Broadband StimulusNational Town Hall Webcast

TIA President Grant Seiffert

TIA President
Grant Seiffert

After the initial Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) and programmatic rules were released in July for up to $4 billion of stimulus funding available in the initial round, TIA co-hosted a free live Webcast of a Broadband Stimulus National Town Hall to educate grant applicants.

With applications for the first round due on August 14, time was — and still is — critical.

The interactive live workshop presented by the National League of Cities TV, TV Mainstream and BroadbandCensus.com on July 9 gave virtual attendees a first look at what applicants need to know to put together successful broadband grant and loan applications. TIA President Grant Seiffert was the opening speaker. His speech is available online along with other segments of the two-hour long program.

Rich Wonders, VP Strategic Marketing, Alcatel-Lucent, was interviewed about initial reactions to the NOFA from operators and municipal entities.

Ken Kuchno, Director of the Broadband Division of RUS and Anthony Wilhelm, Deputy Associate Administrator, NTIA Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications, discussed details of the releases, timing of applications, and how some of the key issues that had been left open these last few months have been resolved.

A second panel of experts on NTIA on RUS funding programs took questions live. Panelists included:

  • John Kneuer, President Kneuer LLC and former NTIA Administrator and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
  • Gary Bolton, VP Global Marketing, Adtran
  • Maria Browne, Partner, Davis Wright and Tremaine LLP

The program concluded with a discussion on compliance issues, how the agencies are expected to police waste, fraud and abuse, and what applicants need to pay attention to now to avoid potential issues down the road.

More than 1,000 interested parties logged in for the Webcast, which received excellent reviews and continues to highlight critical information as the first round grant applications period remains open.