NTIA's Tony Wilhelm, RUS's Ken Kuchno to Headline Broadband Stimulus Town Hall Workshop

A Special Live Webcast event presented by BroadbandCensus.com, TV Worldwide, and TV Mainstream

Press Release

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2009 -Top officials from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Service will participate in the BroadbandCensus.com-TV Worldwide “Broadband Stimulus National Town Hall Meeting,” to be webcast on Thursday, July 9, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET.

Anthony Wilhelm, Deputy Associate Administrator at the Commerce Department’s NTIA; and Ken Kuchno, Director of the Broadband Division of Agriculture Department’s RUS; will lead off the webcast and participate in a discussion moderated by Drew Clark, Editor and Executive Director of BroadbandCensus.com, and Marty Stern, Partner at K&L Gates.

Sign up here for the webcast here.

The July 9 event comes on the heels of the initial Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) and programmatic rules for broadband stimulus funds were released on July 1. Up to $4 billion of funding available in the first round. Time is of the essence, with applications due on August 14, just over a month from now.

The July 9 event builds on a prior webcast on June 4. It was also presented by BroadbandCensus.com and TV Worldwide.

Wilhelm, who serves in NTIA’s Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications, together with Kuchno of RUS, will discuss details of the releases, timing of applications, and how some of the key issues that had been left open these last few months have been resolved.

NTIA is the agency responsible for the bulk of the $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funds; RUS has also received a sizable infusion of funds from which it will make loans, grants, and loan-grant combinations to a range of rural infrastructure projects.

To help educate grant applicants, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and Alcatel-Lucent are among the main sponsors of the free live webcast, presented by BroadbandCensus.com, TV Worldwide and two of its internet television channels: National League of Cities TV and TV Mainstream.

The interactive live workshop will provide a first look at what applicants need to know in putting together successful broadband grant and loan applications.

A second panel of experts on NTIA on RUS funding programs will be available to take your questions live.  Confirmed panelists include:

• Gary Bolton, Vice President, Global Marketing, Adtran
• Maria Browne, Partner, Davis Wright and Tremaine LLP
• John Kneuer, President Kneuer LLC and former NTIA Administrator and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information

The program will conclude with a discussion on compliance issues, how the agencies are expected to police waste, fraud and abuse, and what applicants need to pay attention to now to avoid potential issues down the road.  The invited guest is Cynthia Schultz, Director of Compliance and Audits for NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.