March 6, 2009
I. Overview
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the economic stimulus bill) allocates $7.2 billion for broadband grants. Competition for this money will be fierce. The timeline is short. The Obama Administration hopes to have the final rules written and requests for proposals out in early April. Governors, companies, and community groups are already putting together plans for this funding.
The purpose of this memo is to suggest ways to work with our employers and governors to encourage grant proposals that create and retain union jobs.
II. Overview of the Broadband Stimulus Legislation
The broadband stimulus bill creates two buckets of funds:
1. NTIA. $4.7 billion administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the Department of Commerce. These grants are more flexible, and the rules will be written in the next month. CWA will participate in the rulemaking process.
2. RUS. $2.5 billion administered by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) of the Department of Agriculture. These grants are for rural areas. Since the RUS money goes into an existing program, it will probably not have to write new rules. CWA’s mid-size rural employers would be more likely to look to this program for funding.
NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunities Program
The $4.7 NTIA billion program will provide grants for these purposes:
1. Broadband mapping and community technology planning teams. The legislation allocates up to $350 million to implement the CWA-backed Broadband Data Improvement Act (Public Law 110-385; also known as S.1492). States can apply for grants to fund 80 percent of the cost to map broadband infrastructure and set up community technology planning teams. The statute explicitly calls for representatives of telecommunications labor organizations” to be represented on these technology teams. States like Ohio, KY, TN, and Minnesota have pioneered this approach, with CWA involvement.
2. Build-out of broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved areas. Although the rules defining these terms have not yet been written, it is reasonable to assume that “unserved” means rural areas with no broadband and “underserved” means areas with either very slow broadband or only one provider.
3. Build-out of networks connecting public and non-profit organizations. This could include networks linking rural health centers, schools, community colleges, community centers, job training centers, senior centers, etc.
4. Programs that expand public computer capacity, including libraries, community colleges, and other community institutions. Not less than $200 million is allocated for this purpose
5. Programs to encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. Not less than $250 million is allocated for this purpose. This can include programs to encourage digital literacy and awareness; programs that provide broadband access, equipment, and support to low-income, unemployed, aged, and other vulnerable populations.
Other requirements for NTIA broadband grants:
o The grant recipient must put up 20 percent matching funds.
o Eligible entities include state and local governments; non-profit organizations; and broadband service providers. We believe the best approach is to establish public-private partnerships involving states (or local governments), CWA employers, and (for digital outreach projects) non-profit organizations.
o There must be at least 1 grant in every state.
o Grant recipients must meet “non-discrimination and network interconnection” obligations. Our employers are waiting to see what this means. CWA will actively participate in the rulemaking to get a minimalist interpretation.
o Grants must be awarded by the end of fiscal year 2010. Grant recipients must spend the money within two years.
o Infrastructure deployment grants will be evaluated on criteria that look at connection speed, population served, affordability, and prioritize health care, education, and children. The projects should stimulate economic growth and job creation.
RUS Broadband Program
CWA’s mid-size rural employers (Embarq, Windstream, CenturyTel, Frontier, Iowa Telecom, perhaps Qwest) may be more interested in applying for funding from the $2.5 billion RUS broadband grant, loan, and loan guarantee program. Priority goes to companies that have previously received RUS funding. The program is designed to fund infrastructure deployment in rural areas (a city or town with less than 20,000 populations) with no broadband. The program requires a 10 percent match. The program does not require grant recipients to meet “interconnection and non-discrimination” obligations. Grant applicants cannot receive funds for the same project from RUS and NTIA.
III. Recommended CWA Leaders’ Action Plan
1. Our Goals and Priorities
a. We want to facilitate relationships between states and CWA employers to craft grant proposals that create or maintain jobs for our members. Projects could focus in these areas:
o Network build-out to rural unserved or underserved areas
o Network upgrades/build-out to public computer centers like libraries and community colleges
o Network upgrades/build-out linking rural health centers, schools, and community centers.
o Efforts to offer digital literacy and outreach programs with subsidies for low-income households’ broadband access driving more customers to our employers’ networks.
b. CWA participation in state broadband mapping and planning efforts. Most states still have not mapped their broadband infrastructure. In those states, we should encourage grant proposals to conduct broadband mapping, create statewide broadband task forces, and community planning teams. A handful of states have already done this or have plans to do it. Check out the attached list or our online database at http://www.speedmatters.org/statepolicy
2. Reach out to the Governor’s Office - Governors are very important to the entire process. Grant proposals supported by governors will surely receive greater weight. It is critical that we reach out to governors’ offices now.
a. Find out who has responsibility for broadband stimulus
b. Learn what actions they have taken already and what plans they have. Many governors have already solicited project ideas.
c. Communicate CWA’s priorities
3. Reach out to CWA Employers
a. Have they provided project ideas to the governor? If so, what are they?
b. Evaluate which projects will create or maintain union jobs
c. Facilitate relationships with governors and other policymakers (members of Congress, for example) to build support for the projects that create or maintain union jobs
4. Link efforts of the Governor, our employer and the union. At the very least, we should make sure that we all communicate with one another. This will keep everyone on the same page and improve the grants’ chances of success.
For more assistance, contact Debbie Goldman, Speed Matters Coordinator at 202-434-1194 or dgoldman@cwa-unionn.org.
We also recommend you consult the CWA publication, State Broadband Initiatives, available as an online searchable database at http://www.speedmatters.org/statepolicy to see what your state has already done and what other states have done.
Loading ...
