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The Recovery Act appropriated $7.2
billion and directed the
Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS)
and The
Department of
Commerce's National Telecommunications Information
Administration (NTIA) to expand broadband access to
unserved and underserved communities across the U.S.,
increase jobs, spur investments in technology and
infrastructure, and provide long-term economic benefits.
The result is the RUS Broadband
Initiatives Program (BIP) and the NTIA Broadband
Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).
BIP will make loans and grants for
broadband infrastructure projects in rural areas. BTOP will
provide grants to fund broadband infrastructure, public
computer centers and sustainable broadband adoption
projects.
For details on the definitions and
requirements of the BIP and BTOP programs, please refer to the
Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Broadband
Initiatives Program and Broadband Technology Opportunities
Program.
For details on the definitions and
requirements of the State Broadband Data and Development
programs, please refer to the
Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the State
Broadband Data and Development Grant Program.
For details on the "Buy American" waiver for the
NTIA
broadband initiative, please refer to the July 1
Federal Register notice.
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