Govt Announces Second Round of Broadband Funding
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, January 18, 2010 · 
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Last Friday, NTIA and RUS announced the second round of broadband stimulus funding in which $4.8 billion will be made available through ARRA grants and loans to expand broadband access and adoption in America.
The agencies announced the rules for this funding round in two separate but complementary notices of funds availability (NOFAs).
“Based on the feedback we received from stakeholders and our own experience in the first funding round, we are making the application process more user-friendly, sharpening our funding focus to make the biggest impact with this investment, and streamlining our review process to increase efficiency,” said Lawrence E. Strickling, assistant secretary for communications and information and administrator of NTIA.
“In response to lessons learned from the first funding round, RUS is making important changes that will make the process easier for applicants and target our resources toward ‘last-mile’ broadband connections to homes and businesses,” said Jonathan Adelstein, administrator, Rural Utilities Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
NTIA’s NOFA allocates approximately $2.6 billion in this funding round, of which approximately $2.35 billion will be made available for infrastructure projects, $150 million for public computer center projects and $100 million for sustainable broadband adoption projects.
In this round, NTIA is adopting a “comprehensive communities” approach as its top priority in awarding infrastructure grants, focusing on middle-mile broadband projects that connect key community anchor institutions – such as libraries, hospitals, community colleges, universities and public safety institutions.
RUS’s NOFA allocates approximately $2.2 billion in this funding round for broadband infrastructure projects. RUS plans to focus on last-mile projects, anticipated to receive the vast majority of funding, and middle-mile projects involving current RUS program participants. Of note, RUS will only award grants for satellite service for areas that remain unserved after all other ARRA broadband funding is awarded.
In the second NOFA, RUS has adopted a 75/25 grant/loan combination for all projects. This is change from the rules of engagement in the first NOFA.
RUS also said that first-round applicants can apply for reconsideration. In fact, RUS will allow applicants to adjust their applications to better meet program objectives.
The agencies plan to accept applications from February 16, 2010, to March 15, 2010, and announce all awards by September 30, 2010.
NTIA and RUS also announced a series of public workshops to review the application process and answer questions from prospective applicants. The workshops will be held in Portland, Ore.; Reno, Nev.; Denver, Colo.; San Antonio, Tex.; Eureka, Mo.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Detroit, Mich.; Blacksburg, Va.; Fayetteville, N.C.; and Atlanta, Ga. Interested parties can register for the workshops at www.broadbandusa.gov.
For more, read the release or visit www.BroadbandUSA.gov.
Stay tuned to NTCA’s Washington Report for more.
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