Aspen Wireless News & Updates

From a letter released by the White House this morning:

Project Spotlight: The Administration will award a last-mile grant to Rivada Sea Lion, an Alaska Native Corporation, to provide 4G wireless high-speed broadband Internet service to approximately 30,000 residents in 53 unserved, subsistence level communities in 13southwestern Native Alaska. Rivada will design, engineer, and construct a multi-mode 4G last-mile remote network that spans 90,000 square miles and connects homes and businesses as well as anchor institutions such as health clinics, schools, and tribal government facilities. By using wireless and satellite technology rather than copper or fiber, the project will provide the first broadband services to these Native Alaskan communities at relatively low cost.

Along with 17 other projects:

http://broadbandbreakfast.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/NEC-Broadband-Report.pdf

In a report to Congress, the NTIA said Wednesday that it won’t conclude doling out the first round of broadband stimulus funding until February 2010.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration clarified in its third quarterly progress report to Congress this week that it will be dolling out the entirety of the grant money during the next ten months.

The year 2010 is going to be a busy time for the period for both the NTIA and the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities is the other agency, the two government entities charged with distributing $7.2 billion of federal funding.

“NTIA will not conclude the first round of BTOP funding at the end of 2009 as originally targeted, but is on course to do so in February 2010,” states the report (PDF).

NTIA and RUS announced this month that they will limit the remaining grant awards to one more round of funding, which they write in the report “will begin early in 2010.”

Courtesy of BroadbandCensus.com

UPDATE: Thursday, August 13, 2009

The application closing deadline for the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) is extended until 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on August 20, 2009, for any electronic applications pending as of 5 p.m. ET on August 14, 2009.

There are no changes to the filing instructions for paper applications. For more information see Federal Register Notice: Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) Extension of Application Closing Deadline for Pending Electronic Applications.

The Notice is being provided for informational purposes only. If there is any difference between this document and the Notice officially published in the Federal Register, the Federal Register Notice is controlling.

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/frnotices/2009/FR_BroadbandExtension_090813.pdf

FROM THE OFFICIAL RELEASE:

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

RIN 0572-ZA01

Broadband Initiatives Program

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

RIN 0660-ZA28

Broadband Technology Opportunities Program

AGENCIES: Rural Utilities Service (RUS), Department of Agriculture, and National

Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Funds Availability; extension of application closing deadline for pending

electronic applications.

SUMMARY: RUS and NTIA announce that the application closing deadline for the Broadband

Initiatives Program (BIP) and the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) is

extended until 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on August 20, 2009, for any electronic applications

pending as of 5 p.m. ET on August 14, 2009.   There are no changes to the filing instructions for

paper applications.

DATES: An applicant that is submitting an application for the BIP and BTOP electronically

will be permitted to complete electronic submission of its application until 5 p.m. ET on August

20, 2009, so long as its application was pending in the Easygrants® System as of 5 p.m. ET on

August 14, 2009 (application closing deadline).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general inquiries regarding BIP, contact

David J. Villano, Assistant Administrator Telecommunications Program, Rural Utilities Service,

e-mail: bip@wdc.usda.gov telephone: (202) 690–0525. For general inquiries regarding BTOP,

contact Anthony Wilhelm, Deputy Associate Administrator, Infrastructure Division, Office of

Telecommunications and Information Applications, National Telecommunications and

Information Administration, email: btop@ntia.doc.gov, telephone: (202) 482–2048.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On July 9, 2009, RUS and NTIA published a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) and

Solicitation of Applications in the Federal Register announcing general policy and application

procedures for the BIP and BTOP.  74 Fed. Reg. 33104 (2009).  In the NOFA, RUS and NTIA

encouraged all applicants to submit their applications electronically and required that certain

applications be filed electronically through an online application system at

http://www.broadbandusa.gov.  74 Fed. Reg. at 33118.  RUS and NTIA established an

application window for these grant programs from July 14, 2009, at 8 a.m. ET through August

14, 2009, at 5 p.m. ET (application closing deadline).

Over the last several days, the online application system (Easygrants® System) has experienced

service delays due to the volume of activity from potential applicants.  The agencies have added

additional servers to address these capacity issues.  Nevertheless, in an effort to give applicants

that have already started the electronic application submission process prior to the application

closing deadline an opportunity to complete the submission of those applications, RUS and

NTIA announce that an applicant with an application pending in the Easygrants® System as of 5

p.m. ET on August 14, 2009, will be given until 5 p.m. ET on August 20, 2009, to complete the

electronic submission of its application.  Please note that an applicant must have completed the

following steps, at a minimum, to be recognized as having a pending application in the

Easygrants® System:

1. Log into the Easygrants® System at www.broadbandusa.gov;

2. Select “Start a new application” under “Apply for a new grant/loan;”

3. Select one of the two choices for available funding opportunities;

4. Select “Continue;” and

5. Select “ok” when prompted “Are you sure you want to apply for the program.”

All other requirements for electronic submissions set forth in the NOFA remain unchanged.

