Meeting for those interested in applying for local NYC Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) funding: 7/28/09 at DCTV
The NYC City Council is having a meeting to encourage the tech community to apply for local BTOP funds to create programs that address CTCs and digital divide issues. Problem is they didn’t put the information about the meeting on the web. (Sigh.)
Here it is for anyone interested:
On Tuesday, July 28, 2009 from 6-8 PM at DCTV’s Third Floor Conference Room (located at 87 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10013) Council Member Gale A. Brewer invites all members of the New York City technology community to discuss the recently released Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) funding that has been made available through the federal stimulus package which passed in February 2009. The purpose of this event is to help galvanize interested applicants around common goals. Please distribute this invitation widely and invite all pertinent stakeholders to attend.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was enacted by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009, to stimulate the national economy and invigorate neglected industries that directly affect the nation’s competitive edge. Included in this stimulus package is the $7.2 billion Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, also known as BTOP. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) released rules (also known as notice of funds availability, NOFA) for the BTOP governing process on July 1, 2009.
In an effort to involve the entire technology and not-for-profit community, I would like to encourage your participation in a meeting on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 6 PM – 8 PM at DCTV’s Third Floor Conference Room (located at 87 Lafayette Street, NY, NY 10013). This meeting will bring together organizations and institutions and provide an opportunity to connect and collaborate on a comprehensive plan for New York City’s BTOP application. These grants are all competitive. The goal of this meeting
is to foster partnerships and maximize the possibility of bringing projects to the five boroughs through BTOP funds.The BTOP grant application was released on July 9, 2009, and is due by 5 PM on August 14, 2009. After a thorough review, the NTIA will announce the finalists in September 2009 and will allocate the funds in November 2009. The NTIA expects projects to be completed within two to three years of the award date. The first of three funding rounds will provide about $1.6 billion in competitive grants to all fifty states.
The breakdown for NTIA’s $1.6 billion BTOP [NOFA 527-545] grant is as follows:
• $1.2 billion allocated to provide last- and middle-mile services to unserved and underserved areas;
• $50 million for computer centers;
• $150 million to drive broadband demand; and
• $200 million in discretionary funding to spread among the aforementionedcategories, when in need.For “last mile” funding purposes in New York City, an underserved area can be designated by meeting one of three criteria:
• No more than 50 percent of households have access to facilities-based terrestrial broad-band;
• No fixed or mobile provider advertises speeds of at least 3 megabits per second (Mbps);
• The rate of subscribership is 40 percent or less.The application process is ranked on a 100-point system. The rubric is outlined in the following way:
1. Project Purpose (30 points)
2. Project Benefits (25 points)
3. Project Viability (25 points)
4. Project Budget and Sustainability (20 points)For more information on this breakdown, please log on to www.broadbandusa.gov and click on the “Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Broadband Initiatives Program and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program”. Of particular interest to New York City applicants are lines 1410 through 1593.
Contact Kunal Malhotra, Budget and Legislation Director, or Samuel Wong, Legislative Aide on Technology, at (212) 788-6975 or at kmalhotra@council.nyc.gov / samwong.nycc@gmail.com if you have questions and would like to attend the NYC BTOP meeting on July 28, 2009.
