Community and Economic Development

Washington, March 1 – Calls from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other public interest groups looking for a broadband stimulus deadline extension fell on deaf ears at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration which has decided to adhere to it’s March 15^th deadline.

Washington, Feb. 16 – At 8 a.m. this morning, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Service began accepting applications for the $4.8 billion in Recovery Act funds that remain available for round two of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and the Broadband Initiatives Program.

Washington, Jan. 27 – One of the most prominent components of last year’s stimulus package is set to undergo a significant overhaul, due in large part to feedback from the applicants and stakeholders who will be competing for funds.

Washington, Jan. 13 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Service have announced the launch of BroadbandMatch, a new online tool to facilitate partnerships among prospective applicants to the agencies’ broadband grant and loan programs.

Washington, Nov. 16, 2009 – In an effort to improve and streamline the Recovery Act’s broadband grant program, a pair of federal agencies is asking for comments on how they can improve the program and they have announced that they will only offer one more round of funding.

Washington, Nov. 13 – Following the influx of applications that requested nearly seven times the amount of available broadband funding provided by the Recovery Act, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Rural Utilities Service now have their hands full with many logistical challenges.

Washington, May 6 – The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today the allocation of $1 billion in Recovery Act grant funds to nearly 1,200 state and local governments to support job growth and community development.

To support the overarching goal of stimulating the economy by investing in physical and data infrastructure projects, the economic stimulus package currently being debated by Congress includes considerable funding for Distance Learning and Telemedicine grants and loans. Administered by the Rural Utility Service, the DLT program is designed to meet the educational and health care needs of rural residents through the use of advanced telecommunications technologies.

Washington, March 19 — During the debate leading up to passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA; Pub. L. 111-5), the proposed funding for improving Internet access in rural America became one of the most widely talked about features of the stimulus package. President Obama made enhanced broadband access a priority of his economic agenda, and Congress made good on that initiative by authorizing $4.7 billion for a new grant program, called the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

Washington, Aug. 28 – Although the broadband initiative contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act only offers $7.2 billion in total funding, nearly $28 billion in requests were submitted via more than 2,200 applications in the program’s first funding round.