More Grants

By Brad

Yesterday, the NTIA announced 10 new projects have received broadband grants. All told, $357 million in grants were promised to projects in eight states: California, Florida, Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

(Via Multichannel News.)

Dept. of Rejection

By Brad

Via Government Tech, last week the NTIA sent out 1,400 rejection letters to broadband grant hopefuls. Those who have been rejected are being encouraged to closely study the grant proposals that have been approved so far before re-applying.

Another Round of Grants

By Bruce

Yesterday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced the latest batch of broadband grants. In all, $63 million in grants were awarded to three states: Massachusetts, Michigan, and North Carolina.

So far NTIA has awarded $253 million in grants, roughly 3.5 percent of the eventual total.

A Change in Rules

By Brad

As the NTIA and RUS continue to sift through a mountain of broadband grant applications, they’re seeking to simplify the rules for applying in the future. Reports Wireless Week:

According to a statement by RUS Administrator Jonathan Adelstein, the application process has been streamlined to “make the process easier for applicants and target our resources toward ‘last-mile’ broadband connections to homes and businesses.” Both the NTIA and RUS received widespread complaints about the application process after the first round of funding when businesses became frustrated with a lack of transparency and the complexity and length of the application.

More Mapping Grants

By Bruce

Yesterday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced a handful of new recipients for state broadband mapping grants. The states chosen were Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, and Missouri.

The State of Deployment

By Bruce

In an effort to better understand broadband access in America, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has asked the FCC for access to the “Form 477 database,” which was assembled from information offered high-speed Internet providers on broadband deployment.

The FCC has stated that barring any objections, it will comply with the request by December 7.

Ongoing Delays

By Bruce

The flood of applications for federal broadband grants continues to be a problem for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which has announced that the next round of grants now won’t be issued until December, and the actual funding of grants won’t start until next February.

Speeding Up

By Bruce

Up until now, the broadband grant process has been slower than anticipated. But with the unemployment rate now over 10%, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama administration wants to speed the process up:

Officials at the Commerce and Agriculture Departments outlined plans to consolidate into a single round a grant process originally projected to go for two more rounds. The first round of grants is scheduled to be made in December. The departments asked for comments on how the program could be changed to make it easier for companies to apply.

“This will get the funds out the door faster to stimulate the economy and create jobs,” said Jonathan Adelstein, the Agriculture Department official overseeing the program in a statement. The Agriculture Department oversees a program to build broadband lines in rural areas and will distribute loans as part of the stimulus program.

In other national broadband plan news, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has announced the next round of broadband mapping grants. This time, seven states were on the list: Alabama, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin.

Delay Damage

By Brad

In the wake of the NTIA’s announcement that the first round of broadband grants would be delayed until December, many rural WiMAX providers are finding themselves in a tough stpot. From Wireless Week:

According to Luisa Handem, managing director of the Rural Mobile Broadband Alliance (RuMBA USA), the delay is affecting several RuMBA-affiliated companies and will both delay and jeopardize some wireless broadband programs initiated by the group’s members.

“Money needs to be on the ground and in the hands of those deploying broadband as soon as possible,” Handem said. “This is not welcome news.”

A Delay in Broadband Grants

By Bruce

Via Broadcasting & Cable, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Services (RUS) — the two agencies in charge of distributing grants for broadband expansion — have decided to delay announcing the winning bidders by at least a month.

Here Come the Broadband Grants

By Brad

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has announced the first four recipients in the initial round of stimulus grants. From an official press release:

• The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is awarded approximately $1.8 million; the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) is awarded approximately $1.3 million; the Rural Economic Development Center, Inc. (e-NC Authority) is awarded approximately $1.6 million; and the Vermont Center for Geographic Information (VCGI) is awarded approximately $1.2 million to collect and verify the availability, speed, and location of broadband across the states of California, Indiana, North Carolina, and Vermont, respectively. This activity is to be conducted on a semi-annual basis between 2009 and 2011, with initial data coming available in November 2009 to inform broadband policy efforts. Awardees are to present the data in a clear and accessible format to the public, government, and the research community.

• The CPUC is also awarded $500,000 for the cost of broadband planning activities in California over four years, bringing its grant award total to approximately $2.3 million. In addition, the e-NC Authority is awarded approximately $435,000 for the cost of broadband planning activities in North Carolina over five years, bringing its grant award total to over $2 million.

“The four award recipients submitted well-formed proposals that are both fiscally prudent and serve as a model for others,” Strickling added. “We are committed to making the program succeed nationwide and will continue to provide guidance to applicants where necessary to help them improve their proposed projects.”

The agency will continue to roll out grants throughout the fall.

Rule Changes

By Brad

According to Broadband Census, NTIA officials are considering changing the rules of the broadband stimulus program. Specifically, eliminating the third round of comments in order to give applicants more time once the Notice of Funds Availability is released.

Broadband Mapping Going Strong

By Bruce

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has some good news to share about its broadband mapping project. From an NTIA press release:

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced today that it has received applications representing all 50 states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia to participate in NTIA’s State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program, which will assist NTIA in creating a national broadband map. This unprecedented initiative will provide consumers with better information on the broadband Internet services available to them and inform policymakers’ efforts to increase broadband availability nationwide.

“We are pleased with the unanimous response, which underscores the value of this program,” said NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling. “This initiative will ultimately help us improve the Nation’s level of broadband access and adoption, which is critical to our global competitiveness.”

Once the mapping is complete, the goal is to have a public display showing where broadband is available, what technology provides it, and more.

