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NTIA and RUS Issued a Notice of Inquiry Seeking Information on Implementation of the Broadband Deployment Programs under the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

March 4 , 2009
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         Comments Due: April 11, 2009

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce (“NTIA”) and the Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (“RUS”) issued a “Joint request for Information and Notice of Public Meetings” in connection with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the “Stimulus Act”).

The Stimulus Act leaves much discretion to the agencies to define and administer the broadband programs and establish priorities for awarding the funds, which will be granted on a competitive basis. Until the agencies adopt implementing regulations, the dates of the filing windows, exact criteria for competitive selection and other specifics of the application process will remain uncertain. That said, NTIA and RUS are operating under a very tight time frame to get the funds into the hands of service providers and other recipients and have already taken the initial steps to implement their rules governing the programs. Thus, it is not unreasonable to expect that program rules will be put in place, and applications accepted, in a matter of several weeks.

In the meantime, interested parties should begin to consider how to structure their projects and present their applications to maximize their opportunities to receive funds. Applicants are cautioned that the programs under the Stimulus Act will be conducted under the utmost scrutiny and transparency. Therefore, applicants must be very careful to structure their projects to comply with all laws and other requirements, provide complete and accurate information in their applications and not make commitments that cannot be met.

This memorandum summarizes some of the relevant considerations for project design and application submission.

The Stimulus Act, which was enacted on February 17, 2009, provides $7.2 Billion of funding for broadband deployment, adoption and mapping. The funding is divided into two broadband programs, one ($2.5 Billion) consisting of grants, loans and loan guarantees to be administered under RUS and the other ($4.7 Billion) consisting of grants to be administered by NTIA.

Click to view the memorandum in its entirety