NTIA has awarded two grants to projects in Southern Virginia totaling $21.5 million.
NTIA awarded the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative $16 million to add 465 miles of new fiber to an existing 800-mile fiber network.
NTIA also awarded the Virginia Tech Foundation $5.5 million for a 110-mile open access fiber network between Blacksburg and Bedford City.
Links:
NTIA awarded South Carolina State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education’s SC Reach for Success Program a $5.9 million Public Computer Center Grant to expand the capacity of 51 public computer centers and create 19 new computer labs at the South Carolina Technical College System’s 16 member community colleges. Follow the South Carolina Project Information link below for more information. Full press release can be found here
NTIA also awarded Rhode Island’s Oshean Inc’s Beacon 2.0 Library Computer Center Program a $1.245 million Public Computer Center grant to expand computer capacity at all 71 Rhode Island public libraries across the state and create 10 mobile computer centers. Follow the Rhode Island Project Information link below for more information. Full press release can be found here
StimulatingBroadband.com reported on Friday that the NTIA has posted approximately 1,400 application decline statuses in its online database. Follow the link below for the full story or go to the NTIA database link and search around.
Links:
http://www.stimulatingbroadband.com/2010/01/ntia-begins-to-post-list-of-rejected.html
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants/applications/search.cfm
The Senate Appropriations Commerce Subcommittee has scheduled a oversight hearing tomorrow, January 28, at 10 am on BTOP. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling are among the invited witnesses.
10:00 AM Location: Dirksen 192
CJS Subcommittee Hearing: Oversight of the Department of Commerce’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Witnesses: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke; Lawrence Strickling, Asst. Secretary for Communications and Information, U.S. Department of Commerce
From broadbandusa.gov, NTIA and RUS will webcast the Portland, OR and Denver, CO public technical assistance workshops. The announcement from broadbandusa.gov is below.
Friday, January 22, 2010
NTIA and RUS will be webcasting two of their technical assistance workshops for any potential applicants who cannot make it in person. RUS will stream its Broadband Initiatives Program live from Portland, OR on Tuesday, January 26, starting at 9:00 am PST (12 noon EST); NTIA will stream its Broadband Technology Opportunities Program live from Denver, CO on Friday, January 29, starting at 9:00 am MST (11 am EST). Both webcasts will be archived and available for reference 3-5 days after streaming.
RUS announces 14 Broadband Initiatives Program awards totaling $313.5 million for Middle Mile and Last Mile projects. The full press release is provided below which contains information on specific awards made.
AGRICULTURE SECRETARY VILSACK ANNOUNCES $310 MILLION IN RECOVERY ACT FUNDS FOR RURAL BROADBAND PROJECTS
In total, $313.5 million for Middle Mile and Last Mile Projects Will Bring Broadband Service To Rural Customers
WASHINGTON, January 25, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of fourteen Recovery Act Broadband Infrastructure projects that will receive $309,923,352 through funding made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. An additional $3,551,887 in private investment brings the total to $313,475,239. Altogether, Congress awarded USDA $2.5 billion in Recovery Act funding to help bring broadband services to rural un-served and underserved communities.
“The Obama Administration will strengthen communities in rural areas through these broadband investments and provide employment opportunities, building a solid foundation for future economic growth,” Vilsack said. “The awards for these broadband projects will support anchor institutions – such as libraries, public buildings and community centers – that are necessary for the viability of rural communities.”
In rural Burleigh County, N.D., for example, the BEK Communications Cooperative has been selected to receive a $2 million grant and $2 million loan with an additional $2 million in leveraged funds. The company will expand the existing system to offer fiber-to-the-premises service to more than 540 homes and anchor institutions that are currently underserved. The existing system provides service to 53 percent of the population in the area, and among the current users, 22 percent derive household income from the Internet. This expansion is expected to stimulate economic growth by bringing on new users.
Funding of individual recipients is contingent upon their meeting the terms of the loan, grant or loan/grant agreement. Below is a complete list of recent Recovery Act Broadband award recipients by state:
Alaska
Southwestern Alaska, United Utilities, $43,982,240 grant and $44,158,522 loan. The funding will provide middle mile connectivity to 65 communities.
AlabamaButler, Butler Telephone Co., Inc., $3,892,920 grant. The funding will provide high speed DSL broadband service to remote, unserved households within its rural service territory. The system is being built so that it can be easily upgraded to accommodate future services.
CaliforniaSan Joaquin, Tranquillity, and Fresno, Audeamus, $2,741,505 grant and $2,741,505 loan. The proposed project is a fiber-based broadband infrastructure for the unserved and underserved communities in this service area. A last-mile project, it will provide access to approximately 1,500 households, local businesses and anchor institutions in the communities.
