Grant Guidelines for Broadband Infrastructure Are Out!

We reported last week that the city has been gearing up to receive a bundle of federal-stimulus money that will be made available for broadband infrastructure through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). Out of a total of $7.2 billion in broadband funds from the stimulus bill, it's looking to get a piece of the $250 million to be set aside nationally to improve in-home broadband adoption programs for underserved areas, and of at least $200 million nationally for technology upgrades at "public computing centers" (libraries, senior centers, community colleges, etc.)

The BTOP funding is one of several big tech issues on the table this summer for New York, and techies have been waiting anxiously for the release of a set of guidelines outlining the application process. Today, as expected, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration made that document available on the brand new federal Web site, broadbandusa.gov.

The application process will run from July 14 to August 14. Here's a quick, general excerpt from the section about BTOP (the full document is 121 pages long):

The program is designed to extend broadband access to unserved areas, improve access to underserved areas, and expand broadband access to a wide range of institutions and individuals, including vulnerable populations. It will seek to serve the highest priority needs for federal investment—particularly projects that offer the potential for economic growth and job creation, and provide benefits to education, health care, and public safety. The program will support viable, sustainable, and scalable projects. NTIA will favor proposals that satisfy the public-interest objectives specified in the statute and detailed in this NOFA. These projects can serve as models for future investors once economic conditions improve.

Last month, the city's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications solicited ideas for stimulus-fund projects designed to close the gap in broadband access across the five boroughs. Previously, Nick Sbordone, a spokesman for the department, told us, "We want to be able to hit the ground running, so when these funds become available, we have a pretty solid idea of what some of the best practices are in terms of providing these services."

We'll be reporting more as the process unfolds.