The Feds have supplied more information on the stimulus funding aka the Broadband Technology Opportunities Programs (BTOP) Recovery Plan. Well, by more I don’t mean a lot. They have outlined the timing:
Procurement for Grants Program Assistance Services March – June 2009
Award Contract for Grants Program Support June 2009
Preparation for Initial Solicitation for Proposals April – June 2009
Publish Notice of Funds Availability June 2009*
Initial Proposal Processing and Review Sept – Dec. 2009
Initial Grant Awards Made December 2009
Second Solicitation for Proposals Oct – Dec 2009
Third Solicitation for Proposals April – June 2010
All Awards to Be Made September 2010
Nothing surprising here. The RFP is still slated for June. It looks as if the deadline for application will be September. They’ll dole out funds in December. That gives at least two months for applicants to write the proposal once the criteria are announced. It’s a short turnaround – but I think it’s what we all expected. It’s about as much time as the NTIA’s previous TOP grants.
They plan to measure the following:
Job creation
Expanded broadband access — Number of areas where service will be made available or improved, and how many homes and businesses are passed by the network
Stimulate private-sector investments
High-speed access to “strategic institutions”
Encourage broadband demand
That too is helpful in that I think we can assume that the RFP criteria will parallel these measurements. It would be more helpful if they defined high speed. The same is true when looking at the objective; “BTOP will provide grant support to enable consumers in unserved and underserved areas of the United States to access broadband services.” No surprise there but it will be more meaningful when they (or the FCC) define unserved and underserved.
