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Preamble AbstractThis section is the abstract outlining the NTIA, RUS, FCC Request for Information...
PREAMBLE
(This information is included for readers who have not read Docket No. 090309298-9299-01 – Request for Information - BTOP) RESPONSE TO DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Telecommunications and Information Administration RESPONSE TO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service [Response to Docket No. 090309298-9299-01]
Response to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Broadband
Initiatives AGENCIES: National Telecommunications and Information Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce; Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department
of Agriculture ACTION: Agencies joint request for information. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Section 6001 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (Recovery Act) requires the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) to establish the Broadband Technology
Opportunities Program (BTOP). The Recovery Act further establishes
authority for the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to make grants and
loans for the deployment and construction of broadband systems. NTIA
and RUS will hold a series of public meetings about the new programs
beginning on March 16, 2009. In addition to the information received
about the new programs during the public meetings, written comments
will be accepted through April 13, 2009. Through this notice, guidance
is provided as to the matters to be discussed at these public meetings
and the categories of information with respect to which interested parties may submit comments.
MEETING DATES: There will be a series of public meetings in Washington, DC on March 16, 19, 23 and 24, 2009. Field hearings will be held in other
locations on March 17 and 18, 2009. These times and the agenda topics
are subject to change. Please refer to NTIA's Web site,
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants or the RUS Web site http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/index.html, for the most up-to-date meeting agenda.
Additional meetings may be announced in the future. Comments will be
received through April 13, 2009.
Time and Place: The meetings on March 16, 19, 23, and 24, 2009 will
begin at 10 a.m. and will take place at the U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230. The
meetings on March 17 and 18, 2009, will be field hearings. The location
and time of the field hearings on March 17 and 18 will be announced on
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants and on http://
www.rurdev.usda.gov/index.html. Webcast and/or transcripts of all of
the public meetings will be made available on NTIA's Web site.
Times and locations are subject to change. Any changes will be
announced on the NTIA Web site http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants
or the RUS Web site http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/index.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information regarding the
meetings, contact Barbara Brown at (202) 482-4374 or bbrown@ntia.doc.gov; Mary Campanola, USDA at (202) 720-8822 or mary.campanola@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 6001 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to establish the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The
purposes of the BTOP include accelerating broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas and ensuring that strategic institutions that are likely to create jobs or provide significant public benefits have broadband connections.
The Recovery Act also establishes authority for the RUS to make grants and loans for the deployment and construction of broadband systems. The purpose of the additional RUS broadband authority is to improve access to broadband areas without service or that lack sufficient access to high-speed broadband service to facilitate economic development. In order to facilitate the coordinated development of these programs, NTIA and RUS will host a series of public meetings related to the NTIA's and RUS' broadband Recovery Act activities beginning on March 16, 2009. These meetings are in addition to the Joint Meeting to be held on March 10, 2009 at the Department of Commerce.1 FCC representatives will participate in the public meetings related to the FCC's mission. The public meetings will be organized around key program themes, including but not limited to the definitions to be adopted, the role of the states in the grants process, the relationship of BTOP to the RUS loan and grant program and other Recovery Act programs, the grant selection criteria, the role of for-profit providers as potential grant recipients, and other topics.
1 Joint Notice of Public Meeting, 38 FR 8914 (Feb. 27, 2009).
Matters To Be Considered: Information is being sought on the following topics. Aspects of some of these topics will be discussed at the public meetings. Interested parties are invited to attend the meetings and to submit comments for the record on these topics to assist NTIA in establishing and administering BTOP and RUS in implementing its expanded authority. Comments addressing specific agency questions may be used by either agency in formulating its respective programs. Comments will be received through April 13, 2009.
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