There are no changes to the filing instructions, requirements, or application deadline for paper

submissions.

Dated:  August 13, 2009

_/s/____

Jonathan Adelstein

Administrator

Rural Utilities Service

_/s/____

Anna M. Gomez

Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program Online Workshop

On July 24, 2009, the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will host an online workshop on its recently announced grant program to fund collection of state-level broadband data, as well as state-wide broadband mapping and planning. This initiative will provide consumers with better information on the broadband services available to them and inform efforts to increase broadband availability nationwide. The workshop is intended to present information and answer questions about the grant application process for potential applicants.
The State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program is a competitive, merit-based matching grant program that implements the joint purposes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA). The Program will provide up to approximately $240 million in grants to assist states or their designees to develop state-specific data on the deployment levels and adoption rates of broadband services. These data, including publicly available state-wide broadband maps, will also be used to develop the comprehensive, interactive national broadband map that NTIA is required by the Recovery Act to create and make publicly available by February 17, 2011.

The workshop will be recorded and made available online at  www.broadbandusa.gov. Grant applications for this program will be accepted through the online grants.gov system until August 14, 2009.

Pre-registration for the workshop is required and NTIA recommends registering no later than two hours in advance.  Potential applicants are invited to email questions about the grant program to  broadbandmapping@ntia.doc.gov in advance of the workshop.

Register for the Broadband Mapping Online Workshop, which will be held on July 24 at 1pm.

Broadband USA site now has active link to NOFA:

Link to NOFA (pdf download)

HIGHLIGHTS of the NOTICE OF FUNDS AVAILABILITY

Related downloads:

A summary by Knight Foundation, Knight Center for Digital Excellence on the NOFA.

A summary, strategy and recommendations for changes by New America Foundation on the NOFA.

KEY POINTS

USDA and NTIA have developed a two-step application process:

- In step one, the goal is to create a pool of viable and potentially fundable applications.

- Step two is to fully validate the submissions in step one and identify the most highly qualified applications for funding.

BTOP funds are available through 3 categories:

- Broadband Infrastructure

- Public Computer Centers

- Sustainable Broadband Adoption.

Broadband Infrastructure category consists of Last Mile and Middle Mile in unserved and underserved areas.

Broadband definition: two-way data transmission with advertised speeds of at least 768 kbps downstream and at least 200 kbps upstream.

Public Computer Center will expand public access and capacity at entities that permit the public to use these computing centers.

The Sustainable Broadband Adoption category will fund innovative projects that promote broadband demand.

- $1.2billion for Last Mile Projects.

- $400M for grants Remote Area projects.*

- $800M for loans or loan/grant combos for Non-Remote projects.*

- $800M for loans or loan/grant combos for Middle Mile projects.

* Remote area means an unserved, rural area 50 miles from the limits of a non-rural area.

All awards under NTIA BTOP and USDA BIP must be made no later than September 30, 2010

For-profit corps that are willing to promote the goals of the Recovery Act and comply with the statutory requirements are eligible.

Eligibility factors:

- 1) application;

- 2) completion w/2 yrs;

- 3) technical feasibility.

Nondiscrimination and Interconnection Obligations:

- i. adhere to the principles contained in the FCC’s Internet Policy Statement

- ii. not favor any lawful Internet applications and content over others

- iii. display any network management policies and provide notice to customers of changes to these policies

- iv. connect to the public Internet directly or indirectly, such that the project is not an entirely private closed network

- v. offer interconnection on reasonable rates and terms to be negotiated with requesting parties

Conditions will apply for the life of the awardee’s facilities used in the project.

The scoring criteria for BIP and BTOP:

- 1 Project Purpose;

- 2 Project Benefits;

- 3 Project Viability;

- 4 Project Budget and Sustainability.

As follows;

- Project Purpose 25 pts: Proportion of Rural Residents Served in Unserved Areas 5 pts Rural Area Targeting 5 pts Remote Area Targeting 5 pts.

- Title II Borrowers (5 points). Recovery Act and other governmental collaboration (5 points).

- Broadband speed: Last Mile Projects of 20+ megabit per second service will be favored; 100+ megabits per second service for Middle Mile.

- Pts for demonstrating affordability and providing choice of provider.

- Pts for 25% discounts to “all critical community facilities in the proposed funded service area”.

- Critical community facilities: public facilities that provide community services essential for supporting the safety, health, well-being.

* Critical community facilities: emergency response and other public safety activities, hospitals and clinics, libraries, schools and more.

- Project Viability (25 points).

- Applicant’s organizational capability (12 points); Community support (2 points); Ability to promptly start project (10 points).

- Disadvantaged small businesses (1 point).

- Project Budget and Sustainability (25 points).

