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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Broadband Stimulus Outreach American Recovery & Reinvestment

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Broadband Stimulus Outreach American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. Stimulus Bill Legislation. General broadband provisions: $2.5 billion for Rural Utilities Service ( RUS )

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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Broadband Stimulus Outreach American Recovery & Reinvestment

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  1. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Broadband Stimulus Outreach American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009

  2. Stimulus Bill Legislation • General broadband provisions: • $2.5 billion for Rural Utilities Service (RUS) • $4.7 billion for National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)

  3. Rural Utilities Service • $2.5 billion for grants, loans and loan guarantees • Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program • Funding available for areas where at least 75% of service area “shall be a rural area without sufficient access to high-speed broadband…” • Priority given to projects that: • Give end users a choice • Provide service to the highest proportion of unserved rural residents • Are proposed by borrowers or former borrowers under Title II of the Rural Electrification Act • Demonstrate that all project elements will be fully funded • Can commence promptly and be completed within the two-year timeframe

  4. NTIA • $4.7 billion total • $350 million for broadband mapping • Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) • $4.35 billion • $200 million—expanding public computer center capacity • $250 million—innovative programs to encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service • Broadband access for users in unserved and underserved areas • Broadband support for education • Broadband use by public safety agencies • Economic growth and job creation

  5. NTIA Program • BTOP Program Plan released by NTIA on May 15, 2009 • Program measures will include: • Job Creation: the # and type of jobs created directly due to funding • Expanded broadband access: #of areas where service made available or improved, # homes and businesses passed by [reported coverage at census block level, speed and price of service] • Private sector investment: amounts and types of private investment leveraged • High Speed Access to “strategic institutions”: new equipment and capacity including new or forecasted users of new infrastructure • Encourage Broadband Demand: #of new subscribers generated from demand-side projects

  6. NTIA Program • Schedules & Milestones published by NTIA: • June 2009 - Award Contract for Grants Program Support • April–June 2009 - Preparation for Initial Solicitation for Proposals • June 2009 - Publish Notice of Funds Availability • Sept-Dec 2009 - Initial Proposal Processing and Review • Dec 2009 - Initial Grant Awards Made • Oct-Dec 2009 - Second Solicitation for Proposals • April-June 2010 - Third Solicitation for Proposals • Sept 2010 - All Awards to Be Made

  7. NTIA Program • All awards by September 30, 2010 • Projects completed within two years of an award • Openness and transparency, including regular reporting • State role: • Consultation with NTIA • Identification of unserved and underserved • Beyond that—unclear at this time

  8. Some Guiding Principles • Concentration on ‘unserved’ areas of Commonwealth • Enhanced broadband to those designated as underserved • Remaining technology-neutral • Encouraging broadband connectivity through multiple providers • Encouraging local and public-private partnerships • Using Commonwealth resources where possible to assist our goals • Supporting where possible, public safety, education, health, energy and commercial-grade broadband • Identifying policy and programmatic changes in state programs that could help accelerate deployment

  9. Pennsylvania Chapter 30 • Chapter 30 enacted in 1993 to achieve early deployment of broadband in Pennsylvania • Authorized several programs that will substantially increase the investment in Commonwealth telecommunications infrastructure, including: • Establishing a deployment timetable for ILECs monitored and enforced by the Pennsylvania PUC; • Creating an outreach and aggregation funding mechanism (BOAF); • Special program with mandated deployment upon achieving agreed-upon threshold of committed customers (BFRR); • Requiring a statewide inventory and mapping of availability of telecommunications services; • Creating broadband networks between, among, and within school entities (“E-Fund”)

  10. Commonwealth Outreach • How you think the grant program should be administered? • How would broadband availability change your community? Tell us about some immediate benefits or positive impacts? • What speeds do you consider to be a good definition of broadband? • What do you consider to be affordable broadband service? • What barriers do you see to this project? What attempts have you previously made to obtain access, and what challenges or obstacles have you encountered? • What do you think the Commonwealth’s role should be with this project? • What should the definitions of “unserved” and “underserved” areas be? • Do you have “shovel ready” (ready-to-go) projects that you can present?

  11. Questions or Comments? Please email them to: ra-OA-Stimulus@state.pa.us

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