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[Satellite News 10-28-09] The U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the U.S. Rural Utilities Service (RUS) are considering reducing the number of broadband stimulus funding rounds from three to two, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), released Oct. 27.
The report said the NTIA and RUS have experienced scheduling, staffing and data challenges in evaluating applications, which have caused the agencies to alter award strategies and timetables. The NTIA and RUS “have had to review more applications and award far more funds than the agencies formerly handled through their legacy telecommunications grant or loan programs,” the report said.
If the second round of funding becomes the final opportunity for satellite providers to apply for funding, the agencies anticipate they would extend the window to submit applications. However, the GAO said it is unclear whether the agencies will similarly extend the amount of time to review the applications, bringing the review time more in line with the experiences of other broadband grant and loan programs.
“NTIA officials indicated that the agency would like to make all awards by summer 2010 to promote the stimulative effect of the BTOP (Broadband Technology Opportunities Program). Alternatively, RUS officials indicated that the agency will make all awards by September 30, 2010, as required by the Recovery Act, indicating a potentially longer review process,” GAO Physical Infrastructure Issues Director Mark Goldstein said in the report.
Goldstein identified risks of a two-window timetable for both applicants and the agencies. The NTIA and RUS would have less than a month between the completion of the first funding round and the beginning of the second.
“Because of this compressed time frame, applicants might not have sufficient time to analyze their experiences with the first funding round to provide constructive comments to the agencies. Further, the agencies might not have sufficient time to analyze the outcomes of the first round and the comments from potential applicants. As such, a compressed schedule limits the opportunity to apply lessons learned from the first funding round to improve the second round,” the report said, adding that the application review time also would be compressed. “Due to the complex nature of many projects, NTIA and RUS need adequate time to evaluate the wide range of applications and verify the information contained in the applications. … Even among infrastructure applications, a wide variability exists in the estimates, projections and performance measures considered reasonable for a project.”
The report cited RUS’s Broadband Access Loan Program as an example. The program approved broadband loans for the highest-cost projects — on a cost-per-subscriber basis — ranged as much as 15, 18, and even 70 times as high as the lowest-cost project, even among projects using the same technology to deploy broadband, according to the GAO’s findings.
The NTIA also reported to the GAO that it does not expect to have complete data for a national broadband map until at least March due to lack of research, which puts a strain on the agency as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has a Feb. 17 deadline to deliver a national broadband plan to Congress based on this roadmap. The GAO said that the NTIA and RUS completed the first funding round before the agencies had the data needed to target funds to unserved and underserved areas and before the FCC completed the national broadband plan. The situation makes it very likely that the agencies will not have the national plan for the second round as well, the GAO said. The NTIA has yet to even define annual audit requirements for commercial entities funded under broadband stimulus program.
The GAO credited the agencies for establishing a two-step application evaluation process that uses contractors or volunteers for application reviews but warned that it may not be enough. “While these steps address some challenges, the upcoming deadline for awarding funds may pose risks to the thoroughness of the application evaluation process. In particular, the agencies may lack time to apply lessons learned from the first funding round and to thoroughly evaluate applications for the remaining rounds,” the report said.
The NTIA claims it will make decisions on all awards by summer 2010. The RUS indicated it would issue all awards by Sept. 30.
The report said the NTIA and RUS have experienced scheduling, staffing and data challenges in evaluating applications, which have caused the agencies to alter award strategies and timetables. The NTIA and RUS “have had to review more applications and award far more funds than the agencies formerly handled through their legacy telecommunications grant or loan programs,” the report said.
If the second round of funding becomes the final opportunity for satellite providers to apply for funding, the agencies anticipate they would extend the window to submit applications. However, the GAO said it is unclear whether the agencies will similarly extend the amount of time to review the applications, bringing the review time more in line with the experiences of other broadband grant and loan programs.
“NTIA officials indicated that the agency would like to make all awards by summer 2010 to promote the stimulative effect of the BTOP (Broadband Technology Opportunities Program). Alternatively, RUS officials indicated that the agency will make all awards by September 30, 2010, as required by the Recovery Act, indicating a potentially longer review process,” GAO Physical Infrastructure Issues Director Mark Goldstein said in the report.
Goldstein identified risks of a two-window timetable for both applicants and the agencies. The NTIA and RUS would have less than a month between the completion of the first funding round and the beginning of the second.
“Because of this compressed time frame, applicants might not have sufficient time to analyze their experiences with the first funding round to provide constructive comments to the agencies. Further, the agencies might not have sufficient time to analyze the outcomes of the first round and the comments from potential applicants. As such, a compressed schedule limits the opportunity to apply lessons learned from the first funding round to improve the second round,” the report said, adding that the application review time also would be compressed. “Due to the complex nature of many projects, NTIA and RUS need adequate time to evaluate the wide range of applications and verify the information contained in the applications. … Even among infrastructure applications, a wide variability exists in the estimates, projections and performance measures considered reasonable for a project.”
The report cited RUS’s Broadband Access Loan Program as an example. The program approved broadband loans for the highest-cost projects — on a cost-per-subscriber basis — ranged as much as 15, 18, and even 70 times as high as the lowest-cost project, even among projects using the same technology to deploy broadband, according to the GAO’s findings.
The NTIA also reported to the GAO that it does not expect to have complete data for a national broadband map until at least March due to lack of research, which puts a strain on the agency as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has a Feb. 17 deadline to deliver a national broadband plan to Congress based on this roadmap. The GAO said that the NTIA and RUS completed the first funding round before the agencies had the data needed to target funds to unserved and underserved areas and before the FCC completed the national broadband plan. The situation makes it very likely that the agencies will not have the national plan for the second round as well, the GAO said. The NTIA has yet to even define annual audit requirements for commercial entities funded under broadband stimulus program.
The GAO credited the agencies for establishing a two-step application evaluation process that uses contractors or volunteers for application reviews but warned that it may not be enough. “While these steps address some challenges, the upcoming deadline for awarding funds may pose risks to the thoroughness of the application evaluation process. In particular, the agencies may lack time to apply lessons learned from the first funding round and to thoroughly evaluate applications for the remaining rounds,” the report said.
The NTIA claims it will make decisions on all awards by summer 2010. The RUS indicated it would issue all awards by Sept. 30.
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