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Lawrence StricklingAssistant Secretary for Communications and InformationNational Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
FY 14-15: Agency Priority Goal
Expand U.S. Broadband Infrastructure
Priority Goal
Goal Overview
Broadband access is essential to U.S. global competitiveness in the 21st century, driving job creation, promoting innovation, and expanding markets for American businesses. Broadband access also affords public safety agencies the opportunity for greater levels of effectiveness and interoperability.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) manages the implementation of BTOP to expand broadband service to communities in a cost-effective manner that maximizes impacts on economic growth, education, health care, and public safety. BTOP is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). After a rigorous application and review process, NTIA invested approximately $4 billion in 233 BTOP projects benefiting every state, territory, and the District of Columbia. Most of NTIA’s broadband grant investments, 123 grant awards totaling more than $3.48 billion, fund the construction or upgrade of approximately 110,000 miles of broadband networks and employ multiple technologies, including fiber-optics, wireless, and other technologies.
Network miles are a direct indicator of the nation’s growing broadband infrastructure, and represent both the increasing ability of underserved communities to contribute to America’s global competitiveness and the foundation for more affordable broadband services to homes and businesses. NTIA broadband grant investments will connect more than 24,000 community anchor institutions (e.g., libraries, hospitals, and schools), and add more than 650,000 new household and business subscribers to broadband service.
NTIA continues to monitor and provide guidance to grant recipients through technical assistance on refining methodologies for collecting data on new subscribers and accurately reporting that information. NTIA also collects reports from grant recipients regularly detailing performance and performs case reviews evaluating projects’ successes and challenges in meeting milestones. These activities help NTIA understand the progress made by recipients and inform the provision of appropriate corrective actions and enforcement measures, if needed.
Strategies
NTIA proactively engages its broadband grant recipients to monitor project progress and compliance efforts. NTIA regularly communicates with recipients to ensure successful oversight of grant funds, identifies potential risks affecting the recipient and the project, and provides corrective guidance to resolve issues promptly. NTIA assesses each grant to review potential risks affecting the recipient and assigns one of three levels for monitoring – Standard, Intermediate, and Advanced – based on the total award amount, number of sub-recipients, project complexity and duration, as well as the organizational type (e.g., for-profit; nonprofit; and state, local, or tribal government). Federal Program Officers (FPOs) then carry out appropriate escalating oversight activities based on these three levels in cooperation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NTIA’s broadband grant recipients are required to report their financial performance, project performance, and ARRA-related activities on a quarterly basis. NTIA reviews these three reports – the Federal Financial Report (FFR), Performance Progress Report (PPR), and ARRA report – to monitor project progress against established baselines, expenditures of grant funds, and contribution of non-Federal cost-share. Federal Program Officers provide feedback and additional guidance, as necessary, to ensure that each recipient is providing sufficient detail to allow NTIA to determine that the projects are meeting programmatic objectives and delivering promised project benefits.
As recipients complete their projects, NTIA continues to work with the NIST and NOAA Grants Offices to verify that each recipient has completed all applicable administrative actions and required work. This process occurs over several months and includes a review of the technical obligations, financial accounting, and administrative requirements before concluding the grant agreements between NTIA and grant recipients.
Progress Update
To date, BTOP grantees have exceeded their program targets for Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs), and Broadband Subscribers. The Network Miles indicator has lagged behind target for a few quarters, primarily due to deployment challenges, delays associated with environmental reviews, and delays with construction permitting. However, NTIA expects to meet its overall target by the end of the program in 2015. In addition, 212 grantees have completed their projects or are in the closeout process.
During this reporting period, BTOP grant recipients continued to deploy infrastructure in 10 states. This reflects the slowing pace of deployment as the program concludes, since most grant recipients have completed deployment and are in the process of closing-out their awards. Many local and regional communities are already realizing the initial benefits of new and improved broadband delivered by BTOP-funded projects. BTOP projects are significantly increasing broadband capacity to more than 7,950 local and regional communities across the country. These connections, many to a gigabit or more, provide a platform for new and expanding innovations in many fields, including healthcare, manufacturing, and education.
Last quarter, NTIA published an evaluation of BTOP’s social and economic impacts. The evaluation is available at http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/EvaluationStudy. The study assessed the short- and long-term economic gains in grant-funded communities. As part of this effort, there were case studies for eight BTOP Public Computing Center (PCC) projects, seven BTOP Sustainable Broadband Adoption (SBA), and 12 Comprehensive Community Infrastructure (CCI) projects. NTIA and the Department of Commerce released the resulting Final Report: Social and Economic Impacts of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program[1], which noted several important outcomes as a result of BTOP:
- On average, BTOP grant communities experienced an estimated 2 percent greater growth in broadband availability than non-grant communities, which is estimated to generate increased annual economic activity of between $5.17 billion and $21 billion.
- The additional broadband infrastructure provided by BTOP could be expected to create more than 22,000 long-term jobs and generate more than $1 billion in additional household income each year.
- Community anchor institutions, like schools and libraries, served by BTOP infrastructure grantees in the sample experienced a decline in broadband prices of approximately 95 percent, while increasing their broadband capacity almost seven times.
The data files supporting this effort, including BTOP grant recipient reporting data, should be made available to researchers and the public via NTIA’s website in the next quarter. Final review and approval of the data is currently underway, with an emphasis on protecting confidential business data submitted by BTOP grant recipients.
Next Steps
Since BTOP is nearing completion, NTIA staff continues to work closely with grantees to ensure that projects wrap up on time and within budget and deliver the promised broadband benefits to the communities they serve. For the remaining infrastructure projects, the focus is on overcoming challenges to completing construction, testing, and then activating their BTOP-funded broadband networks. To accomplish these objectives, NTIA staff performs extensive and diligent oversight and provides technical assistance to grant recipients, ensuring projects meet their milestones and protecting taxpayer funds.