USDA and NTIA intend to announce the awards starting on or about November 7, 2009.

Unserved area:

- census block where at least 90% of HHs lack access to facilities-based, terrestrial broadband service @ 768 kbps.

Underserved area:

- 1. no more than 50% of the HHs in the area have access to facilities-based, terrestrial broadband service @ 768 kbps.

- 2. no fixed or mobile broadband service provider advertises broadband transmission speeds of at least 3mbps.

Courtesy of Fierce Broadband Wireless
June 28, 2009 — 11:33pm ET | By Lynnette Luna

The federal government won’t require the “buy American” stipulations it had originally planned to require of companies obtaining stimulus money to build broadband networks.

In a notice published Friday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is distributing $5 billion of the $7.2 billion earmarked for broadband deployments in unserved and underserved areas, said the Secretary of Commerce granted a limited waiver of the buy American stipulation in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to broadband equipment used in broadband networks deployed using stimulus money.

The waiver includes switching, access, transport, routing, customer premise and billing equipment as well as end user devices. The waiver doesn’t include optic cables, coaxial cables, cell towers and other facilities that are in abundance in the United States. For other equipment not on the list, companies can request waivers case by case.

Earlier this month, Cisco Systems and Alcatel-Lucent said they wanted the buy American provisions eliminated, arguing that the requirement for U.S.-made equipment would be “grossly inefficient” and a “radical departure” from normal practices. The two industry heavyweights also said such rules would slow down projects because telecom networks typically are made up of equipment from companies worldwide. Congress said funds provided under the law passed in February generally can’t be used for iron, steel and factory goods not produced in the U.S.

Ignorance is bliss!  Who says all ARRA stimulus has no rules and will not be funding until the end of this year?  Could you benefit from a grant for $50k?  $250k?  How about $1 million?

From the USDA website:

RURAL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE GRANTS (RBEG) PROGRAM

The RBEG program provides grants for rural projects that finance and facilitate development of small and emerging rural businesses help fund distance learning networks, and help fund employment related adult education programs. To assist with business development, RBEGs may fund a broad array of activities.

How much are the grants?
There is no maximum level of grant funding. However, smaller projects are given higher priority.

Who is eligible?
Rural public entities (towns, communities, State agencies, and authorities), Indian tribes and rural private non-profit corporations are eligible to apply for funding.

Define Rural
Rural is defined as any area other than a city or town that has a population of greater than 50,000 and the urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to such a city or town according to the latest decennial census. At least 51 percent of the outstanding interest in any project must have membership or be owned by U.S. citizens or resident aliens.

What types of projects are eligible?
The RBEG program is a broad based program that reaches to the core of rural development in a number of ways. Examples of eligible fund use include: Acquisition or development of land, easements, or rights of way; construction, conversion, renovation, of buildings, plants, machinery, equipment, access streets and roads, parking areas, utilities; pollution control and abatement; capitalization of revolving loan funds including funds that will make loans for start ups and working capital; training and technical assistance; distance adult learning for job training and advancement; rural transportation improvement; and project planning. Any project funded under the RBEG program should benefit small and emerging private businesses in rural areas. Small and emerging private businesses are those that will employ 50 or fewer new employees and have less than $1 million in projected gross revenues.

How to Apply
To apply for funding for the RBEG program, please contact your Rural Development State Office. (or contact us or see our services).

Availability of Funds
Each year, Congress provides program funding as called for in the Federal Budget. Fiscal Year funding levels will be made available as soon as possible after the beginning of each Fiscal Year.

Some guideline updates were posted on the NTIA BTOP and USDA RUS websites for their ARRA Broadband Stimulus grant and loan programs for grants and loans.  Below are the links.

Click here for USDA updates, posted 05/14/09

Click here for NTIA updates, posted 05/15/09

Breaking News: RUS To Post 2009 Funds Notice for Community Connect Grant Program

Courtesy of colleague Peter Pratt stimulatingbroadband.com

04/20/09 The Community Connect Program of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), division of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), will post its Notice stating available funds for the Program’s 2009 grant cycle within the next 12 to 18 hours.

The Notice will state the grant application deadline date for 2009 applications is June 19, 2009.

The Program within RUS funds telecommunications networks in designated rural and underserved areas of the domestic United States, with grants, loans, and loan guarantees.

The Community Connect Program is funded with annual federal appropriations for the USDA in the range of $20 million to $25 million. The Program is strongly supported by Members of Congress from rural states who routinely work to include the programmatic funding in each federal funding cycle’s Farm Bill. The RUS previously announced that “25 communities in 16 states” received a total of ”$15.6 million in broadband community connect grants” in the 2008 funding round.

Sources within the USDA have stated that the funds Notice will be posted either this evening, April 20, or Tuesday morning, April 21, Washington time (EDT).

