January 6, 2010
Greetings,
On Thursday, December 17, 2009, Vice President Joe Biden announced the first projects to receive funding from the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Stimulus Package.
There has been confusion of late about what implications these first awards have for Merit Network’s proposal, REACH-3MC, which was not awarded funding on December 17. This update clarifies where Merit and our effort to achieve the most for Michigan from the ARRA stand in the selection process.
The awards announced with Vice President Biden’s press conference were the first of many to come over the next 55-plus days. Totaling funds of $183 million, the winning proposals of December 17 account for less than 10 percent of the roughly $3.4 billion to be dispersed in the first round of funding. Though Merit would have liked to have been among the first awarded, there is still a great deal of time and potential resources remaining.
As many of the organizations awarded funding were not notified until the awards were made public, there is no telling when Merit will receive a definite answer regarding REACH-3MC. Applications like Merit’s that were submitted to both BIP and BTOP should expect some delay in the award process.
REACH-3MC has advanced far in the selection process—passing the preliminary evaluation and completing a large portion of the due diligence phase—and though nothing is guaranteed, that is great news. We await further indication with confidence.
If you have any further questions regarding the first round of ARRA broadband funding please contact [email protected]
To discuss efforts to leverage REACH-3MC fiber in the second round, please contact your Member Relations Manager: [email protected]
Thank you for your ongoing interest and support of our efforts to expand the vibrant Merit Community in Michigan. We look forward to the next interval when we can pass along more good news.