Second and Final Round of Broadband
Federal Grant Program Launches

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - The second and final round of the $4.7 billion federal broadband grant program under the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) has begun.

The ABAC Committee will be holding a public meeting to gather input from the public on NTIA federal broadband grant applications, including input from grant applicants and other interested parties. This meeting will be held on Thursday, April 15, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Carnegie Center - 1101 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007, on the Main Floor of the old Carnegie Library.

This funding includes grants for broadband infrastructure, computer centers, and sustainable projects that promote broadband use.

The Governors of their respective states have been asked to provide their input into the grants impacting their states by letter to NTIA on or before May 3, 2010.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer created the Arizona Broadband Advisory Committee (ABAC) to provide expertise and advice to the Governor’s office on broadband grant applications. This committee consists of a representative from eleven Arizona government agencies and is chaired by Chad Kirkpatrick, State CIO and Director of the Government Information Technology Agency (GITA).

Arizona entities have been awarded over $40 million in loans and grants from the first round of broadband funding that includes:

A grant for the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records Division for $1.3 million was awarded and will provide more than 1,000 computers to 84 libraries throughout the state of Arizona. This grant allows Arizona's libraries to extend their reach to more than 450,000 previously underserved citizens of Arizona.

The Tohono O'odham Utility Authority (TOUA) has been selected to receive a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Services (RUS) Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) $3.6 million loan and a $3.6 million grant to design, engineer and construct a digital network to replace dial-up service. This project will provide services throughout the Tohono O'odham Reservation using Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and fixed wireless broadband.

The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) has been awarded an approximately $32.2 million federal grant from NTIA. This grant along with partial matching funds will provide middle mile and last mile broadband infrastructure access to the Navajo Nation.

The Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) has been awarded a federal grant through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) that will provide a total of 75 computers to three community centers in Phoenix, Arizona. This a multi-state grant award with approximately $500,000 going to Arizona for this project. Chicanos Por La Causa will implement this portion of the grant in Arizona for MEDA.

Additional information is available at www.broadbandusa.gov and www.azgita.gov.
 

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