if required by RUS personnel.
    (f) A field trial shall normally continue for a minimum of six 
months, or for a longer period of time determined by RUS to be required 
to obtain conclusive data that the item either fulfills all requirements 
or is unacceptable. Either the borrower or supplier may terminate a 
field trial at any time, in accordance with their contractual agreement. 
Such termination, if prior to the time required by RUS, shall constitute 
withdrawal of the product from consideration by RUS. RUS has authority 
to terminate field trials based on its determination that the equipment 
is not performing satisfactorily and that this lack of performance may, 
in RUS's opinion, cause service degradation or hazards to life or 
property.
    (g) Field trials shall be conducted in accordance with the 
instructions set forth in this regulation and the agreement relating to 
the specific application. Both the supplier and the borrower shall 
agree, and obtain RUS approval before the start of the trial, on the 
following:
    (1) The specific purpose of the field trial;
    (2) Ownership of items during trial;
    (3) Starting date and duration;
    (4) Responsibility for costs and removal of items in the event of 
noncompliance with the specification or purpose intended and 
arrangements for service continuity or restoration;
    (5) Responsibility for testing, test equipment and normal operation 
and maintenance during the trial period;
    (6) Availability of test equipment on site during the trial period; 
and
    (7) Responsibility for spare parts and components consumed during 
the trial period.
    (h) Both the supplier and the borrower shall keep RUS informed of 
the status of a field trial. These reports shall not be limited to 
details of problems of failures encountered during installation and 
subsequent operation but shall include information on progress of the 
field trial. If these reports are not received in accordance with the 
requirements of the RUS Form 399b, RUS shall have the authority to deny 
or suspend loan funds related to these products until the delinquent 
reports are received.
    (i) Before a borrower purchases materials or equipment that require 
a field trial, prior approval must be obtained from RUS and RUS Form 
399b, RUS Telecommunications Equipment Field Trial (available from the 
Director, Administrative Services Division, Rural Utilities Service, 
Room 0175, South

[[Page 412]]

Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250) will be 
completed by RUS and must be signed by both the borrower and supplier as 
an indication that they understand their responsibilities in the field 
trial. Assurance must also be obtained from RUS that the ``particular 
item'' that is the subject of the field test is eligible for a field 
trial. To obtain this assurance, any proposal for use of an item on a 
field trial basis shall be forwarded to the Chief, Area Engineering 
Branch, for review and approval.
    (j) Procedures for establishing field trials for the various 
categories of equipment after RUS has approved the 399b:
    (1) Electronic transmission equipment. The procedure set forth in 
Bulletin 385-2 ``Purchasing and Installing Special Electronic 
Equipment'' shall be followed except that the Special Equipment Contract 
(Including Installation), RUS Form 397, shall be used in all purchases 
of electronic equipment for field trials. In addition, the borrower and 
supplier shall execute three copies of a ``Supplemental Agreement to 
Equipment Contract for Field Trial,'' RUS Form 399, or a ``Supplemental 
Agreement to Equipment Contract for Field Trial (Secondary--Delivery, 
Installation, Operation)'', RUS Form 399a, as well as three copies of 
the RUS Form 399b, ``RUS Telecommunications Equipment Field Trial'', and 
forward them, together with three copies of the executed contract and 
specifications, to the Chief, Area Engineering Branch. A limited number 
of copies of RUS Forms 399, 399a, and 399b are available from RUS upon 
request from the Director, Administrative Services Division, Rural 
Utilities Service, Room 0175, South Building, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250. Additional copies may be reproduced 
by the user as needed. This category includes:
    (i) Voice frequency repeaters;
    (ii) Trunk carriers;
    (iii) Subscriber carrier;
    (iv) Point-to-point radio (Microwave);
    (v) Coaxial cable system electronics;
    (vi) Fiber optic cable system electronics;
    (vii) Multiplex equipment;
    (viii) Mobile and fixed radiotelephone; and
    (ix) Other items of electronic equipment associated with 
transmission.
    (2) Central office equipment. The procedure set forth in Bulletin 
384-1 ``Purchasing and Installing Central Office Equipment'' shall be 
followed except that ``The Central Office Equipment Contract (Including 
Installation)'', RUS Form 525, shall be used to purchase switching 
equipment for field trials. In addition, the borrower and supplier shall 
execute three copies of a ``Supplemental Agreement to Equipment Contract 
for Field Trial,'' RUS Form 399, or a ``Supplemental Agreement to 
Equipment Contract for Field Trial (Secondary--Delivery, Installation, 
Operation)'', RUS Form 399a, as the case may be, as well as three copies 
of the RUS Form 399b, ``RUS Telecommunications Equipment Field Trial'', 
and forward them, together with three copies of the executed contract 
and specification to the Chief, Area Engineering Branch. This category 
includes:
    (i) Central office dial equipment;
    (ii) Direct distance dialing equipment;
    (iii) Automatic number identification equipment;
    (iv) Line concentrators;
    (v) Remote switching equipment; and
    (vi) All other items of equipment associated with switching 
equipment, such as loop extenders.
    (3) Protection equipment and materials, outside plant equipment and 
materials, and all other equipment and materials, which includes all 
items not covered in paragraph (j) (1) or (2) of this section, shall be 
handled as described in Bulletin 344-1 ``Methods of Purchasing Materials 
and Equipment for Use on Systems of Telephone Borrowers'' except that 
the borrower's purchase order form is to be used for purchasing 
materials and equipment in these categories. In addition, the borrower 
and supplier shall execute three copies of the ``Supplemental Agreement 
to Equipment Contract for Field Trial,'' RUS Form 399, or a 
``Supplemental Agreement to Equipment Contract for Field Trial 
(Secondary--Delivery, Installation, Operation)'', RUS Form 399a, as the 
case may be, as well

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as three copies of the RUS Form 399b, ``RUS Telecommunications Field 
Trial'', and forward them, together with three copies of the purchase 
order to the Chief, Area Engineering Branch.
    (k) For all items except Electronic Central Office Equipment, 
suppliers and manufacturers must furnish warranties or guarantees 
satisfactory to RUS against the failure of the material and equipment 
used in the field trial. Terms of this warranty must not be less than 
the provisions of the standard warranty included in the ``Telephone 
System Construction Contract'', RUS Form 515, or the warranty provided 
for similar materials and equipment included in the ``List of Materials 
Acceptable for Use on Telephone Systems of RUS Borrowers'', RUS Bulletin 
344-2. In lieu of a warranty, materials and equipment are sometimes 
furnished to RUS borrowers on a reduced or no cost basis. Terms of such 
arrangements are subject to RUS approval and should be fully covered in 
field trial proposals forwarded by borrowers to the Chief, Area 
Engineering Branch for review and approval. For the purchase of 
electronic central office equipment, suppliers and manufacturers are to 
provide warranties as provided in the applicable RUS contract form: RUS 
Form 397 for electronic equipment and RUS Form 525 for central office 
equipment. Forms 399 and 399a, which apply to field trials of these 
devices, specify that the term of the warranty does not begin until the 
satisfactory conclusion of the field trial.

[49 FR 28394, July 12, 1984. Redesignated at 55 FR 39397, Sept. 27, 
1990]