Deadlines for grant, loan, and loan guarantee applications, and other terms and conditions of the Program, will be posted on the website of the “Rural Development Community Connect Grant Program,” at: http://www.usda.gov/rus/telecom/commconnect.htm

Note: The annual appropriations and programmatic guidelines for the Community Connect Program are distinct from the $2.5 billion in appropriations and guidelines yet to be issued for the RUS portion of the “broadband stimulus” funds contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the ARRA-derived RUS program is expected to be released on or about June 12, 2009 as previously reported by StimulatingBroadband.com here.

The June 12 target date for the NOFA is expected to be a joint issuance with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), as the rulemaking proceeding has been jointly conducted by both agencies to date.

Courtesy of colleague Peter Pratt stimulatingbroadband.com

Recommendations for RUS Broadband Stimulus Programs

Courtesy of colleague Liz Zucco via stimulatingbroadband.com

04/17/09 (Editor’s Note: With this posting, we welcome our colleague Liz Zucco. Liz has deep experience in successfully writing and winning grants and loans for rural carriers, community organizations, and healthcare providers. We welcome her invaluable expertise in the complex realm of federal grantsmanship, program management, and rural broadband. Liz knew rural broadband before rural broadband was cool.)

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) loan program within the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been invaluable in moving funding for rural broadband initiatives out into the field. However, when we examine the loan program and the Community Connect Grant program together, we see that there remain gaps in the methods and availability of funds for rural access. Even with the positive terms of federally backed loans, many times there is just not enough market potential to warrant a loan to serve a particular rural market.

While the Community Connect program provides grants, we believe the program suffers from limitations such as the inability to group together multiple townships to provide for management and operation of a larger system. Such systems scale better and tend to be more sustainable.

With the new $2.5 Billion funding soon to be made available for RUS from the American Recovery and Renewal Act of 2009 (ARRA), RUS now has an important opportunity to do better leverage its funds via some simple program reforms.

We would like to propose that the RUS consider making the following changes in its grant and loan strategies in order to fulfill the goal of access for all Americans.

1. Provide a loan/grant combination for RUS borrowers to assist them in leveraging their operational costs when they are willing to take the risk of a loan. This will give these good borrowers the chance to extend their footprint with assistance for capital costs, and repay monies borrowed to continue the RUS’ ability to make loans. This is a fair solution, as operators are in many cases struggling to get into the leaner and less populated areas. In many cases operators are forced to drop markets altogether due to the inability to justify capital costs. Yet these same borrowers could support their operational costs if given the opportunity to build into these areas with assistance in the form of a grant.

2. Allow the Community Connect program to encompass more than “one incorporated area”. This would allow entire counties to develop unified broadband initiatives, thus improving operational sustainability and better leveraging the costs of running networks in extremely rural markets. Many towns and hamlets are only but a few thousand people. By combining five or six small towns into one consolidated service area, the costs to build and maintain networks are apportioned over a larger revenue base. The rural service provider thus increases its chances of sustaining the network in a previously unserved region.

Credit: Colleague Liz Zucco via StimulatingBroadband.com

Our Thoughts :: The $100 Billion Issue: Cisco Lobbies to Clarify “Buy American” Clause
in Federal Stimulus Package

Courtesy of colleague Liz Zucco via stimulatingbroadband.com

04/16/09 As seen in a publicly disclosed e-mail message from Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the San Jose based networking equipment market leader is lobbying against a strict interpretation of the “Buy American” provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

We believe the Cisco statement to the federal agency is extremely significant. Far more than the $7.2 Billion in “broadband stimulus” funds in ARRA could be subject to the Buy American clause. We believe that upwards of $100 Billion in information technology (IT) appropriations are contained in all of the tech-related programs and funding lines in the Act. As outlined below, we believe that strict application of ARRA provisions meant to apply to roads, bridges, and public buildings can not reasonably be applied to the IT / telecom sector if appropriations from the Act are going to be spent on technology deployments, as intended.

Our analysis of IT funding portions of the Act agrees with that of several legal and market research analysts who have done detailed reviews of the legislation. We believe the approximate $100 Billion IT figure is reached when considering total appropriations, additional to the $7.2 Billion, for: healthcare record computerization, smart grid electric distribution control technology, federal computer system upgrades, public safety communications, intelligent transportation system (ITS) tech within the massive funding for road and bridge construction, computer learning and educational technology, and possible broadband rewiring of subsidized and public housing.

The e-mail message, reproduced on the NTIA’s public disclosure site reports that Cisco’s Jeffrey A. Campbell had an Ex Parte telephonic discussion with NTIA Senior Advisor Mark Seifert on March 23, 2009 to lobby NTIA against strict interpretation and enforcement of the Buy American language contained in Section 1605 of the Act (Section below).

