Brewer to Host Broadband Meeting

A few weeks ago, we did a post breaking down what's at stake for New York City as it prepares for the fast-approaching Aug. 14 deadline to apply for broadband infrastructure funding through the federal stimulus bill's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

You can learn more about that tomorrow, July 28, when Council Technology in Government Committee Chair Gale Brewer and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications host a meeting about the city's BTOP application. It's scheduled for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the third floor conference room of DCTV on Layfayette Street.

As Government Technology reported last week, municipal governments had expected to have 60 to 90 days to get their applications ready. But when the grant application guidelines were released on July 14, they provided only a month-long window, and now some local governments are scrambling to make the deadline.

In the weeks before the application guidelines were released, the city was collecting ideas from broadband service providers, non-profits and other agencies. At the time, DoITT's spokesman, Nick Sbordone, said the city wanted 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."

Read the letter Ms. Brewer's office sent out last week after the jump:

July 24, 2009

Dear Friend,

In an effort to involve the entire technology and not-for-profit community, I would like to encourage your participation in a meeting on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 6 PM. At this meeting, we would like to work with a number of organizations to connect with other institutions and collaborate on a general plan for New York City’s BTOP application. 

The application for the grants was released on July 9, 2009, and is due by 5 PM on August 14, 2009.  After a thorough review, the NTIA will announce the finalists in September 2009 and will dole out the funds in November 2009.  The NTIA expects the project to be completed within two to three years of the award date.  The first of three funding rounds will provide about $1.6 billion in competitive grants to all fifty states.

Here is the breakdown for NTIA’s $1.6 billion BTOP [NOFA 527-545] grant:

• $1.2 billion allocated to provide last- and middle-mile services to unserved and underserved areas;
• $50 million for computer centers;
• $150 million to drive broadband demand; and
• $200 million in discretionary funding to spread among the aforementioned categories, when in need;

Also included in the definitions for unserved and underserved areas.  For “last mile” funding purposes in New York City, an underserved area can be designated by meeting one of three criteria:

• No more than 50 percent of households have access to facilities-based terrestrial broadband;
• No fixed or mobile provider advertises speeds of at least 3 megabits per second (Mbps);
• The rate of subscribership is 40 percent or less.

The NTIA’s Notice of Funds Availability for the BTOP program aims at access and implementation of net neutrality.  “Without a non-discrimination condition, network operators could give preferential treatment to affiliated services, or charge some application and content providers for ‘fast lanes’ that would put others at a competitive disadvantage,” the notice said. Furthermore, applicants can deploy nondiscrimatory network management methods and offer managed services that use private connections, such as telemedicine, public safety communications, and distance learning.

The application process is ranked on a 100-point system.  The rubric is outlined in the following way:

1. Project Purpose (30 points)
2. Project Benefits (25 points)
3. Project Viability (25 points)
4. Project Budget and Sustainability (20 points)

For more information on this breakdown, please log on to www.broadbandusa.gov and click on the “Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Broadband Initiatives Program and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program”.  Read through lines 1410 through 1593.

To that, we would like to join us for a brief meeting regarding BTOP on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 6 PM.   The location will in Manhattan and you will be notified about the location very soon.  Please contact Kunal Malhotra, Budget and Legislation Director, at (212) 788-6975 or at kmalhotra@council.nyc.gov if you have any questions or would like attend the NYC BTOP meeting.

These grants are all competitive.  We hope that groups will partner so to be successful in bringing projects to the five boroughs.

 Sincerely,

 Gale A. Brewer