NTIA Gives Broadband Bidders Another Extension
First Cut of Would-Be Recipients Due by Sept. 14
by John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 8/20/2009 10:17:44 AM
WASHINGTON —
The National Telecommunications & Information Administration told Congress this week that it will reveal bidders who have made the first cut in their pursuit of up to $1.6 billion in broadband stimulus grant money "no earlier" than Sept. 14, and has given bidders another extension to file supporting materials.
Those bids are due today (Aug. 20) at 5 p.m., after the NTIA last week extended the deadline from Aug. 14. Even that deadline has a little more wiggle room.
The agency said that while bids are still due Aug. 20, to insure applications are complete and to "minimize problems," it will accept supporting documents in the mail up to a postmark, hand delivery, or "appropriate electronic delivery" date of Aug. 24.
In that third category, the NTIA said some users are having trouble with uploading documents electronically, and advised trying the Firefox Web browser as a work-around. The NTIA said it is working to fix the problem.
After the Sept. 14 deadline for revealing finalists, the remaining applicants will be vetted by the governor of the state for which the project is proposed, with that information factoring into the final decision. Grants will be awarded starting in November.
The NTIA said first round of bids will be finished by Dec. 31, 2009. It anticipates three rounds of bidding in all for the $4.7 billion it needs to hand out by September 2010 per congressional instructions -- all funds must be awarded by Sept. 30.
The NTIA released its quarterly report to Congress Wednesday on the progress of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program of the stimulus package, mostly summarizing widely reported milestones and tweaks, including modifications to the program's broadband-mapping portion, waivers of the "buy American" provision for some equipment suppliers, the move of the bid deadline and the hiring of consultant Booz Allen Hamilton to help with the process.
While all the funds must be handed out by September 2010, there will still be work for the NTIA, including yet another Feb. 17 deadline -- this one in 2011, when a broadband map must be posted on its Web site, again per congressional instructions.
Feb. 17 has become a familiar date. The original deadline for the transition to digital broadcast television was Feb. 17, 2009, before it was moved to June 12; and Feb. 17, 2010, is the deadline for the Federal Communications Commission to deliver its national broadband rollout plan to Congress.
The NTIA won't be done with its part of the BTOP broadband effort until at least September of 2014, according to the congressional report, which sets that milepost for "final program audits and shut-down."Review Set For NTIA's Efforts On Stimulus
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