Mr. Campbell, based in Cisco’s Washington office, is the firm’s Senior Director for Technology and Trade Policy, within the corporate Global Policy and Government Affairs division. As stated in his e-mail, he specifically sought clarification from NTIA that any network facilities built with BTOP funds not be ”...constituted a “public work” which would subject them to the “Buy American” requirement.” Alternatively, Campbell sought “a public interest waiver of the “Buy American” requirement…for all electronics equipment used in broadband networks.”

The report by the retained lobbyist who initiated the telephone discussion, and its public disclosure, are both mandated by the Obama Administration’s new disclosure rules for lobbyists seeking to influence any federal agencies relative to grant or loan expenditures from the ARRA. President Obama issued a Memorandum on March 20 which contained the strictures. As reported by the government watchdog group The Sunlight Foundation, the disclosure regulations set off a firestorm of concern on K Street when they were promulgated.

Our analysis:

1. To date we have only seen published stories on the Cisco meeting in Brad Reese’s column on Cisco in Network World, and on Democratic Underground. Cisco itself has not commented yet, although its government affairs site routinely stakes out free trade positions, as is common in the high tech sector. We believe the Cisco argument will receive far greater review and feedback from not only other electronics manufacturers, but from the telecom carriers that purchase their products, and from the bevy of trade associations representing the American high technology industry in Washington. Cisco itself has been instrumental in supporting the work of as many as 32 technology trade groups, including TechNet, in addition to its own robust lobbying presence.

2. The reality is that many components of any microelectronic array, and most semiconductors found in virtually any networking equipment, are fabricated abroad. Virtually no telecom network operating today in the United States, supporting either a public service provider or an enterprise, could function without the existence of global supply chains feeding into the final hardware product. We hope that review of the Act’s Sec. 1605 by NTIA will reasonably look at the realities of global manufacturing and trade in the telecom sector, as do current domestic content regulations of the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service.

3. Cisco and its supported high tech trade groups, like TechNet (the folks that lobbied for a 100 Mpbs national broadband goal back in 2002), have been in the forefront of pushing for a progressive national broadband policy for years. Cisco understands the equation of greater broadband deployment equals greater economic activity and higher employment levels in the American economy. Cisco’s push for clarification of the “Buy American” provision is a reasonable and an ultimately practical request. The goal of an effective national broadband strategy is within reach, in large measure thanks politically and technically to Cisco.

The Buy American language of ARRA is found under Section 1605 of the Act:

BUY AMERICAN SEC. 1605. USE OF AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFACTURED GOODS. (a) None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States. (b) Subsection (a) shall not apply in any case or category of cases in which the head of the Federal department or agency involved finds that — (1) applying subsection (a) would be inconsistent with the public interest; (2) iron, steel, and the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or (3) inclusion of iron, steel, and manufactured goods produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent. (c) If the head of a Federal department or agency determines that it is necessary to waive the application of subsection (a) based on a finding under subsection (b), the head of the department or agency shall publish in the Federal Register a detailed written justification as to why the provision is being waived. (d) This section shall be applied in a manner consistent with United States obligations under international agreements.

Credit: Colleague Liz Zucco via StimulatingBroadband.com

Connected Nation doesn’t know how to do the mapping properly, but they’re the only one publicly proposing they have the knowledge and resources.

Our partners do have the resources and have proven scientific results on the most accurate broadband mapping that includes wireless, copper, cable and even fiber.

In the interim, here are the notes from Connected Nation’s ex=parte meeting with the NTIA as filed on the NTIA’s BTOP website.

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants/comment.cfm?e=A5975F90-E10E-4695-9F5A-821F0686B521

NOTICE OF MEETING

On March 4, 2009, Tim Sloan, Dennis Amari, Alfred Lee, and Jim McConnaughey of NTIA’s Domestic Policy Office initiated a meeting with Brian Mefford and Phillip Brown of Connected Nation. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Connected Nation’s methodology for creating maps of broadband services availability and adoption in various States. During that discussion, Connected Nation made the following points:

•A reliable map depicting the availability and adoption of broadband services is critical to the development of orderly, transparent, and measurable projects to address unserved areas or to foster broadband service demand. A Geographic Information System (GIS) format at the street level is used for mapping and “gap” (identifying unserved or underserved areas) analysis.

•Mapping the availability/adoption of broadband service should be coupled with efforts to stimulate broadband demand in order to induce broadband service providers – both wired and wireless—to supply deployment data. Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are important to legally protect confidential and proprietary information. Other useful mapping includes statewide maps that depict (average) actual upload and download speeds.

•If Federal funding of broadband mapping includes a requirement for non-Federal matching funds, the government should allow matching funds to be provided over multiple years. The government should also limit the use of in-kind payments as matching funds.

