WASHINGTON, April 8, 2009 - Comments posted to NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunity Program website on Tuesday, April 7, continued to show the diversity of commenters and urged that experience and the ability to meet multiple goals should count when weighing applications. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 8, 2009 - Comments filed on Monday, April 6, emphasized the rural/urban divide and how the gap in adoption can be overcome. Education, not just connection, will be critical to getting the most from stimulus funds, these commenters said. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 6, 2009 - Among the commenters weighing in on the Commerce Department’s broadband technologies grants on Thursday, April 2, and Friday, April 3, several echoed the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ proposal for a state role in allocating funds. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2009 - Proper oversight of the $7.2 billion Broadband Technology Opportunities Program can only take place if key terms are defined properly, a panel of agency officials and policy experts told a congressional committee on Thursday. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 4, 2009 – Among the commentators weighing in on the Commerce Department’s broadband technologies grants on April 1, several suggested that programs should be able to meet multiple needs as part of the $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funds being offered. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 2, 2009 – The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners on Thursday ratcheted up their call for greater state involvement in disbursement and use of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus funds with a letter to top Commerce and Agriculture Department officials. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2009 – The final session of the NTIA/RUS public forums on implementing broadband stimulus legislation focused on the role that broadband deployment can play in economic development Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 24, 2009 - NTIA and RUS broadband stimulus grant recipients should be selected in a way that honors the intent of the stimulus bill itself, a large group of stakeholders said at Tuesday afternoon's roundtable on selection criteria. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 24, 2009 – The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday outlined the procedures by which parties wishing to provide written or oral comments on the agency’s consultative role in the broadband provisions of the fiscal stimulus act. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 24, 2009 – At the final day of a six-day public forum about the federal government’s $7.2 billion broadband stimulus funding on Tuesday morning, the discussion made a sharp turn toward a focus on oversight and post-award compliance. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 23, 2009 - The complexities of relationships between federal, state, and local governments, the private sector and sovereign Indian tribes emerged during a Monday afternoon round table on the role of states in the NTIA-RUS grant process. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 20, 2009 – Debate about the broadband divide in America resurfaced at a Thursday afternoon public roundtable about how the federal government should spend $7.2 billion in broadband. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 20, 2009 – Experts and citizens split words at the NTIA/RUS Thursday morning public roundtable seeking to define broadband – an essential element to determine what projects receive federal funding under stimulus spending. Keep Reading
March 20, 2009 – At the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Rural Utilities Services' Wednesday joint public meeting in Flagstaff, Ariz., tension surfaced over how much of the money for local broadband projects should come from the federal government. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 19, 2009 - The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association is fine with stimulus dollars targeting rural areas first. But the bigger question to them is: Who will do the targeting? Keep Reading
March 19, 2009 – Arizonans and native Americans at a public forum in Flagstaff, Ariz., urged a broadband buildout that puts connectivity of disadvantaged groups at the heart of the federal stimulus spending. Keep Reading
March 19, 2009 – A leading official at the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration pled with panelists in Las Vegas as he urged them to provide constructive selection criteria for the agency’s evaluation of broadband grant applicants. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 18, 2009 - A White Paper released Tuesday by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association recommends broadband stimulus grants prioritize built-out to remote, unserved areas. Remaining monies should be used to fund programs to promote and encourage use of broadband services. Keep Reading
March 18, 2009 – The digital divide between America's well-to-do regions and its rural and tribal countryside were on display in the first panel of the federal government’s Tuesday public meeting, in Las Vegas, on spending the broadband stimulus. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2009 - Broadband adoption is widely viewed as spurring innovation, but $7.2 billion had stakeholders gathered at Monday’s public meeting on broadband funding to offer comments on what sort of "innovative programs" could make best use of the funding. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2009 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Service should keep the application process for broadband stimulus dollars as simple as possible, a group of panelists said on Monday. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2009 - The detailed-oriented open meetings to consider the structure for deploying the federal government's $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funds began on Monday morning with five presentations about which sorts of private-sector entities should be eligible for the grants. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2009 – As the Obama administration on Monday begins poring over the nitty-gritty details about how they will be spending $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funds, individual states are grappling to find their own best strategies to tap the funds. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 13, 2009 - After filling multiple overflow rooms at Tuesday's broadband stimulus kickoff event, the Rural Utilities Services and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced Friday they would hold six additional public meetings on the broadband stimulus. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 11, 2009 – Despite a packed-to-capacity auditorium, long lines and occasionally unanswered questions, reactions to Tuesday’s unveiling of the Obama administration’s $7.2 billion stimulus program were generally very positive among attendees and industry observers. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 11, 2009 – President Obama’s commitment to using federal funds for improving broadband deployment inched closer to reality Tuesday as the federal agencies responsible for implementing stimulus funding urged creativity and speed in submitting applications for grants. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 10 - The National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Monday released a notice of rule-making concerning the broadband initiatives under the fiscal stimulus legislation and announced a series of additional public meetings on March 16-19, and on March 23 and 24. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 9, 2009 - Soon to be released FCC data will help balance the interests of public need for expanded networks and industry needs for financial incentives while implementing the goals of the Obama broadband stimulus package, a triumvirate of telecommunications experts said during aMonday conference call, less than 24 hours from NTIA's release of broadband grant criteria. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 8, 2009 – Senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday weighed the need to distribute federal stimulus fund urgently against the desire to ensure that monies are well-spent. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 6, 2009 – Rick C. Wade, a senior advisor in the presidential campaign of Barack Obama and currently the acting chief of staff for the Commerce Department, will be one of three featured speakers at the broadband stimulus public meeting next Tuesday. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 5, 2009 – Broadband stimulus funds should be prioritized to unserved areas and encourage greater adoption, National Cable and Telecommunications Association president and CEO Kyle McSlarrow wrote in a Thursday letter to members of Congress. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 3, 2009 – Revamping the nation’s energy grid for the 21st Century could increase demand for a nationwide broadband network. But a group of experts from government, standards-setting bodies and industry told senators Tuesday that all stakeholders must first do a better job of working together to digitize electricity transmission and delivery systems. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 2, 2009 – One week from Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission, the Commerce Department and the Rural Utilities Service will hold a public meeting on broadband stimulus measures. But who will speak for the administration of President Obama on broadband? None other than Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, the keynote speaker at the event. Keep Reading