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Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 9.16.09     By Gregory Monroe - September 16, 2009 12:41 pm 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'll focus on the recent activity from the Broadband USA folks, that's the NTIA and RUS and their Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). Since the deadline to submit BTOP and BIP applications has passed, we have not heard a great deal of clamor from either organization; however, they're making a splash this week with some issues regarding Public Notice Filings, the publication of mapping related efforts and their plans for future funding rounds. Larry Strickling, Assistant Secretary of the NTIA, testified before a House Subcommittee on September 10th, regarding the current state of ARRA Broadband-related efforts. His testimony provides a nice summary of the first round of funding. It contains a breakdown by the numbers, noting that far more money was requested than is available. The Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLBC) provide the following observations external to Strickling’s testimony: there were 3 times as many Last Mile applications (1130) as Middle Mile applications (368); some companies filed a huge number of applications in a single state (Virginia and North Dakota, for instance); and many companies filed applications with proposed funded service areas in states that are not where they are headquartered. The Strickling testimony devotes a good deal of narrative to the current review process, making the bold claim that the NTIA will make its first awards by the end of September. He goes on to mention that there is a very real possibility that the anticipated second and third rounds of funding will be consolidated into just one final round to distribute the remaining $4 Billion plus between the two organizations (~approximately) in funding. The NTIA and RUS drew quite a bit of attention when they published a searchable database of Public Notice Filings (PFNs) of all eligible applications they received for the first round of funding (though it is not currently active). The uproar came when the questions started pouring in from all corners of the the broadband community, wondering whether the database disclosed an accurate review status of the application (a claim with some evidence to support). There is nothing but speculation at this point, but it is my understanding that the database was an internal pilot page that was discovered by an anxious applicant searching for further details. The page has since gone inactive. Though currently inactive, the PFN database will be an item to watch in the coming weeks, as a map of each applicant's proposed service area is included with a tab for incumbent providers to protest an applicant's claim to the unserved or underserved status of an area. The service areas resemble the maps created by the Broadband USA Online Mapping Tool and contain all information requested in question 14 of the application. The database can be searched by state or by company. It also lists a close-date for protest. For projects with proposed funded service areas in Michigan, the close-date for protest is October 3rd. In other news, there have been several reports from State CIOs and CTOs that confirm that the NTIA has dumped all of their applications onto State governments. If you recall, guidelines have maintained since the beginning of July that the first phase of the application review process would be handled by the NTIA's contracted, expert panel of reviewers, and only after the initial review to eliminate the weakest applications would the State governments prioritize the remaining proposals for a final cut. Strickling reiterated this procedure in his testimony to Congress. This apparently is not the case. To make matters worse, it appears that the states failed to pass on any recommendations or guidelines the states should follow when making their recommendations. I find it discouraging as it appears the NTIA is baulking and leaving the truly difficult decisions up to the states so that they can deflect blame if need be. We will keep you posted on any breaking developments should if they arise via our stimulus-info@merit.edu feed. If you would like to sign up for updates, log on to www.merit.edu/stimulus and enter your e mail address in the side bar on the right of the screen. 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 9.8.09 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 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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