Broadband Stimulus Public Comment Round Closes at Midnight, 60 Day Target Set for Grant Guidelines…

Courtesy of colleague Peter Pratt stimulatingbroadband.com

04/13/09 The public comment period for input to the two federal agencies writing grant guidelines for the total $7.2 Billion in broadband stimulus funding contained in the American Recovery and Renewal Act of 2009 (ARRA) closes today, April 13, at 12:00 midnight (EDT), local time in Washington DC. A federal agency spokesman further stated today that a target date of June 12 has been set for issuance of funding guidelines for the broadband grants and loans.

Mr. Mark Tolbert, Spokesperson for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the US Department of Commerce, confirmed for StimulatingBroadband.com late this afternoon that the public comment portal at the NTIA website would close this evening at midnight.

Importantly, Tolbert also confirmed that NTIA has set a “target of approximately 60 days” from today for official promulgation of its Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA). The NOFA will provide grant and loan applicants for all ARRA broadband stimulus funds, with guidelines for how to apply, and what selection criteria will be used for evaluation of applications. Tolbert also stated that there will not be another public comment round, nor period for reply comments as is common in proceedings of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), between now and the release of the NOFA on or about June 12.

Mr. Tolbert’s statement, giving this 60-day target cycle for issuance of the NOFA from today’s comment deadline is more specific than the range recently given by NTIA Policy Advisor Mark Seifert on April 2 to a House Subcommittee. In testimony to the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, chaired by Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA), Seifert stated that NTIA estimated release of the grant guidelines would take “a couple of months”.

In filed written testimony, Seifert stated, “A Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) will be published as expeditiously as possible, likely in the next couple of months, that will describe in detail how the application process will work, how we will evaluate the applications, as well as how grantees will be held accountable, including requirements for progress reports and job creation measurements, to ensure that taxpayer investments are protected.”

“We will be releasing a Notice of Funds Availability,” stated Tolbert this afternoon in a telephone interview “which will spell out criteria and instructions which lead into the application process.”

The NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) portal has been receiving public comments, which are made jointly to NTIA and to the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) division of the US Department of Agriculture, since opening on March 10. Over this 34-day period, just over 1,150 comments had been posted to the public comment site by Monday afternoon.

Just over 180 comments have been filed today alone, up to 5:30 pm (EDT). Comments posted today come from a diverse range of commentators, as has been typical of the previous postings. Comments today included those filed by New Jersey Governor John Corzine, by Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) the large American manufacturer of wireless infrastructure and personal wireless terminals and cell phones, by the Administration of Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, by the City of New York, by several telecommunications wireline and wireless carriers, and by Mayor Mark Hipsher of Grainger County, Tennessee.

The broadband stimulus provisions of ARRA appropriated a total of $7.2 Billion for grants, loans, and loan guarantee funds to be dispersed by the 2 federal agencies.

Courtesy of colleague Peter Pratt stimulatingbroadband.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Mar 19, 2009 – Main Street Broadband LLC announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Broadband South LLC, whose services are branded as Main Street Broadband, has begun build out of its advanced wireless network utilizing its recently closed $34 million USDA Rural Development Loan. The loan directly supports Main Street’s efforts to bring affordable wireless broadband services to over 120 communities in southern Georgia and northern Florida, and provides a key stimulus to economic development in the region.

“This is a great program and initiative,” states Mike Mies, Co-Founder and CEO of Main Street Broadband, “The USDA’s support for making broadband services available to rural communities and Main Street’s mission to provide and manage a state-of-the-art network for high speed internet and digital voice services is a winning combination.”

The communities targeted by Main Street have limited or no access to broadband services as a result of the high cost to run cable or fiber to provide the services. Fixed and mobile wireless broadband technologies are now able to provide reliable access at higher speeds and with a greater reach, making Main Street Broadband’s voice and data services affordable for the end users.

Main Street Broadband is deploying WiMax technology to provide voice and data services to each community the company serves. Broadband services support economic development for the businesses of these small communities as well as provide high speed internet access in most homes. Main Street is launching its WiMax service in Waycross, Georgia.

Main Street Broadband is not new to providing rural broadband services. Currently the company is operating in several communities in south east Georgia through its acquisition of Coastal Broadband in 2008.

1. # #

   ABOUT MAIN STREET BROADBAND – Main Street Broadband LLC is a privately held wireless broadband service provider headquartered in Atlanta, GA. Together with its subsidiary, Broadband South LLC, Main Street is committed to bringing affordable high speed internet access and digital phone service to the un-served and underserved markets in the southeast US. Main Street Broadband utilizes the latest in wireless broadband technology for both residential and business services to develop additional economic opportunities in the communities and advance the quality of life for its residents.

   • 

Below are tweet posts from @meitweet in attendance during #cs09 conference at a session panel on government’s role in broadband progression.

