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Merit Stimulus Blog 7.7.09
By Gregory Monroe - July 07, 2009 11:19 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.

This week will focus on the Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for both the NTIA's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and the USDA's RUS Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). The two programs issued the joint NOFA last Wednesday, July 1st.

Having had the long holiday weekend to read and digest the NOFA, we will offer an overview. This is by no means a comprehensive summary. We encourage you to read the NOFA yourself.

We have identified a few peculiar elements to the NOFA that seem contradictory to both the recent public statements from the NTIA and RUS as well as the ARRA itself. These will be addressed in the second portion of this post.

The two programs have created a common web-portal to support applications, BroadbandUSA.gov. Each program will accept first-round applications between July 14th and August 14th. Funds are anticipated to be awarded by December '09. There will be two subsequent rounds of funding, with all funds awarded by September 2010.

The BIP program will support $2 billion in grants. $1.2 is designated for first-round grants; $400 million for remote, $800 million for non-remote areas. Another $800 million is designated for loans or loan-grant combinations. The USDA RUS has also rolled out an additional $7 billion in loans through its Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program (application linked on Stimulus Legislation Guide).

The NTIA BTOP will issue $1.2 billion for infrastructure grants in 'Unserved' and �Underserved� areas for 'Last Mile' and 'Middle Mile' builds. $50 million is designated for "public computer centers," schools, libraries and other community anchor institutions will be eligible candidates to receive such funds. $150 million is designated for "sustainable [demand-side] broadband adoption."

The NTIA has issued a Fact Sheet which gives definition to key ARRA terms such as 'Unserved,' 'Underserved,' 'Last Mile' and 'Middle Mile.' These terms are also defined in the NOFA itself.

It should be noted here that U.S. census blocks are the geo-increment for BTOP proposals. Maps can be accessed and downloaded at www.census.gov. Though this new census-block metric designation poses significant problems which will be discussed later in this post.

The BTOP requires a minimum of 20% cash sharing or matching funds for all proposals. Federal funds may not be used as matching funds, except as provided by federal statute. *In-kind contributions, including third-party in-kind contributions, are non-cash donations that may count toward satisfying the non-federal matching requirement of a project's total budget. 5% of pre-application expenses are considered eligible for award funding. Private companies are also eligible to apply and submit proposals for any of the above BTOP funding.

One the strangest elements of the NOFA�one that is awaiting further clarification�regards which program (BIP or BTOP) a proposal for broadband infrastructure should be submitted to. The NOFA reads:

"All applications to fund broadband infrastructure in proposed funded service areas which are at least 75% rural are required to be submitted to RUS for consideration under BIP. If such applicants also choose to be considered for BTOP funding, they must complete the additional elements required for BTOP infrastructure applicants � NTIA may make awards with respect to such applications NTIA determines to be meritorious after RUS has reviewed the application and determined not to fund it."

It seems that if any project serves a rural area, it must go through the BIP first and be declined before being sent to the BTOP�that is a concern. Another unfortunately strange twist in the NOFA regards community anchor institutions. It appears that this NOFA is geared almost entirely toward providing residential consumers in rural areas with very low-speed broadband service (768 Mbps down � 200 Mbps up).

There are major problems with the decision of the NTIA and RUS to use census blocks as provisioning metrics for proposals. There is very little data available to identify 'Unserved' and 'Underserved' with regard to census blocks. Previous broadband initiatives were based on 2007 zip code data. Furthermore, there is language in the NOFA that requires a proposal to provide service to the entire territory of a census block.

The definitions of 'Unserved' and 'Underserved,' 'Rural,' 'Last mile' and 'Middle mile' prove to be rather ineffectual. In fact, much of the NOFA's statutory language renders community anchor institutions and municipalities ineligible to apply. And because most Research & Education Networks (R& E), Regional Optical Networks (RON) and StateNets focus solely on providing critical service to anchor institutions and municipalities, the end-user customer focus of the NOFA does not align with their non-profit mission status.

In the ARRA, community anchor institutions were given special consideration and high priority. Now it seems they have been disregarded and pushed to the backburner of the BTOP and BIP. This comes as a blow not only to the R& E community, but for Americans everywhere. Community anchor institutions serve the public interest. They require a higher capacity for telemedicine, distance learning and a vast array of other services that improve the lives of community members everywhere. Consistent with the 'Unleashing Waves of Innovation' white paper, connecting community anchor institutions with the broadband service necessary is the most economically sound investment the ARRA can make for America�the most efficient with the best return.

The Schools, Health and Libraries Coalition (SHLB) has issued a set of a Talking Points voicing concern with the July 1st NOFA's neglect of community anchor institutions. Please speak out, spread the word, write letters and telephone your members of congress. Read them for yourself and put these Talking Points to use.

You will find a link to the SHLB Coalition Talking Points 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 week!

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