The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announced today that they received almost 2,200 applications requesting nearly $28 billion in funding for proposed broadband projects reaching all 50 U.S. states.

This is the first round of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding aimed at expanding broadband access, with $4 billion available through loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations.

A preliminary analysis of applicant-reported data shows that NTIA and RUS received requests for grants and loans totaling nearly $28 billion. When including about $10.5 billion in matching funds committed by the applicants, there are over $38 billion in proposed broadband projects.

The applications break down as follows:

Infrastructure

• More than 260 applications were filed solely with NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), requesting over $5.4 billion in grants to fund broadband infrastructure projects in unserved and underserved areas.
• More than 400 applications were filed solely with RUS’s Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), requesting nearly $5 billion in grants and loans for broadband infrastructure projects in rural areas.
• More than 830 applications were filed with both NTIA’s BTOP and RUS’s BIP, requesting nearly $12.8 billion in infrastructure funding. (Applicants for infrastructure projects in rural areas must apply to BIP but were given the opportunity to jointly apply to BTOP in case RUS declines to fund their application.)

Sustainable Broadband Adoption

• More than 320 applications were filed with NTIA requesting nearly $2.5 billion in grants from BTOP for projects that promote sustainable demand for broadband services, including projects to provide broadband education, awareness, training, access, equipment or support, particularly among vulnerable population groups where broadband technology has traditionally been underutilized. (The Recovery Act directs NTIA to make at least $250 million available for programs that encourage sustainable adoption of broadband services, of which up to $150 million is allocated in this first round of grants.)

Public Computer Centers

• More than 360 applications were filed with NTIA requesting more than $1.9 billion in grants from BTOP for public computer center projects, which will expand access to broadband service and enhance broadband capacity at public libraries, community colleges, and other institutions that provide the benefits of broadband to the general public or specific vulnerable populations. (The Recovery Act directs NTIA to make at least $200 million available for expanding public computer center capacity, of which up to $50 million is allocated in this first round of grants.)

In the coming weeks, NTIA and RUS will post online a searchable database containing summaries of all applications received. The dollar figures cited today represent applicants’ self-reported totals from proposals submitted before the August 20, 2009, deadline at 5 p.m. ET.

TowerStream says it is applying for $100 million to $120 million under the Broadband Technologies Initiative Program (BTOP). The money will be used to provide “for areas in and around major cities that don’t have adequate Internet access,” including Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix and San Diego. The company has also applied for BTOP funds in its existing markets: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Seattle, says Unstrung.

Related “stimulus” stories on Dailywireless include; Motorola + SkyTerra Team for 700 MHz/Sat Radios, WildBlue: $30M, Shovel-ready, Free Money: Round Two, KeyOn Applies for $150M to Expand 3.65 Ghz WiMAX, Cricket & One Economy Team on Digital Divide, Sprint Announces Smart Grid Ambitions, Meraki Talks Up WiFi Stimulus, Broadband Mapping Grants Awarded, Broadband Nation: A New Moonshot, T-30 Days for The First $4B, and Broadband Jobs?

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Posted by Sam Churchill on Thursday, August 27th, 2009 at 11:18 am.