Numbers of the Day

By Bruce

With the (twice extended) deadline for the initial round of federal broadband grants having come and gone, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has released some numbers. From the NTIA release:

• More than 260 applications were filed solely with NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), requesting over $5.4 billion in grants to fund broadband infrastructure projects in unserved and underserved areas.

• More than 400 applications were filed solely with RUS’s Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), requesting nearly $5 billion in grants and loans for broadband infrastructure projects in rural areas.

• More than 830 applications were filed with both NTIA’s BTOP and RUS’s BIP, requesting nearly $12.8 billion in infrastructure funding. (Applicants for infrastructure projects in rural areas must apply to BIP but were given the opportunity to jointly apply to BTOP in case RUS declines to fund their application.)

• More than 320 applications were filed with NTIA requesting nearly $2.5 billion in grants from BTOP for projects that promote sustainable demand for broadband services, including projects to provide broadband education, awareness, training, access, equipment or support, particularly among vulnerable population groups where broadband technology has traditionally been underutilized. (The Recovery Act directs NTIA to make at least $250 million available for programs that encourage sustainable adoption of broadband services, of which up to $150 million is allocated in this first round of grants.)

• More than 360 applications were filed with NTIA requesting more than $1.9 billion in grants from BTOP for public computer center projects, which will expand access to broadband service and enhance broadband capacity at public libraries, community colleges, and other institutions that provide the benefits of broadband to the general public or specific vulnerable populations. (The Recovery Act directs NTIA to make at least $200 million available for expanding public computer center capacity, of which up to $50 million is allocated in this first round of grants.)

All told, over 2,000 applications for grants were submitted. As for what companies and groups applied, the site Unstrung has started compiling a handy list.

An Extension to the Extension

By Brad

After already granting an extension for filing for the initial round of broadband grants, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration has found it still needs a bit more time to keep up with all the overwhelming number of applications flying their way. Reports Multichannel News:

The agency said that while bids are still due Aug. 20, to insure applications are complete and to “minimize problems,” it will accept supporting documents in the mail up to a postmark, hand delivery, or “appropriate electronic delivery” date of Aug. 24.

Bidders who made it past the first round of cuts are scheduled be revealed on September 14.

Sitting Out in San Francisco

By Bruce

Ever since the federal broadband grant rules were released, a controversy has brewed over the definitions of “unserved” and “underserved” communities, with officials in a number of urban areas worrying that the definitions, as currently worded, would leave their communities out in the cold.

Now, Business Week reports, the city of San Francisco—which despite being known as a technology hotbed still has areas in need of broadband access—is sitting out the initial round of grants:

To qualify for funding, applicants need to prove they’re catering to an “underserved” area. Yet the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), which is overseeing the program, defines underserved as one where at least half of all households lack broadband, or where fewer than 40% of households subscribe to broadband, or a place where no service provider advertises broadband speeds of at least 3 megabits per second. In a densely populated city like San Francisco, where telecom providers like AT&T (T) and Comcast (CMCSA) widely advertise residential broadband all over the city, it’s hard to point to a place that technically meets the “underserved” definition.

Business Week contacted a spokeswoman for FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and was told that the commission won’t comment on the broadband grants process. The NTIA was a bit more forthcoming:

Mark Seifert, senior adviser to NTIA director Strickling, says potential applicants should nevertheless file an application and make the best case possible. He says a good way to make the case is for applicants to take surveys among the local population to see what kind of service is available. But the priority, he says, is for bringing broadband to places where it’s either not available at all or only marginally available. “We know that this program alone will not achieve the President’s goal of broadband for everyone,” Seifert says. “We have limited dollars to invest, and we have a directive from Congress and the public record telling us to invest it in areas that are unserved or underserved.”

Pushing Deadlines

By Brad

Tomorrow was the deadline for sending proposals to the NTIA for the initial round of federal stimulus grants. But due to the sheer number of proposals—and the overwhelming strain they’re causing on NTIA/RUS servers—the deadline is being extended to Thursday, August 20 at 5 pm Eastern.

Libraries Feeling Left Out

By Bruce

Emily Sheketoff, Executive Director of the ALA, has sent a letter to NTIA asking that the definitions of “unserved” and “underserved” not be applied to the country’s libraries:

Congress’s commitment of $7.2 billion in funding for broadband connectivity via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was viewed as an opportunity to connect all of our communities in a cost-effective, inclusive way. However, the ALA believes the release of the first-round NOFA raises significant concerns and hurdles for libraries considering applying for broadband funding. These concerns stem from what was perceived as the ARRA’s giving libraries, as anchor institutions, priority with regard to the five statutory purposes. However, the NOFA in effect de-prioritizes libraries and discourages them from applying for funding in a number of ways.

For many people, libraries provide the only opportunity to access the Internet. For a national broadband plan to be truly effective, libraries can’t be left out.

Letter of Concern

By Brad

Recently, San Jose CIO Steve Ferguson complained that the government’s definitions of “un-served” and “underserverd” under the broadband stimulus guidelines risked leaving urban areas out in the cold.

Now, as GigaOm reports, a handful of consumer groups—including the Consumers Union and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisers, among others—have sent a letter to NTIA administrator Larry Strickling voicing concern that the initial grants and loans won’t address improving speed and prices for urban areas:

The group’s full letter is available here.

Call For Broadband Volunteers

By Brad

As proposals for the initial portion of federal broadband stimulus begin pouring in, the NTIA has announced they’re looking for an army of experienced volunteers to help sift through them.

Those interested can email their resume to NTIA at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).