NTIA's BroadbandUSA Initiative Draws on BTOP Experience, Officials Say

The BroadbandUSA initiative under the NTIA’s auspices uses the agency’s experience with the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) “and brings that skill set to share with communities around the country to help them with the issues they’re facing to ensure” they can improve their broadband access, Douglas Kinkoph, acting associate administrator of the Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications, said in an interview. The White House announced the BroadbandUSA initiative Wednesday as part of its package of plans to improve access to affordable high-speed broadband. President Barack Obama also declared his support for ending state laws that restrict municipal broadband deployments as part of that plan (see 1501140048). BroadbandUSA is “a continuation in some ways of NTIA’s mission of always pushing and helping in the broadband space, but we’re not funding this time,” Kinkoph said Thursday. “We’re providing expertise and sharing it on a no-cost basis.” New NTIA grants would have required legislation from Congress, and the White House emphasized that its new broadband plan would focus on initiatives that didn’t require Congress. NTIA’s BTOP experience means it has “expertise that cuts across infrastructure, broadband mapping, broadband adoption, digital inclusion and public access,” which can all be integrated into advice the agency can provide to local communities, said Laura Breeden, program director-public computing and broadband adoption.