:: March 10th, 2010 ::
The IRS has made a determination regarding the taxation status of BTOP grants payments. The Department of Commerce’s General Counsel received the attached letter from the IRS earlier this week.
:: January 27th, 2010 ::
Today, WTA submitted reply comments to the FCC summarizing the association’s earlier comments on various portions of the National Broadband Plan under development at the agency. The comments can be found here.
:: January 25th, 2010 ::
:: January 19th, 2010 ::
On Friday, January 15th, RUS and NTIA released two Notices of Funds Availability (NOFAs) providing details of the conditions on applying for grants and loans in Round II of the RUS Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) and BTOP Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).
The agencies plan to accept applications from February 16th to March 15th and announce all awards by September 30th.
RUS’s NOFA allocates approximately $2.2 billion in this funding round for broadband infrastructure projects. NTIA’s NOFA allocates approximately $2.6 billion in this funding round of which approximately $2.35 billion will be made available for infrastructure projects. In addition, NTIA plans to award at least $150 million of the funding for Public Computer Center projects and at least $100 million for Sustainable Broadband Adoption projects.
The agencies will hold public workshops in the western half of the country in Portland, Reno, Denver, San Antonio, Eureka (MO), and Sioux Falls (SD). A complete list of public workshops and registration information can be found here.
The NOFAs are below:
:: January 12th, 2010 ::
Today, WTA and OPASTCO released a statement urging the FCC to choose long-term solutions to ensure ubiquitous broadband availability in its National Broadband Plan. The press release can be viewed here.
:: January 7th, 2010 ::
This afternoon, WTA submitted comments to the FCC in opposition to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) petition for rulemaking to restructure the Universal Service Fund. WTA’s comments recommend that the FCC “reject NCTA’s unwarranted and unsupported attempt to reduce the high-cost support of the small rural local exchange carriers who have been using it most efficiently and effectively to bring emerging broadband services to their rural customers.” The comments can be viewed here.
:: December 8th, 2009 ::
:: December 1st, 2009 ::
On November 30th, WTA filed comments in response to the Request for Information from NTIA and RUS regarding the BTOP and BIP grant and loan programs. The agencies are seeking information on possible adjustments to the programs as they move to Round II. WTA’s comments can be found here.
:: November 30th, 2009 ::
On November 24th, WTA joined NECA, OPASTCO, ERTA and NTCA is filing comments supporting the Equity in Switching Support Coalition’s petition on changing the LSS rules. The comments can be viewed here.
:: November 19th, 2009 ::
