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Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 8.24.09     By Gregory Monroe - August 24, 2009 10:36 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 we will update you on the latest from the FCC. The ARRA charged the Commission with task of developing a National Broadband Plan to be submitted to congress by February of 2010 that addresses broadband deployment, adoption, affordability, and the use of broadband to advance solutions to national priorities, including health care, education, energy, public safety, job creation, investment, and others. We will also devote a portion of this post to supplying an overview of the proposal Merit submitted for first round funding to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and USDA's Rural Utility Service (RUS) Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). To stimulate public dialogue and chronicle the development of the National Broadband Plan, the FCC has created a new blog (and a microblog on twitter). They've given it the cheeky title, Blogband.gov "The feedback, ideas, and discussions generated on this blog will be critical in developing the best possible National Broadband Plan," newly-appointed FCC chairman Julius Genachoski wrote in the blog's first post. The blog is updated frequently, nearly every day last week, which was the first week of its existence. One blog post mentions an "Omnibus Broadband Initiative," which I believe is either a crucial element of the National Plan, or the initiative it is under the auspices of. Last week the Omnibus Broadband Initiative held a series of 7 panels addressing issues technology issues fundamental to bringing broadband to every American. The panels included world-renowned experts, Henning Schulzrinne of Columbia University and Craig Moffett of Sanford Bernstein. As previously mentioned, the blog was created in an effort to stimulate public dialogue regarding the issue of National Broadband. On Thursday of last week, the FCC released a Public Notice (PN) which calls for public input on the plan’s definition of broadband. You can submit your own brief comment here using the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System. Click on the button for the National Broadband Plan Notice of Inquiry – Docket 09-51. You can also submit longer comments using the same docket number and a similar form. This excerpt from the Omnibus Broadband Initiative panel discussion serves as a nice segue into Merit Network's own stimulus plan submitted to the BTOP and BIP programs: "So-called "middle mile" costs were cited by one panelist as a significant impediment to broadband in rural areas and suggested that the Commission seek to address this issue. He also noted that nearly half of the estimated seven million unserved homes in the US are already accessible by cable systems and that stimulus funds directed towards these small cable operators would be a very cost-effective solution. In all, panelists presented an environment where technology can meet evolving broadband goals, but policy issues affecting the openness of the network, its capabilities and its ability to serve all the peoples of the nation will need to be addressed to realize broadband's full potential." Merit Network submitted a proposal to build high-performance fiber into four underserved and rural areas of Michigan. Additionally Merit Network will act as a sub-awardee on two proposed fiber builds in areas in Michigan that are unserved, underserved and rural as well. The true strength of the Merit proposal lies in its connection of community anchor institutions with leading-edge and future proof bandwidth, linking them to Merit’s existing, 1600-mile-plus, fiber-optic backbone, as well as the enabling of cost-effective bandwidth solutions to homes and businesses in underserved areas. Merit engaged ISPs—both local and backhaul providers—to create a unique collaboration that solves the residential, business and community anchor dilemma of legitimate broadband access in underserved regions. Merit would like to thank all of the amazing organizations and institutions who wrote letters of support for our grant proposal. The way the application reads now that they have all been collected and organized, it seems as though it would be incomplete without them! Check back for future updates on the progress of Merit’s stimulus proposal and the latest from the FCC, ARRA and more. Thanks for reading and have a great week! 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 8.17.09 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 Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 7.2.09 By Gregory Monroe - July 02, 2009 11:55 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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