IowaMeriden and Archer, C-M-L Telephone Cooperative Association, $1,519,225 grant and $1,519,225 loan, $1,525,315 in matching funds. Funding will provide services via a fiber optic network to rural communities with high speed internet exceeding 20 Mbps.
Bennett, Delmar, and Lowden, F & B Communications, Inc., $1,609,162 grant and
$1,628,588 loan. Funding will provide services via high speed fiber optic network with speeds exceeding 20Mbps. System will allow for expansion at a future date.
Springbrook, LaMotte Telephone Company, $187,815 grant, and $187,815 loan. The funding will provide services from a 300-foot tower and Wi-Max installation for wireless broadband service in the surrounding area.
Kansas (1% of the network is to be built in Nebraska)Western Kansas, Rural Telephone Service Co., Inc., $49,588,807 grant and $51,612,842 loan. Funding will provide service in an area 99.5 percent unserved/underserved and provide a rural infrastructure required for economic stability, education and healthcare. The company is a cooperative and RUS partner on 32 other projects. It leads a team of seven companies with this shovel-ready project.
Tennessee (1% of the network is to be built in Kentucky)Northern Tennessee, North Central Telephone Cooperative, Inc., $24,715,709 grant and $24,964,000 loan. The funding will provide the necessary infrastructure to provide advanced voice, video, and data services that exceed 20Mbps to remote and rural communities in the service area.
LouisianaMorehouse Parish, Northeast Louisiana Telephone Company, Inc., $4,359,000 grant and $8,124,600 loan. Funding will provide an active Ethernet system with symmetrical speeds of 20 Mbps. The system will be using buried fiber to the premise.
MissouriRalls County, Ralls County Electric Cooperative, $9,548,908 grant and $9,548,909 loan. Funding for this project will provide a fiber optic network to residential and commercial members and the underserved safety and anchor agencies in the service area. This is a State of Missouri demonstration project and non-proprietary data will be shared.
North DakotaBurleigh County; BEK Communications Cooperative, $1,986,473 grant and $2,016,571 loan; $2,016,572 in leveraged funds. The funding will provide fiber-to-the-premises broadband service to underserved homes and anchor institutions. This will aid business growth and support public safety in rural areas highly dependent on Internet business income.
Traill County; Halstad Telephone Company, $2,027,600 grant and $2,027,600 loan; $10,000 in leveraged funds. The funding will provide fiber-to-the premises broadband service to unserved homes and businesses in Traill County.
OregonMarion County, Gervais telephone Company, $314,430 grant and $314,430 loan. This project extends Gervais Telephone Company’s existing fiber network by building out from the nearest fiber splice point through the funded service area. This project will provide broadband connectivity to residential and business end users, as well as to four anchor institutions.
VirginiaAlleghany County, NTELOS Telephone Inc., $8,062,088 grant and $8,062,088 loan. The funds will provide broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved homes, businesses and critical community institutions in this rural county. A fiber-based project, it will enable work-from-home jobs and foster economic development, and improve health, education and public safety services to the county citizens.
President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law on Feb. 17, 2009. It is designed to jumpstart the nation’s economy, create or save millions of jobs and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. The Act includes measures to modernize our nation’s infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need.More information about USDA’s Recovery Act efforts is available at www.usda.gov/recovery . More information about the Federal government’s efforts on the Recovery Act is available at www.recovery.gov .
Links: RUS Press Release
According to an article in Communications Daily, an NTIA spokeswoman noted that the agency has reviewed all first round applications and intends to send out 1,400 letters to applicants not in due diligence by the end of next week. The spokeswoman notes the agency’s desire to let first-round applicant know their status with enough time to determine whether to apply for the second round.
Source: Second Stimulus Round May Prove as Problematic as First, Some Say, Communications Daily, January 21, 2010.
Based on the positive feedback from the BTOP Comparison chart, FTI has developed a similar chart for USDA RUS Broadband Initiatives Program to assist interested parties in understanding key changes for the Second Round. Round Two changes are highlighted in red. The table below is also available as a pdf file.
