MuniWireless

The NTIA has awarded $5.9 million to the South Carolina State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education. Its S.C. “Reach for Success” project proposes to expand the capacity of 51 public computer centers and create 19 new computer labs at the South Carolina Technical College System’s 16 member colleges. The college system is the state’s largest higher education system, with 114,000 degree-seeking students and 128,000 continuing education students. Of these students, almost half receive federal Pell Grant assistance and 37…

The NTIA awarded $1.2 million to Rhode Island to expand broadband Internet access at 71 public libraries across the state. The grant is part of BTOP Round 1 funding for public computer centers. The NTIA has set aside $150 million more in Round 2 for public computer centers.

The grant will go to OSHEAN Inc., a consortium of not-for-profit organizations, which will use the funding to replace 327 existing computers and add more than 403 new workstations in Rhode Island libraries.…

The Rural Utilities Service has issued a handy application guide and a set of templates for people who are seeking broadband stimulus funds under Round 2 of the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). The application guide walks you through the requirements for funding and the templates give you a ready-made set of documents ranging such as subscriber projections, investment workbooks, certifications, etc. This is such a great service to applicants! Is there a BTOP equivalent?

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Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) Round 2…

MuniWireless has published a guide for people applying for broadband grants under Round 2 of the NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). NTIA and RUS, the agencies running the BTOP and BIP programs respectively, revised their rules for round 2 based upon the experiences in round 1. People whose applications were rejected in round 1 are encouraged to apply again. Main changes in the NTIA’s Round 2: emphasis on Middle Mile projects centered around community anchor institutions such as community…

I am releasing version 2.0 of my How To Get A Grant Guide next week. Version 2.0 contains the new rules issued by the NTIA and RUS for people who want to apply for the second round of broadband stimulus funding, and some insights into what makes successful, sustainable broadband projects.

NOTE TO VENDORS: There’s still time to be included in the Vendor Directory of the Guide. Please email me as soon as possible.

The good news is that the new NOFA rules are out. The bad news, if you have Attention Deficit Disorder, is that there are two of them and each one seems as long as the first NOFA rules. But at least there are welcome changes. Here’s an overview and a look at who does well as a result of these.

First, I think it’s wise to let each group have its own rules. Many of the frustration people have had with…