When will Broadband Stimulus Funds Begin to Flow (United States Broadband America‪)‬

The biggest news in the broadband world this year has been the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), popularly known as the stimulus package. Included in the nearly $800 billion of programs designed to stimulate the American economy is $7.2 billion targeted specifically for improving broadband access. The bulk of these funds, to be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), are for grants and loans to upgrade access network hardware and software in hard-to-serve areas. Smaller amounts are designated for broadband mapping and for programs that encourage or enable residents of those areas to use broadband services. The two programs have somewhat different legislative goals and priorities. The RUS program is aimed at traditional RUS borrowers, while the NTIA program mainly provides grants to public agencies and nonprofits, but the agencies have pledged to align their programs as much as possible to make the rules and application procedures consistent, and to coordinate their timing. They plan to allocate the funds in three tranches beginning in fall 2009 and ending in fall 2010. Funds are expected to begin flowing to recipients toward the end of 2009--several months later than originally anticipated and after the construction season has ended in many of the Northern states.