COMPARISON CHART OF BROADBAND INITIATIVE PROGRAM (BIP) CHANGES BETWEEN ROUND ONE AND ROUND TWO
|
BIP Program Requirement |
Round One |
Round Two |
| Relationship with NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) | Joint Application
Joint NoFA Interagency Collaboration Ability to apply to both BIP/BTOP in a single application Rural applicants must first apply to BIP before BTOP consideration |
Separate Application Separate NoFA Interagency Collaboration Must choose between BTOP or BIP per project Rural applicants can apply directly to BTOP |
|
Project Type |
||
| Project Type | Three Main Project Categories
Last Mile Remote Last Mile Non-Remote Middle Mile |
Removed the Remote project category and added three new ones Last Mile Middle Mile (preference for existing RUS loan and grant recipients; all other encouraged to file in BTOP) Satellite (unserved)+ Rural Libraries++ Technical Assistance+++ |
| Application Review Process | ||
| Application Process | Two-step process: initial determination followed by a second review process where additional information was requested | One-step process: Applicant must provide all required data in initial application |
| Objective Criteria Scoring by Category for Infrastructure Projects | 4 Categories each with subfactors totaling 100 points.
Project Purpose (25 Points) i. Proportion of Rural Residents Served in Unserved Areas (5 pts) ii. Rural Area Targeting (5 pts) iii. Remote Area Targeting (5 pts) iv. Title II Borrowers (5 pts) v. Recovery Act and other governmental collaboration (5 pts) Project Benefits (25 Points) i. Performance of the offered service (10 pts) ii. Affordability of services offered (5 pts) iii. Choice of provider (5 pts) iv. Critical community facilities (5 pts) Project Viability (25 Points) i. Applicant’s organizational capability (12 pts) ii. Community support (2 pts) iii. Ability to promptly start project (10 points) iv. Disadvantaged small businesses (1 point) Project Budget and Sustainability (25 Points) i. Reasonableness of the budget (5 points) ii. Leverage of outside resources (10 points) iii. Extent of grant funding (10 points) |
Removed categories but kept factors. Provided 10 bonus points to be given at the RUS Administrator’s discretion.
1. Proportion of Rural Residents Served in Unserved Areas (10 points) 2. Rural Area Targeting (10 points) 3. Distance from Non-Rural Areas (5 points) 4. Title II Borrowers (8 points) 5. Other Recovery Act Awards (5 points) 6. Performance of the offered service (10 points) 7. Service to Critical Community Facilities and SDBs (6 points) 8. Applicant’s organizational capability (10 points) 9. Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Small Business Concern (3 points) 10. Leverage of outside resources (10 points) 11. Extent of grant funding (15 points) 12. Cost Effectiveness (8 points) Administrator’s Bonus Points (10 points) Factor Changes - Added: Service to Critical Community Facilities and SDBs and Cost Effectiveness Removed: Budget Reasonableness; Ability to start promptly; Affordability; Choice of provider; Community support |
| Project Requirements | ||
| Grant/Loan Mix | Rural Remote – 100 % grant
Rural Non-Remote – 50-50 grant/loan Waiver for a higher grant ratio |
Eliminated Remote Project Type 75/25 ratio – grant/loan [projects with a higher loan ratio will receive additional points] Waiver for a higher grant ratio |
| Project Service Area | Serve at least 75 percent unserved or underserved rural areas | Rural area that does not have broadband service in at least 50% of its area Requirements removed for unserved and underserved |
| Mapping Info | Report service area by census block
Use of online tool required |
Eliminated census block reporting
Use of online tool required |
| Eligible Costs | Fund construction or improvement of broadband facilities
Fund cost of capital leases for facilities required for broadband delivery for 5 years Reasonable pre-application expenses up to 5 percent |
Fund construction or improvement of broadband facilities
Fund cost of capital leases for facilities required for broadband delivery for 3 years Reasonable pre-application expenses up to 5 percent |
| Cost per Household Passed | No set maximum | No more than $10,000 per premises past |
| Definitional Changes | ||
| Broadband | At least 768 kbps downstream
At least 200 kbps upstream |
5 Mbps (downlink and uplink combined) |
|
Funding Round Information |
||
| NoFA publication to Application Submission Deadline | 43 days [49 days w/ extension] | 59 days |
| Available Funding | $ 2.4 bil
Last Mile: $1.2 bil ($400 mil for Remote Grants and $800 mil for loans or loan/grants) Middle Mile: $800 mil for loans or loan/grants National Reserve: $325 mil |
$2.2 bil Last Mile: $1.7 bil Middle Mile: $300 mil Satellite: $100 mil Rural Library: $5 mil Technical Assistance: $5 mil National Reserve: $95 mil |
++ Rural library broadband awards provide grants to reimburse costs of connecting any rural library.
+++ Technical assistance awards provide grants for the development of USDA-recognized regional strategy for providing broadband service in critically unserved rural areas.
