07.16.2009: Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA)/Additional Information Due by July 20: The Office of Administration (OA) has notified Review Partners, including the Northwest Commission, that last-mile providers seeking to utilize State owned/controlled middle-mile assets must notify the OA of their intent by July 20th. Specifically, OA is advising, "There is a confidentiality statement that is required to be signed in order to receive tower locations and attributes.OA has not established a rate card or terms of use yet. July 20th still stands [as date for notifying OA of intent and completed NDA].  However, [applicants] must provide us very imminently with a fairly comprehensive first draft of what your Last Mile offering would look like so that we can properly assess whether it is far enough along to piggy-back for Round One application.  It soon needs to be more than a 'concept paper' or expression of interest, and it must address most of the requirements of the grant application. To give you a sense:  http://broadbandusa.sc.egov.usda.gov/download_app.htm We will weave applications from potential partners into the state's application, but the state will not write the application for prospective partners." per Luc Miron.

[Please see link "Emphasis on Expectations" below]

 07.12.2009: Broadband Application Forms Posted: The BIP/BTOP application forms and related documents have been made available. They are available for download at http://www.broadbandusa.gov.

07.09.2009: Technology Advisory Group Supports Regional Application: The Northwest Commission Technology Advisory Group (TAG) met on Thursday. Prominent among the agenda items was consideration of a regional application for broadband stimulus funds to go forth from the Commission. Originally, the Commission had not anticipated submitting an application but supporting various applications from across the region. Based on the language of the Notice of Funds Availability published just last week, and input from many key stakeholders, the Commission has elected to recommend and pursue a single regional application.

The Commission will facilitate development of the regional application with input from county and local governments, economic development organizations, county planning organizations, private business and industry, and vendors. Anticipating an aggressive application deadline of August 14^th and a complex array of related information, the Commission will establish both physical and online workspaces for use by individuals involved in development in the application.

 07.08.2009: Infrastructure Application Step 1 Process Summary Available: A document summarizing the NOFA-specified steps for completing an infrastructure-related BIP and/or BTOP application has been posted under the "Links and Documents" section of this page.

07.07.2009: Number of Inquiries Increase - TAG to Convene on Thursday: The number of inquiries from individuals, organizations, and vendors increased today as word spread of the NOFA and the availability of information on the Northwest Commission website. The Commission continues to anticipate that the competition for funds from within the region and across the Commonwealth will be significant. Anyone contacting the Commission for information is being advised to determine how their anticipated proposal may compliment other geographically proximate proposals. The Technology Advisory Group (TAG) will convene on Thursday at noon. Prominent among the TAG's agenda is the NOFA and strategies for maximizing the probability of developing successful proposals from within the region.

EMPHASIS ON EXPECTATIONS: There is a pervasive sense across the region that multiple projects will be fully grant funded at the multi-million dollar level. This is unrealistic.

While the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act makes a sum total of $7.2 Billion available for "Broadband" this particular NOFA makes only a portion of those funds available. While the majority of those funds are available as grant dollars a very significant portion is allocated specifically for loans. Aside from these practical financial considerations the RUS emphasizes: "RUS will not fund more than one project to serve any given geographic area". Similarly, the NTIA notes it, will "award not less than one grant in each state". Perhaps most illuminating of all are the explicitly defined priorities of the BIP and BTOP Programs:

BIP Priorities [NOFA Page 10, lines 207-215]: The Recovery Act mandates that priority be given to projects which a. give end users a choice of providers; b serve the highest proportion of rural residents that lack broadband access; c. are projects of current or former RUS borrowers; and d. are fully funded and ready to start once Recovery Act funding is received.

Additional priorities apply to BTOP however given the rural composition of the service region of the Commission most applicants will be required to submit applications under the BIP.

07.06.2009: Northwest Commission Posts NOFA Summary Documents: The Northwest Commission posted three documents summarizing various provisions of the broadband stimulus NOFA that was issued on July 1st. These documents are available under the "Links and Documents" heading of this page. The documents include a general "NOFA Summary", a summary of evaluation criteria, and a summary of scoring guidelines. Readers are advised to consult the NOFA document for complete information.

07.06.2009: Northwest Commission Preparing NOFA Summary Guide: Preliminary review of the NOFA document has revealed some complexities and details that are critical for any potential applicant to understand. These include important clarifications between the RUS and NTIA programs ("BIP" and "BTOP" respectively), and their corresponding objectives, priorities, and evaluation criteria. It is anticipated this summary document will be posted within the next 24-48 hours.

07.04.2009: Important Provision re: RUS/NTIA Application Choice: A frequent first question in conversation is to which program an applicant intends to apply. Please note that page 40 lines 861-873 articulate a requirement that "all applications to fund broadband infrastructure in proposed funded areas which are at least 75% rural are required to be submitted to RUS for consideration under BIP. NTIA application is permitted in addition to a RUS application under specific terms and conditions specified within the lines specified. 

07.02.2009: Commission Review of NOFA Current Ongoing: Commission staff began reviewing the NOFA today. At 120 pages there is significant risk in representing definitive conclusions with respect to process/intent however a few aspects of the release are striking and apparently clear: "Broadband" means 756 Mbps in the downstream direction and 200 Mbps in the upstream direction. $4 billion of program level funding has been allocated to this NOFA. The $3.2 balance will apparently be held for subsequent rounds of funding (two additional rounds are anticipated).

07.01.2009: Vice President Biden Visits Northwest PA to Announce USDA/NTIA NOFA: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden held a town hall meeting at Seneca High School in Wattsburg PA to announce the publication of the USDA and NTIA broadband NOFAs. Additional information is available at a newly announced web site, http://www.broadbandusa.gov. In an unexpected move the Vice President announced a "single application" for both the USDA and NTIA funds. The Commission is currently reviewing these documents and will post additional information as soon as it is available.

06.23.2009: Commission advised that "state plan" not anticipated until after NTIA Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA): The Commission was notified today that the Pennsylvania Office of Administration has contracted with Tony Hallett to write the Pennsylvania Statewide Broadband Plan. The Commission has not been able to confirm when the Statewide Broadband Plan will be completed however, assuming the NTIA NOFA is announced the first week of July then it appears probable the plan will not be completed until after the NOFA is announced. This is important for anyone anticipating submitting a proposal to understand as one of the fourteen criteria delineated for proposal review is "Projects which are consistent with the state plan".

06.19.2009: Office of Administration Announces Northwest Commission as Review Partner for NTIA Proposals: The PA Office of Administration (OA) announced today that the Northwest Commission will serve as a "Review Partner" (RP) for National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) proposals. Nine other RPs have been designated from across the Commonwealth. A specific description of the roles of RPs and the criteria they will utilize is available in the document "PA Approach for Broadband Stimulus Funds". 

06.08.2009: PA Office of Administration Updates Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) related to Broadband Stimulus: The updated FAQ is available in pdf format by clicking here.