BROADBAND FUNDING: YOU NEED TO ACT NOW

1
BROADBAND FUNDING YOU NEED TO ACT NOW

• Nicholas P. Miller
• February 24, 2009
• PTI Webinar

2
Program

• Introduction
• Purpose and Permitted Uses
• Eligibility and Attractiveness of your
  communitys project
• What you should be doing now
• Role of your state
• Other programs of interest
• Checklist
• Help Available

3
Your Takeaway Message

• Time is of the essence.
• Money will be awarded QUICKLY
• All by September 30, 2010
• Many may not qualify
• Design your project to comply
• Be proactive at key federal agencies
• Commerce National Telecommunications and
  Information Agency (NTIA)
• Agriculture Rural Utilities Service (RUS)
• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

4
What is at Stake?

• 7.2 billion for broadband projects
• NTIA 4.7 billion
• NTIA is all grants80/20 match
• RUS 2.5 billion.
• RUS is loans, loan guarantees, plus grants
• assume 75 of project must be rural
• Other money elsewhere?
• E.g. 2B available in Health IT programs.

5
Other Specific Allocations

• 200M expanding public computer center
  capacity (community colleges and public
  libraries)
• 250M innovative programs to encourage
  sustainable broadband adoption.
• 90M public outreach and education to
  vulnerable populations one-to-one assistance
  for DTV converter box installations.

6
Key Federal Agencies

• NTIA Department of Commerce (National
  Telecommunications and Information Agency)
• RUS Department of Agriculture (Rural Utilities
  Service)
• FCC Federal Communications Commission
• will work with NTIA and RUS on policies and
  definitions
• will establish a national broadband plan
• Will develop Broadband map

7
NTIA- Mandate

• NTIA Administrator (who has not yet been
  nominated) to establish the Broadband Technology
  Opportunities Program (BTOPS) a national
  broadband service development and expansion
  program
• Program shall complement (not conflict with)
  other Federal broadband initiatives.

8
NTIA Mandate (contd)

• NTIA Administrator shall
• Establish and implement grant program as
  expeditiously as practicable
• Ensure all awards made before the end of fiscal
  year 2010
• Seek assurances that projects will be completed
  within 2 years following award
• Make regular reports to Congress on progress.

9
NTIA Purpose of BTOPS

• Broadband access in unserved and underserved
  areas.
• Training and equipment to facilitate greater
  use of broadband by
• Schools
• Libraries
• medical and healthcare providers
• higher education
• community support organizations
• Improve public safety access to and use of
  broadband

10
BTOPS Grants

• Request for Competitive Grant Proposals
• Broadband Infrastructure
• Must meet non-discrimination and network
  interconnection obligations
• At least FCCs broadband policy statement (FCC
  05-15, adopted August 5, 2005).
• Broadband Equipment, including
• Instrumentation,
• Networking capability, hardware and software,
• Digital network technology,
• Innovative programs to encourage sustainable
  broadband adoption
• Public computer center capacity

11
BTOPS Grant Eligible Applicants

• State local governments
• Non-profits
• Public-private partnerships
• any other entity that meets a to-be-defined
  public interest test
• When will this standard be established?
• Local government needs a strict standard
• to get money where needed.

12
What Rules will Govern the Grants

• NTIA, in consultation with FCC must define
• unserved area
• underserved area
• Public Interest obligations for a private
  entity to seek funding
• At least one grant per state
• Project completion within 2 years of grant
• Project would not have been implemented during
  the grant period without Federal grant assistance

13
What Rules will Govern the Grant?

• Buy American terms are favored but not
  mandated.
• Davis-Bacon Act Labor rates apply, i.e.
  employment salaries must meet or exceed the
  prevailing local rates.
• Compliance with NTIA/FCC published
  "non-discrimination and interconnection
  obligations." (See FCC's 2005 Internet policy
  statement.)
• Extensive project reporting and auditing

14
Is the Grant 100 funding?

• No, the NTIA grants require a 20 local match
• Waiver is possible if financial need
• NTIA current rules provide for in-kind matches.
  (15 C.F.R. 24.24)

15
What Counts as a In-Kind?

• In past, NTIA has approved grants with the
  following examples
• Wireless Site preparation in a mobile or fixed
  location.
• Site analysis and make-ready costs,
• Overhead costs as much as 20 of total project
  costs e.g., wages and salaries
• Indirect cost rate of up to 10.
• NTIA has discretion to tighten these past
  criteria

16
Criteria for Judging Applications

• Competitive -- based on evaluation priorities.
• Priorities
• Construct and deploy broadband infrastructure to
• Unserved
• underserved
• Service to community anchor institutions
• vulnerable populations educational and
  employment opportunities
• improve public safety broadband communications
  services

17
Tie-breakers

• benefit the greatest population of users in the
  area
• Increase service affordability and subscribership
• greatest broadband speed possible
• enhance service for
• health care delivery
• education
• children
• No unjust enrichment through another Federal
  program
• Applicant is disadvantaged small business
  concern

18
Application Steps

• Applicant is eligible
• Application meets NTIA terms
• Explain
• how grant will be used
• to carry out the purposes of Act
• in an efficient and expeditious manner
• project would not have been implemented during
  the grant period without Federal grant
  assistance.
• Demonstrate
• ability to comply with federal, state and local
  laws
• ability to meet 20 match

19
State Role

• NTIA has sole discretion to decide BUT
• NTIA may consult States re
• Identification of unserved and underserved areas
• projects in or affecting the State
• RECOMMENDATION Talk to your State about making
  your project a priority.
• CAVEAT State is eligible to compete for funds.