NTIA has awarded four BTOP grants to projects in Massachusetts, Michigan, and North Carolina totaling $63 million. The largest two awards were infrastructure awards in Michigan and North Carolina. In Michigan, Merit Network, Inc. was awarded a $33.3 million infrastructure grant to build a 955-mile advanced fiber-optic network through 32 counties in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula connecting 44 community anchor institutions. In North Carolina, MCNC was awarded a $28.2 million infrastructure grant to build a 494-mile middle-mile broadband network passing almost half the population of North Carolina in 37 counties. The full press release is below. A list of the current projects BTOP has awarded grants is available here.
COMMERCE AWARDS RECOVERY ACT BROADBAND EXPANSION GRANTS TOTALING $63 MILLION
Funds Will Expand Broadband Infrastructure and Access in Massachusetts, Michigan and North Carolina
For Immediate Release: January 20, 2010
WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced grants totaling $63 million to expand broadband access and adoption in Massachusetts, Michigan and North Carolina. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, enhance and expand public computer centers, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. These investments will help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth and create jobs.
“High-speed Internet access is the lifeblood of today’s economy,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. “Having access to the Internet’s economic, health and educational benefits should be as much of a fundamental American right as attending a quality school. Our best minds should be able to talk to one another, create and innovate regardless of where they come from. These grants are an important step toward expanding high-speed Internet access into the unserved and underserved areas of the country.”
NTIA received nearly 1,800 applications during the first BTOP funding round and is currently awarding grants on a rolling basis. Including today’s announcement, NTIA has now awarded 15 grants totaling approximately $200 million under the program.
“The level of interest in this program has been extraordinary, and is yet another indicator of the critical role broadband plays in achieving durable, sustainable economic growth,” said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling. “Like the grants announced today, the strongest proposals are the ones that have taken a truly comprehensive view of the communities to be served and have engaged as many key members of the communities as possible in developing the projects.”
BTOP grants fall into one of three categories. Infrastructure grants build and improve connections to communities lacking sufficient broadband access. Public computer center grants expand computer center capacity for public use in libraries, community colleges and other public venues. Sustainable broadband adoption grants fund innovative projects to increase broadband subscription levels in areas or among population groups where the technology has traditionally been underutilized.
The following grants were announced today:
Massachusetts, University of Massachusetts-Lowell: $780,000 broadband adoption grant with an additional $196,000 in applicant-provided matching funds to promote broadband awareness and computer literacy among vulnerable populations, including the nation’s second largest Cambodian population, low-income and at-risk youth, the unemployed, residents without college degrees, and seniors in Lowell and Merrimack Valley. As part of the program, University of Massachusetts–Lowell students will work in local computer centers with at-risk youth and seniors to develop appropriate training and outreach materials.
Michigan, Merit Network, Inc.: $33.3 million infrastructure grant with an additional $8.3 million in matching funds to build a 955-mile advanced fiber-optic network through 32 counties in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The project also intends to directly connect 44 community anchor institutions and will serve an area covering 886,000 households, 45,800 businesses, and an additional 378 anchor institutions.
Michigan, Michigan State University: $895,000 public computer center grant with an additional $235,000 in matching funds to expand 84 existing library computer centers and establish four new computer centers. Computer center sites were selected by targeting underserved and high-unemployment population areas and then focusing on those libraries with the greatest need for additional computing capacity. The project will add 500 new workstations at these targeted public computer centers throughout the state and serve nearly 13,000 additional users per week.
North Carolina, MCNC: $28.2 million infrastructure grant with an additional $11.7 million in matching funds and in-kind contributions to build a 494-mile middle-mile broadband network passing almost half the population of North Carolina in 37 counties. The network will build new rings in the western and eastern regions of the state, which will connect to 685 miles of existing infrastructure in the urbanized central region, expanding the reach of the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), an established broadband service for community anchor institutions in the state.
NTIA recently announced that a second round of BTOP applications will be accepted through March 15, 2010. The rules for applying to this funding round have been modified to make the application process more user-friendly and better target program resources.
“I encourage prospective round two BTOP applicants to study the grant announcements we are currently rolling out for guidance as they put together their own project proposals,” added Strickling.
