From the LAW OFFICES OF THOMAS K. CROWE, P.C., full contact info below.
Last week, on July 1, 2009, the Rural Utilities Service (“RUS”) of the Department of Agriculture and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) of the Department of Commerce released a Notice of Funds Availability (“NOFA”) announcing the policies and application procedures for the first round of funding for broadband initiatives established pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act”). Pursuant to the Recovery Act, the RUS has established the Broadband Initiatives Program (“BIP”), and the NTIA has established the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (“BTOP”).
BIP & BTOP Program Summaries
BTOP will make grants available for deploying broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas in the United States. There will be three categories of projects funded by BTOP:
(a) broadband infrastructure – projects that deliver broadband service through last mile or middle mile facilities;
(b) public computer center – projects that expand publicly accessible computer centers, such as community centers, community colleges and public universities; and
(c) sustainable broadband adoption – projects that promote broadband demand, including broadband education, awareness, training, access, etc.
BIP will extend loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations to facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas. Grants are to be used to fund applications proposing to exclusively serve remote, unserved, rural areas. Applications which would serve non-remote or underserved areas would be funded by loans or loan/grant combinations. RUS will favor applications that propose a higher percentage of loan funds, and applicants may request one-hundred percent (100%) loan funding if desired.
All applications to fund broadband infrastructure in service areas which are at least seventy-five (75) percent rural are required to be submitted under BIP. However, applicants may also choose to be considered for BTOP funding, but must complete any additional elements required for BTOP applications. NTIA may make choose to make awards to such programs under BTOP if RUS decides not to fund them under BIP. [click to read the rest…]
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