The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accelerated the timeline to apply for the second round of broadband stimulus proposals, but a new database provides the data necessary for communities, carriers and consultants to complete their applications before the impending deadline.
BroadBand Scout is said to allow communities to meet broadband usage/availability data-reporting requirements, cutting NOFA 2 proposal prep time, and independently verify broadband data collected elsewhere. Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) was announced a few weeks ago. Here are NOFA 2 requirements for the $4.8 billion round in broadband stimulus funding by NTIA and RUS.
Applications are now due between Feb. 16 and March 15, 2010 for the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) and the RUS Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). They will not consider incomplete applications.
ID Insight, a data and analytics company, developed BroadBand Scout. The company says it uses an analytical survey process, accessing the millions of records in their proprietary database that were initially assembled to track Internet usage. By combining known Internet access information with address-related data, BroadBand Scout claims to allow clients to see accurate, unbiased connectivity and usage at the most granular level.
“The clock is ticking and with just a month until the second-round deadline, many communities are scrambling right now,” says broadband industry expert and Successful.com president Craig Settles, who is partnering with ID Insight to deliver consulting services.
According to Settles, BroadBand Scout provides:
- Carriers for any geography, and respective market share;
- Internet usage rate for that geography; and
- Actual upload and download speeds.
Because first-round funding is still being awarded, many grant applicants may not find out whether the geographic area they’re concentrating on is open to them until just before the deadline. “With this impossibly short timeline, BroadBand Scout can help communities create or revise their maps much more quickly. It provides the exact data communities are looking for to complete Form 10,” Settles says.
Related Dailywireless articles include; Round Two Stimulus: $4.8 Billion for Broadband, NTIA: Another $63M in Grants, $300M for 14 Broadband Projects.