NTIA and the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS), which is administering a companion broadband expansion grant and loan program, will hold a series of public workshops to review the new application process and answer questions from prospective applicants. The workshops will be held starting on January 26th through February 12th 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 and find more information on rules for the second round of funding at http://www.broadbandusa.gov. NTIA and RUS have also provided a new online tool, BroadbandMatch (at http://match.broadbandusa.gov) to facilitate partnerships among prospective applicants to the agencies’ broadband grant and loan programs.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided a total of $7.2 billion to NTIA and RUS to fund projects that will expand access to and adoption of broadband services. Of that funding, NTIA will utilize $4.7 billion for grants to deploy broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas in the United States, expand public computer center capacity, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. RUS will use $2.5 billion in budget authority to support grants and loans to facilitate broadband deployment in primarily rural communities. NTIA plans to announce all grant awards by September 30, 2010.
Last Friday, NTIA released the Notice of Funds Availability for the Second Round of funding for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The agency is accepting online applications for Round Two beginning February 16 through March 15.
FTI has prepared a comparison of the differences between the rounds to assist interested parties in understanding key changes for the Second Round. Round Two changes are highlighted in red. The table below is also available as a pdf file.
| BTOP Program Requirement | Round One | Round Two |
| Relationship with Rural Utilities Services Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) | Joint Application
Joint NoFA Interagency Collaboration Ability to apply to both BIP/BTOP in a single application |
Separate Application
Separate NoFA Interagency Collaboration Must choose between BTOP or BIP per project |
| Project Type | ||
| Project Type | Last Mile and Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure (BI) projects
Public Computing Centers Sustainable Broadband Adoption |
Comprehensive Community Infrastructure (CCI) (Priority on Middle Mile projects)
Public Computing Centers Sustainable Broadband Adoption |
| Community Anchor Institution focus | BTOP solicited projects connecting schools, libraries, medical and healthcare providers, public safety and community colleges and other higher learning institutions. | BTOP seeks projects that connect the same types of community anchor institutions but have placed a special emphasis on projects involving community colleges. |
| Application Review Process | ||
| Initial Eligibility Determination | For Round One, initial eligibility required:
Eligible Entity status Fully completed application Capital match Timely completion Technical feasibility Nondiscrimination and interconnection Conformity with statutory purposes Demonstration that “But For” federal funding project could not be implemented Budget Reasonableness |
For Round Two, initial eligibility requires only the following three elements:
Eligible Entity Status Fully completed application BTOP will consider other criteria during the evaluation and due diligence review process. |
| Application Grouping before Evaluation Criteria Review | No grouping | Applications will be grouped based on seven CCI priorities (See section II.B.1.b of NOFA) |
| Evaluation Criteria Review | Three volunteer reviewers score each application. | At least two reviewers, who may be federal employees or non-federal persons, score each application. |
| State Consultation | States had 20 days to submit recommendations on projects in its state. | States will have no less than 20 days to comment on applications and state comments will be made public. |
| Objective Criteria Scoring by Category for Infrastructure Projects | Project Purpose (30 pts)
Project Benefits (25 pts) Project Viability (30 pts) Project Budget and Sustainability (20 pts) |
Project Purpose (20 pts)
Project Benefits (20 pts) Project Viability (30 pts) Project Budget and Sustainability (30 pts) |
| Project Requirements | ||
| Proposed Funded Service Area | Must meet Unserved or Underserved definition
30 day period for incumbents to protest |
No requirement to meet unserved or underserved definition where community anchor institutions are located but projects in these areas will receive additional consideration
15 day period for incumbents to protest |
| Capital Match | ≥ 20% (unless waiver) | ≥ 20% but signaled preferences for applications that have a match ≥ 30%
(Waiver still available) |
| Mapping Info | Report service area by census block
Use of online tool required |
Report service area by Census tracts and block groups
Use of online tool no longer required |
| Pro Forma Forecast to assess sustainability | 5 Year | 8 year |
| Non-discrimination and interconnection | Same | Same |
| Definitional Changes | ||
| Economically Distressed Area | N/A | An area is economically distressed if per capita income is 80 percent or less and unemployment is at least 1% greater than the national average. Designated projects targeting these areas are third in importance for CCI projects. |
| Last Mile | Any infrastructure project that delivers broadband service to end user or end-user devices | NTIA has provided a specific definition for Last Mile. (See NOFA Section III) |
| Funding Round Information | ||
| NoFA publication to Application Submission Deadline | 43 days [49 days w/ extension] | 59 days |
| Available Funding | $1.6 billion
Breakdown $1.2 bil for BI $50 mil for PCC $150 mil for SBA $200 mil for National Reserve |
$2.6 billion total available
Breakdown $2.35 bil for CCI $150 mil for PCC $100 mil for SBA |
| Project Size Guidelines | None provided | CCI: $5 mil -$150 mil
PCC: $500k – $15 mil SBA: $500k – $15 mil |
Freedom Technologies Inc.