Congressional Chairman Boucher just beginning his remarks. #cs09

Boucher gives props to cable for passing 92% of homes with BB, but urges industry to use stimulus funds to connect the unconnected. #cs09 


Boucher: small cable companies have used RUS grants and loans to connect small, remote communities. #cs09 


Boucher: bill to protect reporters and ensure access to information. #cs09 


Blair Levin, Julie Veach of FCC, Larry Atlas of NTIA, and Ken Kuchno of RUS. #cs09 


Kuchno: we didn’t have many rules for distributing ARRA $. Atlas: we’re tasked with creating a variery of competitive grant programs. #cs09 


Veach: we don’t have any money to give away. Can I go now? 


Veach: NOI on national BB policy is very broad. #cs09 


Levin: President’s goal is use stimulus to ensure that the BB networks are approriate for the new economy, healthcare, environment. #cs09 


Atlas asked about how there approaching grant process. Atlas: want to create a well-rounded set of grants from a huge pool of apps. #cs09 


Kuchno: we can use 3% of $ for staffing, both internally and contracts. #cs09 


FCC adopted new data requirements for BB providers. Veach: much more granular info now, hoping to have a report out in coming months. #cs09 


Kuchno: if FCC gets data done in time, we wont reinvent the wheel. Atlas: will work with FCC to figure out best approach on best maps. #cs09 


Atlas: Notice of Funds Availability should be out before the end of June. Kuchno: ditto. We already have 7k comments filed! #cs09 


How to score applications? Levin: more people served, speed to market, maybe others. But precise algorithms prevent nec flexibility. #cs09 


Levin: need to prioritize waste, fraud and abuse, but it’s “a hard thing to score for.” perhaps “army of Wiki auditors” is necessary. #cs09 


Levin: #Obama is raising the likelihood of success by raising the cost of failure. [me: YUUUUS!] #cs09 


Veach: FCC will coordinate with other agencies re USF for broadband. #cs09 


Levin on non-discrim provision: I can’t find the meaning (or the $) in this issue. 98% of the conversation is hypothetical. #cs09 


Levin: unrelated, but it’s clear where the $ is in behavioral ads. #cs09 


NTIA and RUS still plan to do 3 rounds, not sure how they will split the $. #cs09 


Aspen Wireless Technologies is present in the Halls of the House for the Congressional Subcommittee Hearing on USF Reform.

Follow @wirelesscott on Twitter for real-time information from the event including statements and questions of the Congressional Telecom Sub-Committee’s members as well as testimony from the panelists.

UPDATE: Below are updates from @wirelesscott as broadcast in real-time via Twitter from the USF Reform Hearing (chronologically correct, start to finish):

###

At USF reform hearing at house energy I hope we can make this happen!!! Congress is very clear that USF needs to change.

USF reform to include public safety issues (e911 etc)... Thoughts?

FreePress says “make bold changes” in a 10year change to capital repayment and minor subsity model to save est’d 2/3 $

Tech policy institue fellow Scott walsten says do reverse auctions and make it a bid process for subsidy of least cost infrastructure option

Chairman Boucher asks how the $7.2B broadband stim can make it more feasible to deploy broadband. Has 1mbps minimum REQUIRED deploy get USF$

Boucher says thwre is an oversight committee for stim $ via ntia and USDA rus, also advising these committees / Administration support

Rep stearns from FL is sticking it to re telco, ya!!!

Rep Barton from Texas wants to repeal USF and calls it a snake that should be killed…

Rural areas cost $266mo to provide service as last resort carrier

Verizon believes that more granular USF (demographic) “mapping” below zip code level

Verizon says costs of middle mile are possibly driving cost greater than last mile ($100mo) in costs per customer

Verizon complains they can’t determine cost for wireless system costs per user… I call bullshit

Verizon and AT&T want competitive bidding (AT&T wants one-time capital awards)

Rep walden from Oregon made a joke about outhouses in this district and desirig flushing… The crowd laughs heartily.

Rep Weiner New York wants competition foe real and competitive bids with multiple winners. He is asking great questions

Rep Terry from Nebraska wants accountability

Rep Rush from Illinois is concerned over the costs from telephony to incarcerated persons, Chair Boucher agrees

He also asks if broadband is required just like electricity and water. The board unanimously agrees, the economist wants healthcare first

Rep Shimkus asks about wireless broadband for inclusion. The board says yes but asks to segment the two in compensation and minimum speeds

Questions about reliability of audit processes and costs by all, but the telco thinks they get the short end of the stick

Rep Butterfield north carolima asks about subsidizing services or devices for low income. Panel believes not from usf but important issue

Adjourned!

