12/17/2009

Lawrence E. Strickling, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) yesterday stated that "300 to 400" project applications for broadband stimulus funding are now being reviewed for grant and loan awards in the 'due diligence phase' of the federal government's application review process. This is the first time a federal official has made a direct statement estimating how many applications are in the final evaluation pipeline as agencies scramble to issue funding Round I awards by an unspecified time in February 2010.

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12/16/2009

Vice President Biden will kick off over $2 billion in Recovery Act grants and loans that will be made on a rolling basis over the next 75 days to bring broadband to communities that currently have little or no access to the technology. At an event at Impulse Manufacturing in Dawsonville, Georgia, he will announce an initial $182 million investment in eighteen broadband projects benefiting seventeen states which has already been matched by over $46 million in private capital. The awards are not only expected to provide initial job opportunities in infrastructure and manufacturing, but help bridge the digital divide and boost economic development for communities held back by limited or no access to the technology. Secretaries Locke and Vilsack will also visit communities benefiting from these initial awards in the coming days.

Read White House Press release, including details of all projects

Read analysis blog

Read Broadband Census article

11/18/2009

NTIA's Third Quarterly Status Report to Congress: NTIA submitted the third quarterly status report on the Broadband Technology and Opportunities Program (BTOP) to Congress.