The NTIA and USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) are making changes to how applicants apply for federal broadband stimulus money. The move came as the agencies opened $4.8 billion in grants and loads as part of the second round of broadband stimulus funding.
“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 NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling in a statement.
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.
The agencies also added satellite service for rural residents to the list of services eligible for broadband stimulus funds. Adelstein said the move would give the agencies more flexibility to target areas left unserved after the other stimulus funds are awarded. “We are going to stretch every last dime to maximize economic development in rural areas that currently lack adequate broadband service,” he said.
The rules for the second funding round were announced in two separate but complementary Notices of Funds Availability (NOFAs), one for the NTIA and one for the RUS.
The NTIA has about $2.6 billion allocated to it in this funding round, of which about $2.35 billion will be made available for infrastructure projects. The agency says its top priority in awarding grants will be middle mile broadband projects that connect key community anchor institutions – such as libraries, hospitals, community colleges, universities, and public safety institutions.
NTIA will also award at least $150 million for public computer centers, and another $100 million for projects that provide broadband education, training, and equipment, particularly to vulnerable population groups where broadband technology has traditionally been underutilized.
The RUS has been allocated about $2.2 billion for last-mile broadband projects. Some money will also go towards funding middle mile projects involving current RUS program participants.
In addition, a second funding window will open for satellite service for premises that remain unserved after all other Recovery Act broadband funding is awarded; make grants for plans which incorporate broadband as a regional economic development engine; and grants to provide broadband service to rural libraries funded by USDA under the Recovery Act.
The RUS has also changed its funding options. In the first NOFA, there were two funding options: grants up to 100 percent in remote rural areas, and 50/50 loan/grant combinations in non-remote rural areas. In the second NOFA, RUS has eliminated this practice and adopted a base 75/25 grant/loan combination for all projects. The new approach allows RUS to prioritize smaller grant seekers and petition for a waiver if more grand money is needed for areas that are difficult to serve.
Separate NOFAs will allow applicants to apply directly to either program, and RUS has eliminated the two-step process for BIP applicants “to improve program efficiency.”
Both NTIA and RUS will hold a series of public workshops for 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.
The agencies plan to accept applications from February 16, 2010, to March 15, 2010, and announce all awards by September 30, 2010.
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.