MuniWireless

The FAQ for the BIP and BTOP programs (administered by the RUS and NTIA respectively) has been updated. New questions and answers are marked with an asterisk. Go to: http://broadbandusa.sc.egov.usda.gov/files/BIP-BTOP_FAQ.pdf.

Related articles:

Broadband stimulus grant resources from OneCommunity, Knight Center

Critics lash out at NTIA and RUS broadband stimulus grant rules

How to get a grant under NTIA and RUS: guide available for download

The Broadband Stimulus Game – Should I Stay or Should I Go

NTIA seeks volunteers to evaluate broadband grant applications

- – - –…

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has wasted no time at all in filling the top positions at the FCC. Among his new appointees is Sharon Gillett, who is Director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute and who previously served as the head of the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable. Many of you have probably seen and met Sharon at Muniwireless conferences or at David Isenberg’s Freedom to Connect event in Washington D.C.. An advocate of open networks and competition in the…

Golden Gate Ferries has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Wi-Fi service on board the ferries between San Francisco and Sausalito as well as Larkspur. Golden Gate Ferries will not pay any money for the deployment of the network, but will allow the Wi-Fi operator to charge for the service. The term of the contract is five years with two additional one-year options to extend the agreement. The deadline for submitting responses is 11 August 2009 at 14:00 Pacific…

Barnes and Noble bookstores are now offering free Wi-Fi. This is very handy for people who are traveling in the US because B&N has stores in most large cities (and in many suburban areas). When I’m in a bookstore and come across a new book, I like to check reviews posted on the Guardian’s book review section or in the New Yorker. Giving customers the ability to look at book reviews online is a wonderful idea.

Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator, has carried out a study which reveals that broadband speeds are much lower that those advertised by ISPs. Ofcom took 60 million readings in over 1600 households between November 2008 and April 2009 to compare the real-world performance of broadband service. No one is shocked to find out that ISPs play fast and loose with the term “up to”.

The results show that:

The recently published MuniWireless How to Get a Grant Guide is providing public and private organizations a good overview of the broadband stimulus grant application process. Because we were included in the guide’s list of consultants, our organization has been getting calls from many interested parties trying to find ways to capitalize on the BTOP grant opportunity. One consistency I have found is that everyone from public sector grant writers to network service suppliers need more time to properly evaluate these…