All applications for this round of funding for both the NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and the RUS Broadband Initiatives Program will be accepted from February 16, 2010, at 8:00 am EST, until March 15, 2010, at 5:00 pm EDT.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) have issued the Notices of Funds Availability (NOFAs) for the next and final round of broadband stimulus funding, making available $4.8 billion in loans and grants for broadband-related projects under the NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and the RUS Broadband Initiatives program (BIP). Applications are due between February 16, 2010, and March 15, 2010. NTIA and RUS plan to announce all awards by September 30, 2010.

Unlike the first round of funding, NTIA and RUS have issued separate NOFAs for BTOP and BIP to give applicants the option to file applications for both programs. Applicants eligible for RUS's BIP program, which is limited to rural areas, can now apply directly to NTIA for BTOP grants without being required to first apply to RUS for BIP loans or grants.

NTIA's BTOP

In the final round of funding, NTIA has allocated approximately $2.6 billion, of which approximately $2.35 billion will be made available for infrastructure projects, $150 million for public computer center projects, and $100 million for sustainable adoption projects. NTIA's top priority is to fund "comprehensive communities" projects, focusing on middle mile broadband projects that connect key community anchor institutions, such as libraries, hospitals, community colleges, universities and public safety institutions.

Funds under the new comprehensive community infrastructure category will be awarded to projects that deploy middle mile broadband infrastructure based on the following priority criteria:

  • A commitment to offer new or substantially upgraded service to community anchor institutions
  • Incorporation of a public-private partnership among government, nonprofit and for-profit entities
  • The intent to bolster growth in economically distressed areas
  • A commitment to serve community colleges
  • A commitment to serve public safety entities
  • Inclusion of a last mile infrastructure component in unserved or underserved areas
  • Contribution of a non-federal cost match of 30 percent or more of the total eligible costs of the project

Please note that proposed projects are not required to satisfy all of these criteria. Rather, these criteria will be used in determining a project's priority for BTOP funding.

NTIA plans to award all remaining BTOP funds in this round of funding. NTIA has removed the requirement that infrastructure projects connecting community anchor institutions be located in unserved or underserved areas, though projects in such areas will receive additional consideration. NTIA has also made several adjustments to the application process, including reducing the number of attachments to be uploaded with the application, removing the proposed funded service area mapping tool, and modifying the service area delineations from census blocks to census tracts and block groups.

NTIA has revised the eligibility factors and will use three criteria—eligible entities, fully completed application and matching—as the gating factors that determine whether an application is eligible for consideration. NTIA has further revised the eligibility factors by removing the budget reasonableness and technical feasibility factors, which will now be reviewed during the subsequent expert review and due diligence phases of application consideration. As in the first funding round, public and private entities, including for-profit corporations, are eligible for a BTOP grant. Recipients of BTOP funding will be required to provide matching funds of at least 20 percent of the total eligible project cost (although a waiver of this requirement is possible).

RUS's BIP

In this round of funding, RUS has allocated approximately $2.2 billion for broadband funding infrastructure projects. Another funding window will be announced in the future to provide grants for satellite service for areas that remain unserved after all other Recovery Act broadband funding is awarded, to provide technical assistance grants for developing plans using broadband for regional economic development, and to provide grants for broadband service to rural libraries.

In this round of funding, RUS will focus on last mile projects, which are anticipated to receive the vast majority of funding. RUS will also fund middle mile projects involving current RUS program participants. RUS has eliminated the distinction made in the first round of funding between applications to serve remote rural areas (which were eligible for 100 percent of funding) and applications to serve non-remote rural areas (which were eligible for 50 percent loan/50 percent grant funding). Instead, RUS has adopted a 75/25 grant/loan combination for all projects, with the flexibility of a waiver if additional grant resources are needed for areas that are difficult to serve and priority for those who seek lower grant levels.

RUS has eliminated the two-step application process and will use a streamlined review process for this round. RUS will also limit federal assistance to no more than $10,000 per premises passed, unless a waiver is requested. RUS has made several other changes to the application process, including eliminating the requirement that applicants report their proposed funded service territories on a census block basis; eliminating the option to file paper applications for last mile and middle mile projects; and providing greater discretion to reconsider applications that can be updated, reviewed and awarded funds before the expiration of Recovery Act funding if RUS expects to have excess capacity in this round of funding.

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