Kagen Touts Recovery Act Grants For Rural Broadband

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 6, 2009

Contact:  Jake Rubin
202.225.5665

(APPLETON, WI)  Congressman Steve Kagen, M.D. is working hard to include rural areas of Northeast Wisconsin in our economic recovery.  The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced the availability of $4 billion in Recovery Act grants nationwide to help bring broadband service to unserved and underserved communities.  This is the first round of Recovery Act funding aimed at expanding broadband access to help bridge the technological divide and to create jobs by building out Internet infrastructure.

“I am proud to bring our tax dollars home to help our rural communities gain broadband Internet access and create jobs in Northeast Wisconsin,” said Kagen.  “The Recovery Act is investing our tax dollars in every corner of our country.  I encourage companies to apply for this funding as we build a 21st Century economy in Northeast Wisconsin.”

Wisconsin companies are encouraged to apply for funding between July 14, 2009 and August 14, 2009.

The Commerce Department’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) will help to jumpstart programs to make broadband available across the country, and the investments it makes in rural communities – will help spur innovation and pave the way for private capital to follow.  The program will partner with states, cities and organizations across America, to bridge the technological divide in the places where private companies have thus far been reluctant to invest.  Specifically, the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today issued initial Notices of Funds Availability (NOFAs) related to implementation of the broadband initiatives contained in the Recovery Act:

NTIA and the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) jointly issued a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) and solicitation of applications describing the availability of funds and application requirements for NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and the RUS Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). Applications for funds made available by this NOFA will be accepted beginning on July 14, 2009 through August 14, 2009.

NTIA also issued a NOFA and solicitation of applications to announce the availability of funds and provide guidelines for the State Broadband Data and Development Program pursuant to the Recovery Act and the Broadband Data Improvement Act. Applications for funds made available by this NOFA will be accepted beginning on July 14, 2009 through August 13, 2009.

The text of each NOFA, as well as a list of workshops and fact sheets providing summary information, can be found at www.broadbandusa.gov.