Just had excellent 1:1 meeting with Rep Walden of Oregon…

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END POSTS @wirelesscott, begin tweets by @meitweet from a session panel at The Cable Show 2009 #CS09

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Roger Sherman: House commerce committee will move other items first. Expect subcomm to look at SHVIRA, ICANN, USF. #cs09

Rosenworcel: will be looking at future of media writ large, DTV oversight, BTOP oversight. #cs09 


Timing for Senate confirms for tech jobs: Rosenworcel and Kurth agree, “we hope it’s soon.” #cs09 


Fried: broadband maps won’t be completed, but we’d like to see money go to “mapped” states first. #cs09 


Sherman: confident that NTIA and RUS are doing the right thing, trusting the regulators. Rosenworcel: senate planning hearings, ... #cs09 


Rosenworcel: ... See BTOP as a “down payment on our broadband future.” #cs09 


Sherman: OneEconomy will be at hearing tomorrow; they have great ideas on sustainable programs. #cs09 


Hearings on privacy? Bill? Fried and Sherman agree that nothing is on schedule but issues include DPI, 1st v 3rd party, intent of use. #cs09 


Rosenworcel on privacy: hearings last yr made clear that companies want to monetize info and consumers aren’t sure how it’s being used #cs09 


Fried: shvira will likely include must carry and adjacent market carriage. #cs09 


Rosenworcel on shvira: also need to update statute for digital broadcast. #cs09 


Retrans consent: time for Congressional review? Fried: Barton is a strong opponent of must carry. The market works. #cs09 


Phone competition: VoIP interconnection is a roadblock. Does FCC have right to guarantee? Rosenworcel: need to focus on intercon. #cs09 


Rosenworcel: some state interconn actions are “disturbing,” hope FCC will step in. #cs09 


Kurth on VoIP: if FCC thinks it lacks authority, we’re happy to provide. #cs09 


Sherman: committee members agree that wieleine porting should be as seamless as wireless porting. #cs09 


Expanding USF for broadband? Rosenworcel: need to 1st rationalize the current system, especially high-cost fund. This is FCC’s job. #cs09 


Fried: should consider reverse auction. Sherman: waxman and others have asked about days collection on USF. #cs09 


Kurth: agree that fundamental reform must take place first. #cs09 


Randy May asking a question re reverse auction and NTIA. Fried: we’d like to see a process for bidding for stimulus grants. #cs09 


Rosenworcel: finally we’re having a more nuanced dialogue on broadband. Adoption is a problem, perhaps greater than access. #cs09 


Adam Thierer: potential for content regulation. Rosenworcel: TV is a powerful force for good and harm, Rockefeller is concerned. #cs09 


Carriage disputes. Fried believes it’s hard for government to step in. #cs09

1. END TWEETS ###

In attendance at the National Telecommunications (NTIA) today and what an interesting event it turned out to be. Let’s begin with the stats of standing room only turning people away at the door attendance at the Department of Commerce in addition to between 2500 and 3000 virtual attendees via webcast, which to my amazement was generally highly available and operational minus a few refreshes.

This was the first of many upcoming meetings the USDA/NTIA/FCC jointly have scheduled but hopefully unique in its content as this turned out to be more of a reverse Q&A with the audience in charge of the answers and the joint teams seeking the answers. The desire to provide transparency in the process and inclusion was apparent, but I believe that between the overwhelming task of handing out these funds and the need for transparency the message, if there was one, got totally lost.

First off let’s be clear that the NTIA is not set up to hand out grants like the USDA’s RUS has for many years and they have struggled a bit through the DTV transition coupons too. But their new leadership, of which have yet to be appointed, will be ready and prepared to take the helm and drive the ship right. I am highly encouraged by the leadership abilities of Julius Genachowski at the FCC and Larry Strickling at NTIA (both pending submission and voted approval).

Ultimately there were no real answers but I also found the questions to be scarce in complexity and depth both by those who attended the microphone as well as in conversations in the hallways. It’s a mad dash to get money and an even more insane task ahead of the NTIA to hand out a good portion of that free stimulus money by April without totally botching the handouts or simply feeding the carriers.

So how should they do it? My friends and I have ideas and are working to put them in place, in the meantime these funds and the opportunity is real for real operators and startups with funding and shovel-ready projects.

AND… if your project is not yet shovel-ready, call us. If it is, call us to help ensure you get a fair shot at the stimulus.

ASPEN, Colorado—While top telecommunications executives talked at an annual free-market conference about delivering Wi-Fi without a business model, Wi-Fi entrepreneur Jim Selby and his Aspen Wireless crew were outside the room selling Wi-Fi cards to conference goers.

Those with Wi-Fi had Internet access from within the bunkerlike conference room while BlackBerries were silenced.

All the telecommunications players agree that customers want Wi-Fi—and they’re all willing to provide it. The difference is, Selby believes he can make money offering Wi-Fi now, using fixed wireless service as a base, while Verizon Wireless, Qwest Communications and SBC Communications are searching for a model that makes sense.

In the meantime, the relatively inexpensive cost of rolling out Wi-Fi allows the larger companies to experiment without a lot of risk. FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, a Republican who comes from the telecommunications industry, says the chance for businesses of all sizes to get involved shows the beauty of Wi-Fi and the unlicensed spectrum.

http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,60118,00.html