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Merit Stimulus Blog Merit Stimulus Blog 10.19.09     By Gregory Monroe - October 19, 2009 10:58 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 post will provide you with updates on the status of the State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program and the latest from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). We'll also touch base with the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB) and offer some speculation regarding the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the future of BTOP in the coming months. The NTIA has announced the first state broadband mapping grants. The winners are: California, Indiana, North Carolina and Vermont. The State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program is a matching grant program that implements the joint purposes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA). The program provides grants to assist states or their designees in gathering and verifying state-specific data on the availability, speed, location and technology type of broadband services. The data they collect and compile will also be used to develop publicly available state-wide broadband maps and to inform the comprehensive, interactive, and searchable national broadband map that NTIA is required by the Recovery Act to create and make publicly available by February 17, 2011. NTIA reports that they received applications representing all 50 states, 5 territories and the District of Columbia to participate in the program, meaning that all governments that were eligible to apply for grants did so, whether directly or through a designated entity. The agency is currently reviewing the remaining 52 applications and expects to continue announcing awards on a rolling basis throughout the fall. The State of Michigan has designated Connected Nation, Inc. to submit their grant proposal and complete the mapping effort. In related NTIA news, states across the nation are submitting their prioritized lists of applications to the office of the Assistant Secretary, Larry Strickling, for further consideration. If you recall, the NTIA unexpectedly sent all BTOP applications they received to the states for initial consideration before they began work on the evaluation process. The move drew criticism from some, as it appeared that the Administration was punting, either to buy more time, or to absolve themselves from political criticism—leaving it up to the states to make the hard decisions. Those who submitted applications are being notified that state government has prioritized their application in the greater pool and that the NTIA will begin the "next step" of the vetting process. One in particular, submitted by OneMaryland, is a multi-county plan that covers about 1/2 the state. While it is reported that Texas sent a whopping short list of 52 prioritized projects to the NTIA. An advisor to the Assistant Secretary Strickling, shared that the Administration is "on track" to announce the first round of funding in November, with the request for public comment on the Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) out sometime before the end of October. That second NOFA would be out by the end of the year, with a rough due date for proposals in February. This is all consistent with what we have heard before. The advisor also confirmed that chances are good NTIA will hold just one more round of funding, rather than the two (three total) it had initially embarked upon at the onset of this process. In other news, the SHLB Coalition has welcomed three new members to their group. Representatives from the Knight Foundation, NeST Group and Zayo Networks will join the Coalition’s push to obtain more preference for anchor institutions in the forthcoming NOFA. Despite being given clear priority in a statute of the ARRA legislation, countless anchor institutions across the country were unable to submit applications due to regulations that were clearly suited to telco providers. 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 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 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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