Govt Releases Deadline and Details on Stimulus Funds
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, July 6, 2009 · 
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Tthe Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for broadband projects.
Telcos seeking broadband stimulus funding can begin submitting their applications July 14 and will have until August 14 to apply for the first round of broadband stimulus funds. The agencies expect to award about $4 billion in this round, with two additional rounds to follow.
The stimulus funds will be awarded in a mix of loans and grants, with higher priority given to loan and loan-grant mixes (versus straight grants). As such, it may incumbent upon applicants to provide an overriding reason why grant funds are critical to their particular projects and service areas. Also of note, RUS has stated that applications can only request a maximum of 50% grants.
With the release of this NOFA the government clarified otherwise murky terminology, including broadband, unserved and underserved. The NOFA defined “broadband” as a terrestrial wireless or landline connection that can deliver speeds of at least 768 Kbs downstream and 200 Kbs upstream. This is the FCC’s current definition of broadband, and it provides flexibility for a variety of wired and wireless technologies. Not surprisingly, however, an NTIA senior administration official told reporters that preference would be given to higher-speed projects.
The agencies also will evaluate applications based on a range of criteria, including project viability and sustainability, affordability of services delivered, applicant’s organizational capability and reliance on loans versus grants.
“Unserved” is defined as one or more contiguous census tracts in which at least 90% of households lack broadband connectivity. “Underserved” areas are those where 50% of households or more lack broadband, where fewer than 40% of households subscribe to broadband, or where no service provider advertises broadband transmission speeds of at least 3 Mbs.
Of particular interest to rural telcos, RUS plans to award as much as $800 million to middle-mile initiatives, where middle-mile refers to “one or more terminations into a census block that qualifies as ‘underserved’ or ‘underserved.’ ”
The rules for this round of funding have been set, but NTIA and RUS reserved the right to modify the terms, conditions and rules that apply to the subsequent rounds of funding slated for release in 2010.
NTCA is reviewing the NOFA and will continue to report on its findings.
Access the NOFA online or visit the Broadband USA site for more information about applying for funding.
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