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Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 7.2.09     By Gregory Monroe - July 02, 2009 11:55 am Greetings! Welcome back to Merit Network's continuing coverage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. This post is just one of many weekly updates intended to keep you informed on the latest developments in funding opportunities for cyber-infrastructure, research and education. I apologize for the delay in posting this week—here at Merit we were awaiting the much-anticipated Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the ARRA Broadband programs. A day late (only after months of ever-receding deadlines), it finally was made public yesterday! The Department of Commerce and the Department of Agriculture issued a combined NOFA for their respective Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). In case you're wondering, the USDA seems to have finally chosen a title for their ARRA Broadband grant program. The BIP has evolved from a plethora of confusing nomenclature, first with the vague Rural Utilities Service (RUS)—which is a long-standing program that is still in existence, the BIP possibly moving forward under its auspices—then Rural Development. But more importantly, the NOFA has been released. The NOFA is 121 pages long. In an effort to ease and expedite the grant application process, the NTIA has issued a Fact Sheet clarifying previously undefined terms in the ARRA legislation. Citing the NOFA, it defines 'Broadband Service,' as well as 'Unserved' and 'Underserved' with regard to Last Mile and Middle Mile Projects. The document also details the BTOP's Nondiscrimination and Interconnection obligations. The two Departments have created a common web-portal to support the applications, BroadbandUSA. Each program will accept applications between July 14th and August 14th, acknowledging that this is only the first of three potential award stages. There were some additional new developments accompanying the joint-NOFA yesterday. The USDA RUS program will use $2 billion for grants and the rest of the appropriations (approximately half a billion) will be rolled over to supplement another $7 billion in loans and loan guarantees as part of the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program. That totals $9 billion in new broadband investment—on top of the $4.7 billion in the NTIA BTOP program. From a PR stand-point, it appears the Obama Administration is really pushing the rural side of Stimulus Broadband. Yesterday the President announced a Rural Tour, lead by Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. Over the next several months, Secretary Vilsack will be joined by top administration officials, including several Cabinet Secretaries, at discussions throughout the country about how the USDA and other federal agencies are working to strengthen rural America. Part of this tour includes a series of public workshops in July to inform prospective applicants about the program and application process. Workshop locations are: Boston, MA; Charleston, W.Va.; Minneapolis, MN; Memphis, TN; Lonoke, Ark; Birmingham, Ala; Billings, Montana; Albuquerque, NM; and Los Angeles, CA. For more information about the Rural Tour. Federal agencies also used the spectacle of July 1st as an opportunity to draw attention to the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA). The ARRA authorizes NTIA to expend up to $350 million via the BDIA for the development and maintenance of a broadband inventory map. The BDIA in turn has created the State Broadband Data and Development Program. The State Broadband Data and Development Program is a competitive, merit-based matching grant program to fund projects that collect comprehensive and accurate state-level broadband mapping data, develop state-level broadband maps, aid in the development and maintenance of a national broadband map, and to fund statewide initiatives directed at broadband planning. The NTIA and BDIA expect to make roughly $240 million available for this first-round activity. They have issued a Fact Sheet and created an on-line user guide for the program-specific web-based mapping tool. Hopefully, this post will help you and your organization sort through all the new information from yesterday. You will find all of this, links and more at Merit's Stimulus Legislation Guide. Be sure to check back throughout the week for the latest updates as they become available. Thanks for reading and have a great holiday! Post a Comment   Blog Archive   Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 11.16.09 By Gregory Monroe - November 16, 2009 9:50 am Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 11.12.09 By Gregory Monroe - November 12, 2009 12:35 pm Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 11.3.09 By Gregory Monroe - November 03, 2009 12:21 pm Merit Network Blog Members in the News 10.30 By Brian Warkoczeski - October 29, 2009 4:28 pm Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 10.26.09 By Gregory Monroe - October 26, 2009 10:42 am Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 10.19.09 By Gregory Monroe - October 19, 2009 10:58 am Merit Network Blog Members in the News 10.08 By Brian Warkoczeski - October 08, 2009 1:03 pm Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 10.6.09 By Gregory Monroe - October 06, 2009 1:19 pm Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 9.29.09 By Gregory Monroe - September 29, 2009 12:33 pm Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 9.21.09 By Gregory Monroe - September 21, 2009 12:35 pm Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 9.16.09 By Gregory Monroe - September 16, 2009 12:41 pm Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 9.8.09 By Gregory Monroe - September 08, 2009 11:25 am Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 8.24.09 By Gregory Monroe - August 24, 2009 10:36 am Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 8.17.09 By Gregory Monroe - August 17, 2009 12:09 pm Merit Network Blog Members in the News 8.14 By Brian Warkoczeski - August 14, 2009 9:14 am Professional Learning MJTS Call for Presentations By Brian Warkoczeski - August 06, 2009 12:53 pm Merit Stimulus Blog Members in the News 7.24 By Brian Warkoczeski - July 24, 2009 12:47 pm Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 7.21.09 By Gregory Monroe - July 21, 2009 11:29 am Merit Network Blog Members in the News 7.16 By Brian Warkoczeski - July 16, 2009 11:05 am Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 7.13.09 By Gregory Monroe - July 13, 2009 11:06 am Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 7.7.09 By Gregory Monroe - July 07, 2009 11:19 am Merit Network Blog Members in the News 6.30 By Brian Warkoczeski - June 30, 2009 4:20 pm Merit Network Blog NANOG46 Videos Available By Brian Warkoczeski - June 25, 2009 9:31 am Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 6.23.09 By Gregory Monroe - June 23, 2009 11:54 am Professional Learning Archived Merit Member Conference videos now available By Brian Warkoczeski - June 17, 2009 9:43 am Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 6.15.09 By Gregory Monroe - June 15, 2009 11:41 am Professional Learning Merit Member Conference Concludes By Brian Warkoczeski - June 12, 2009 3:57 pm Professional Learning Day Two of Merit Member Conference Begins By Brian Warkoczeski - June 12, 2009 10:32 am Professional Learning Dale Dougherty Brings Ingenuity to Merit Member Conference By Brian Warkoczeski - June 11, 2009 2:47 pm Professional Learning Merit Member Conference Extra! 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