NTIA and RUS have announced extensions of the deadlines for some, but not all, submissions in response to the Second Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.… Continue Reading
The final run of the Broadband Stimulus Special will be pulling out of the NTIA/RUS station on March 15, 2010. The second (and last) NOFA has been released, detailing how you can apply for a ticket on the gravy train. All aboard!!!… Continue Reading
Maybe now the FCC will look at requests for extensions of deadlines more sympathetically. The FCC has requested, and been granted, a four-week extension of the delivery date for the National Broadband Plan.… Continue Reading
In the hope of making Round 2 of the BTOP/BIP process better for everyone than the still on-going Round 1, RUS and NTIA are asking for guidance -- but you'd better act fast, because the window for tossing in your two cents closes on November 30. Meanwhile, the Stimulus Czars have provided some guidance on how applicants should be dealing with environmental and historical preservation questions.… Continue Reading
As part of its ongoing efforts to get a handle on All Things Broadband, the Commission is seeking comments on the educational use of broadband -- in just about every possible sense. If you think you have something to add to the discussion, you'd better act fast - comments are due by November 20.… Continue Reading
We thought that a recent blog headline here captured the essence of our report on an FCC broadband workshop in an attention-getting way. Sure enough, it got the attention of one of the workshop's presenters, who had something to say about our choice of words.… Continue Reading
The FCC has been directed by Congress to develop a National Broadband Plan. The FCC in turn is conducting a series of workshops to discuss aspects of that Plan. I attended one of those workshops, expecting to hear the conventional wisdom about broadband. I was in for a surprise.… Continue Reading
RUS and NTIA have announced that the deadline for submitting BIP and/or BTOP applications electronically has been extended from August 14 to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on August 20, provided that such applications were already "pending" in the on-line "Easygrants® System" by 5:00 p.m. on August 14.… Continue Reading
You think you're the only one with questions about the broadband stimulus programs? Guess again. There are enough questions flying around that the Feds have posted, with a minimum of fanfare, a 13-page set of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the BTOP and BIP programs.… Continue Reading
Sure, the thought of "free" money for building broadband facilities is nigh on irresistible - but let's not forget that there's no such thing as a free lunch. The strings that are attached to BTOP grants may be more like thick steel cables, or even chains.… Continue Reading
If you have any interest in the Broadband Mapping Program, NTIA is presenting an "on-line workshop" on the program tomorrow, July 24, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. (EDT). Information about registering for the workshop -- and about the mapping program -- is available at the link below.… Continue Reading
We have compiled our "Broadband Stimulus 101" posts into a special edition of our telecom newsletter, "FHH Telecom Law". The result is a handy primer which assembles a considerable amount of useful information in one place. You can find a PDF version of that edition here.… Continue Reading
The government is now working on getting the $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funds flowing quickly - but in ways that achieve the goals identified by Congress as efficiently and effectively as possible. The following is a detailed summary of the scoring systems that will be used to rank applications for stimulus funding.… Continue Reading
Federal broadband stimulus cash is being doled out, by two different agencies under two different programs, based both on geographical/demographic considerations and on the level of broadband service already available in the areas proposed to be served. The fun comes in trying to figure out who gets what under which program.… Continue Reading
If you are lucky and perseverant enough to be awarded broadband stimulus funds, your travails are not yet over. In fact, they may just be beginning. Awardees under both BIP and BTOP must comply with a number of post-award requirements. Here's a thumb-nail introduction.… Continue Reading
Network neutrality, still in a long gestation, is gradually finding its way into the law - most recently, as a condition of participating in the broadband stimulus program. Systems taking funds under either BTOP or BIP component of the stimulus program must commit to a specific form of network neutrality.… Continue Reading
The FHH Broadband Stimulus Group offers an introduction to the mulitple elements of the RUS/NTIA NOFA which governs the initial $4 billlion phase of the government's broadband stimulus program.… Continue Reading
Fletcher Heald & Hildreth, LLC, has formed a Broadband Stimulus Group to assist prospective applicants seeking to participate in the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and/or the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). Those programs are being implemented by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) as part of the American Recovery … Continue Reading
NTIA and RUS have released their initial Notice of Funds Availability for broadband-related programs funded through the Stimulus Package. Applications for funding in this first round will be accepted from July 14, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. (ET) until August 14, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. In other words, the teller's window is about to open, the "Free Money - Come and Get It" sign is about to go up, and the line is getting ready to form. But beware: the application process is complex, detailed and daunting.… Continue Reading
A cautionary note with respect to an obscure, but potentially important, quirk in U.S. law that could mess up some plans to access Stimulus Package funds. Dillon's Rule could effectively bar, or at least seriously complicate, efforts by private entities to successfully dip into the deep pool of stimulus funds through the device of public/private partnerships.… Continue Reading
The FCC is accepting written comments on issues relating to distribution of Stimulus Package funds relating to broadband deployment. The deadline is April 13. The Commission is also scheduling ex parte meetings with the staff limited to 20 minutes from March 30 to April 3.… Continue Reading
The deadline for comments in response to the NTIA/RUS request for information on setting up programs to disburse Stimulus Package funds for broadband projects has been established: April 13, 2009.… Continue Reading
The newly-enacted-but-still-to-be-implemented Stimulus Package leaves a lot of questions unanswered. On March 10, the the agencies in charge met with the public to identify at least some of those questions and to begin the search for answers -- a search which must be completed under very tight time constraints.… Continue Reading
