The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, along with the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service, is still sorting through nearly $28 billion worth of applications for broadband stimulus grants–nearly seven times the $4 billion available for the program in this first round.
NTIA head Larry Strickling said it wouldn’t be awarding the first broadband stimulus funds until December. That’s a month later than expected, Strickling admitted Tuesday, citing the complexity of reviewing the 2,200 applications.
In testimony before a Senate oversight committee on Tuesday, Strickling said the number of grant applications was larger than anticipated and will require more time for review. He also said that the agency would not conclude the first round of funding at the end of this year as they previously planned, and would instead delay that until February.
In this first round of funding, NTIA will award up to $1.6 billion in grants. Of this amount, up to $1.2 billion will fund broadband infrastructure, both last mile and middle mile projects. We will also award grants totaling $50 million for public computer center projects and $150 million for projects that promote broadband demand and affordability.NTIA received first round applications from a diverse range of parties including State, tribal, and local governments; nonprofits; industry; anchor institutions, such as libraries, universities, community colleges, and hospitals; public safety organizations; and other entities in rural, suburban, and urban areas. Working together, NTIA and RUS posted online – at www.broadbandusa.gov – a searchable database containing descriptions of all applications received, as well as maps of the geographic areas of coverage proposed by applicants in the first funding round.
NTIA was pleased to see strong participation from the small business community, especially from socially and economically disadvantaged businesses (SDBs). Of the 1,785 applications to the BTOP and joint BTOP and BIP programs, 13.9% were from SDBs or from applicants collaborating with SDBs. In this round, SDBs requested approximately $1.86 billion in federal grants and loans, with a total match commitment of $640 million. NTIA is committed to ensuring that SDBs have every opportunity to participate in this historic initiative.
Strickling said that a panel of three independent experts were evaluating each application against criteria established by the program, including the proposed project’s purpose, benefits, viability, budget and sustainability. Those scoring the highest have been moved into a due diligence review, where staff and NTIA contractor Booz Allen are further reviewing the applications.
Anna Gomez, NTIA’s deputy administrator and deputy assistant secretary for communications and information, said in a keynote address at the PCIA Wireless Infrastructure show last month that the agency hopes to have all of the grants announced by the end of the year.
The decision by the NTIA to delay the payout of the first broadband stimulus grants until December came as bad news for rural WiMAX providers counting on the funds.
According to Luisa Handem, managing director of the Rural Mobile Broadband Alliance (RuMBA USA), the delay is affecting several RuMBA-affiliated companies and will both delay and jeopardize some wireless broadband programs initiated by the group’s members.
“Money needs to be on the ground and in the hands of those deploying broadband as soon as possible,” Handem said. “This is not welcome news.”