20
RUS Program

• 2.5 billion in funding
• Funds are available for grants, loans and loan
  guarantees
• Funds can be used
• in any area
• if at least 75 percent is a rural area without
  sufficient broadband access to facilitate rural
  economic development, as determined by the
  Secretary of Agriculture.
• No NTIA BTOPS funds in the same area.

21
RUS Priorities

• Priority will be given to
• broadband systems that will deliver end users a
  choice of more than one service provider
• This means presence of another provider does not
  disqualify your project.
• projects that provide service to the highest
  proportion of rural residents that do not have
  access to broadband service.

22
RUS Priorities (continued)

• Applicant is existing or former RUS borrower
• Demonstrate all project elements will be fully
  funded
• Project will be completed if requested funds are
  provided.
• Can commence promptly following approval.

23
What Should I be doing now?

• Make local elected officials aware.
• Define the project, including scope and cost as
  soon as possible.
• a project cost-study for the geographic area
• a build-out schedule (completed in two years!)
• Address every possible priority
• DO IT FAST

24
What Should I be doing now?

• Enlist allies
• Who will the project serve? (Local schools,
  public safety agencies, low-income, unemployed,
  aged, and otherwise vulnerable populations)
• Consider partnering with private sector providers
• Share your plans with your state and federal
  elected officials.
• Application forms and grant rules have yet to be
  created.
• Help define the terms of the program
• Communicate with NTIA, FCC and RUS
• NTIA will meet with interested parties beginning
  March 2
• Ask TeleCommUnity and national orgs to share
  similar comments with the Federal agencies on
  your behalf.

25
Additional Programs of Interest

• National Broadband Plan
• DTV Education funds

26
National Broadband Plan

• FCC must provide plan
• seek to ensure that all people in the U.S. have
  access to broadband
• set benchmarks for achieving that goal.
• include an analysis of the most efficient
  mechanism
• a detailed strategy
• the status of deployment
• projects funded by this bill.

27
DTV Transition Education Program

• 90M public outreach and education to vulnerable
  populations.
• This money may be used by NTIA or the FCC.
• Consider applying for local out-reach and
  one-to-one assistance for converter-box
  installation. 

28
FUNDING CHECKLIST Have you applied for

• 4.35b for Broadband Technology Opportunities
  Program (NTIA)
• 2.5b. for RUS grants, loans and loan guarantees
• 200m for public computer centers.
• 250m for innovative programs to encourage
  sustainable broadband adoption.
• 90m for public outreach and education to
  vulnerable populations.
• 2b for Health IT records conversion

29
Necessary Next Steps

• At NTIA, FCC and RUS, Local Governments must
• Assist in defining terms such as unserved and
  underserved
• Assist in crafting grant rules to improve
  eligibility and competitive priority
• Argue for strict obligations on private entities
  seeking funds concerning Broadband speeds,
  buildout and interconnection.

30
Online Resources

• Recovery.gov Tracks federal agency expenditures
  of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act monies
  http//www.recovery.gov
• Office of Management and Budget implementation
  guidance on stimulus spending http//www.whitehou
  se.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_fy2009/m09-10.pdf
• National Telecommunications and Information
  Administration programs http//www.ntia.doc.gov/
  otiahome/otiahome.html
• Rural Utilities Service programs
  http//www.usda.gov/rus/telecom/index.htm
• Federal Communications Commission on rural
  broadband http//wireless.fcc.gov/outreach/index.
  htm?jobbroadband_home
• Full text of American Recovery and Reinvestment
  Act of 2009 http//frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-
  bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname111_cong_billsdocidfh1enr
  .pdf

31
Professional Assistance

• As you assemble your project, identify project
  professionals who can work quickly to assist in
  the technical aspects of a project.
• Engineers
• Financial analysts
• Legal/Contract Assistance
• Educate federal agencies as they define an
  unserved area, underserved area, Open
  Access, and wireless open access

32
Questions

33
Nicholas P. Miller nmiller_at_millervaneaton.com Mill
er Van Eaton, P.L.L.C. 1155 Connecticut Avenue,
N.W. Suite 1000 Washington, D.C.
20036-4301 Phone [phone] Fax [phone] W
ebsite www.millervaneaton.com