关于btop的第六次季度状态报告大会

Submitted to the Committee on AppropriationsUnited States Senate the Committee on AppropriationsUnited States House of Representatives the Committee on Commerce, Science and TransportationUnited States Senate and the Committee on Energy and CommerceUnited States House of Representatives August 2010 National Telecommunications and Information AdministrationU.S. Department of Commerce Pursuant to Section 6001(d)(4) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009(Recovery Act or Act) (Public Law No. 111-5), the National Telecommunications andInformation Administration (NTIA) provides this quarterly report on the status of the BroadbandTechnology Opportunities Program. The Recovery Act provides NTIA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural UtilitiesService (RUS) with $7.2 billion to expand access to broadband services in the United States.The Act provides $4.7 billion to NTIA to establish the Broadband Technology OpportunitiesProgram (BTOP or Program) to increase broadband access and adoption; provide broadbandtraining and support to schools, libraries, healthcare providers, and other organizations; improvebroadband access to public safety agencies; and stimulate demand for broadband.1In addition,the $4.7 billion in funding provided under the Act is intended to create jobs and stimulateeconomic growth. The Act also provided RUS with $2.5 billion to expand access to broadbandservices in rural America.2 The Act establishes eligibility requirements for grantees and grant projects; allocates certainamounts of funding for specific broadband initiatives; imposes substantive and proceduralrequirements on the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information (AssistantSecretary) for the administration of the program as well as on grantees in their use of BTOPfunding; and requires that all awards be made before the end of fiscal year 2010. The Act furtherrequires NTIA to develop and maintain a comprehensive nationwide inventory map ofbroadband service capability and availability, and to make the map publicly available via theInternet. Among other things, the Act requires the Assistant Secretary to provide a status report toCongress every 90 days. NTIA will supplement these reports with informal briefings formembers of Congress as well as appearances at Congressional hearings when requested. Thisquarterly status report reviews developments since NTIA submitted its fifth report on May 17,2010.3 II.Summary In the previous five reports submitted to Congress, NTIA outlined the steps taken to launch andexecute BTOP in accordance with the Recovery Act’s requirements, including: •Program kickoff in cooperation with other Federal agencies;•Public outreach to develop Program rules and policies;•Release of the First and Second Notices of Funds Availability (NOFAs);•Public workshops to enhance participation by eligible entities; •Steps to improve NTIA’s organizational readiness, including staffing and contractingresources;•Application review, including independent expert review, state and tribal consultation,and the public notice filing comment period;•Due diligence review and the award selection process;•Announcement of awards; and•Steps to implement comprehensive post-award oversight and compliance. This report focuses on: •Round Two award announcements;•Acceptance and evaluation of 700 MHz Public Safety applications;•Contents of a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report;•Post-award implementation and oversight;•Solicitation for a detailed BTOP evaluation study; and•Staffing and resources. This report also provides an update on the State Broadband Data and Development Program,including an update on awards made and other steps taken to develop a national broadband map. III.BTOP Award Announcements As of the last quarterly report in May 2010, NTIA had completed its announcements of RoundOne awards, totaling 82 projects worth more than $1.2 billion in Federal funds benefitting 45states and territories. NTIA also reported that it received more than 880 Round Two applicationsfor proposals requesting more than $11 billion in Federal funds for broadband projects. NTIAhas been working diligently to evaluate applications according to the criteria and processesexplained in detail in previous Reports and in the Second NOFA. On July 2, 2010, President Obama, joined by Secretary Locke and Secretary Vilsack, announced66 new Recovery Act broadband projects nationwide totaling $795 million in grants and loansthrough the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture. Twenty-nine (29) of these projects wereBTOP grants totaling more than $404 million in Federal funds, and were the first set of awards tobe announced in BTOP’s second round of funding. In announcing the awards, President Obamaremarked: All told, these investments will benefit tens of millions of Americans -- more than685,000 businesses, 900 health care facilities, and 2,400 schools…across thecountry. And studies have shown that when comm