Agencies to Favor Multipurpose Applications, Panelists Say

Applicants are more likely to get a piece of the $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funds if they list projects that are multipurpose and include multiple partners, public or private, said telecom lawyer James Baller. At the National Association for Telecommunications Officers and Advisers conference in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Baller said the best applications will likely mirror what has been successful in other areas.

NTIA Senior Advisor Larry Atlas agreed that projects that are “truly multipurpose are a good thing.” As NTIA and RUS continue to iron out details of how to distribute the broadband stimulus funds, Atlas offered only a broad overview of the program. He said the agencies are still working on how to design the funding windows and he doesn’t know if applications that are not accepted in the first round of funding will be automatically sent on to the second, as some expect. The first notice of funding availability is expected to be out by the end of June and will open the first of three funding tranches. Applications will be due roughly 90 days after the first NOFA, said Atlas.

Meanwhile, NTIA and RUS will be more likely to give grants and loans for projects that describe how the money will be tracked internally, said Harold Feld, Public Knowledge legal director. Applicants should also look to make connections on the community level and detail coordination with the state, to show “you can do what you say you can do,” Feld said. Feld also cautioned that a “cottage industry” of scammers is growing around the stimulus funds and applicants should be wary of fraudulent services.