Heather Mills, V.P. for Grant & Funding Strategies With the October 25 release of a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has made important changes for Round 3 of its Rural eConnectivity Program (commonly known as ReConnect). Significant new scoring considerations include a preference for local governments The NOFA includes […]
Heather Mills, V.P. for Grant & Funding StrategiesLydia Weinberger, Civic Technology Analyst Local governments and minority serving institutions (MSI) have a unique partnership opportunity in the Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) Pilot Program—which has a fast-approaching application deadline on December 1, 2021. Now is the time for local governments to speak to their MSI partners to […]
By Heather Mills, V.P. for Grant & Funding Strategies The Treasury Department released new guidance on its long-awaited, $10 billion Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund program—an extremely flexible opportunity that will deliver funds to each eligible state, territory, and tribal entity. State governments will now work with Treasury to receive their allocations—so now is also the […]
Ithaca Area Economic Development (IAED), working closely with Cayuga Data Juice, has released an RFP seeking a qualified partner to design, build, and operate a middle mile fiber optic network for use by Ithaca-area companies, internet service providers, and other stakeholders. As communities in New York seek to modernize their economies, high-speed internet connection is […]
Read More… from Ithaca Area Economic Development Issues Broadband Connectivity RFP
Heather Mills, V.P. for Grant & Funding StrategiesLydia Weinberger, Civic Technology Analyst A promising federal grant program has new funding and creates the potential for securing broadband funding to support economic development. The American Rescue Plan Act added $500 million in funding to the Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) program run by the U.S. Department of […]
Ziggy Rivkin-Fish, CGEIT, V.P. for Broadband StrategyBarbara Fichman, Principal Analyst and ResearcherTaylor Brown, MSW, Civic Technology Analyst If you are looking to expand your community’s internet access in Maryland, you need to prepare for the funding opportunities created by the Digital Connectivity Act of 2021 (the Act)[1] and the Office of Statewide Broadband (OSB). OSB, […]
Heather D. Mills, V.P. for Grant & Funding Strategies On May 19, 2021, the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) released rules for the Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP). The highly anticipated rules contained a few surprises (a recommended, but voluntary 10 percent match) and at least a few non-surprises (RDOF areas are not eligible unless you are […]
Read More… from A Deep Dive into the Scoring Metrics of the NTIA’s Broadband Infrastructure Program
Ziggy Rivkin-Fish, CGEIT, V.P. for Broadband Strategy If you’re like us, you might be confused about what the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) accepts as service coverage data for their new Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP). In BIP’s Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), NTIA states the following: The term “eligible service area” means a census […]
By Ziggy Rivkin-Fish, CGEIT, V.P. for Broadband Strategy If you are like many of our friends right now, you may be unsure about which federal funds to target for broadband expansion. Some of you may consider going after the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (FRF), authorized in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), […]
Read More… from Weighing Your Options: An Analysis of Recent Federal Broadband Funding
Joanne Hovis, PresidentRyland Sherman, Senior Research AssociateJacob Levin, Senior Analyst After a year of pandemic and crisis, the scale of our national digital divide is at last recognized by policymakers at all levels, with federal, state, and local governments making unprecedented commitments to narrow the divide. While most of the funds to address these challenges flow […]