NTIA oversees projects in a number of ways. Staff remains in close and frequent contact with award recipients via regularly scheduled conference calls, email exchanges, drop-in calls on specific administrative or programmatic topics, and in-person conferences. These contacts serve as a means to reinforce the terms and conditions associated with each award and help ensure that NTIA quickly addresses challenges that arise. Additionally, recipients must report quarterly and annually to NTIA on key financial and programmatic activities. These reports are posted publicly and provide detailed information on progress in achieving program outcomes, use of funds, challenges faced, and expected future progress.
NTIA’s planned action for the quarter include:
- Continue oversight activities and provide technical assistance and other support to projects that continue their implementation and deployment efforts for the 12 active infrastructure projects;
- Partner with the NOAA grants office to coordinate and complete closeout activities associated with the 18 infrastructure projects in their closeout period, which NOAA administers for NTIA;
- Partner with the NIST grants office to coordinate and complete closeout activities associated with the six public computing center and eight sustainable broadband adoption projects in their closeout period, which NIST administers for NTIA; and
- Continue ongoing monitoring of compliance with the Federal interest, open-access, and other post-grant obligations of the 90 infrastructure, 62 public computing center, and 40 sustainable broadband adoption projects that have closed out their grants.
Expand All
Performance Indicators
Miles of broadband networks deployed (Infrastructure Projects)
Community anchor institutions connected (Infrastructure Projects)
New household and business subscribers to broadband (Sustainable Broadband Adoption Projects)
Contributing Programs & Other Factors
Executive Order: Accelerating Broadband Infrastructure Deployment
The Federal interagency working group established to streamline the process by which broadband providers can seek to install wireless towers and other broadband infrastructure on Federal property and tribal lands.
Program Description: on June 14, 2012, President Obama issued an Executive Order titled Accelerating Broadband Infrastructure Deployment. Through this order, the President instructed the Departments of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, and the United States Postal Service, advised by the Federal Communications Commission, Council on Environmental Quality, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the National Security Staff, to form a working group to “ensure a coordinated and consistent approach in implementing agency procedures, requirements, and policies related to access to Federal lands, buildings, and rights of way, federally assisted highways, and tribal lands to advance broadband deployment…” NTIA participates in the Working Group on behalf of the Department of Commerce, while also frequently coordinating with these agencies to support the successful implementation of BTOP infrastructure projects.
Broadband Initiatives Program
Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service
Program Description: the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) was established by the Recovery Act to provide loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations to deploy broadband infrastructure in rural communities. NTIA and the Department of Agriculture work together to ensure that their respective investments are complimentary and do not duplicate investments in overlapping areas.
OIG Recovery Act Task Force
Department of Commerce, Office of Inspector General
Program Description: NTIA works with the Department of Commerce's Office of Inspector General (OIG) to ensure that recipients and the Program follow applicable statues, regulations, and guidance to maintain compliance with their award agreements.
Strategic Objectives
Statement:
Strengthen the Nation’s digital economy by championing policies that will maximize the potential of the Internet, expanding broadband capacity, and enhancing cybersecurity to provide a robust environment for innovation. (NIST, NTIA, USPTO)
Description:
The digital economy is the great engine of innovation and economic growth of the 21st century, and the Department is its principal defender and champion in the federal government. The Internet engine that powers this vast marketplace of electronic goods and services was developed within the federal government. But it has flourished in the private sector—where it should remain.
This extraordinary platform for innovation, growth, and social progress faces urgent policy questions that demand a thoughtful government response. How can personal information and intellectual property be protected online? How can the Nation’s critical digital infrastructure be defended from cyber-attacks? How can high-speed and affordable Internet access for all Americans be ensured? And, how can these goals be achieved while preserving, here and around the world, the fundamentally open nature of the Internet, free from unnecessary regulation?
The Department has essential responsibility and a central role in answering these questions. It advises the President on telecommunications issues and manages national spectrum resources needed for expanded high-speed broadband service. It develops U.S. policy on online intellectual property protection and enforcement. It oversees the development of voluntary industry cybersecurity and other online safety standards. It houses FirstNet which is charged with building a nationwide wireless broadband network for public safety users. And, the Department represents the United States on Internet governance issues before international multi-stakeholder bodies.
Agency Priority Goals
Statement: By September 30, 2015, the Department of Commerce will increase the nation's broadband infrastructure developed through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) from 78,120 miles at the end of FY 2012 to 118,000 miles. When this goal is achieved, BTOP will connect 23,500 community anchor institution and will add 670,000 new household and business subscribers to broadband service.
Description: Broadband access is essential to U.S. global competitiveness in the 21st century, driving job creation, promoting innovation, and expanding markets for American businesses. Broadband access also affords public safety agencies the opportunity for greater levels of effectiveness and interoperability. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) manages the implementation of BTOP to expand broadband service to communities in a cost-effective manner that maximizes impacts on economic growth, education, health care, and public safety. BTOP is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). After a rigorous application and review process, NTIA invested approximately $4 billion in 233 BTOP projects benefiting every state, territory, and the District of Columbia. Most of NTIA’s broadband grant investments, 123 grant awards totaling more than $3.48 billion, fund the construction or upgrade of approximately 110,000 miles of broadband networks and employ multiple technologies, including fiber-optics, wireless, and other technologies. Network miles are a direct indicator of the nation’s growing broadband infrastructure, and represent both the increasing ability of underserved communities to contribute to America’s global competitiveness and the foundation for more affordable broadband services to homes and businesses. NTIA broadband grant investments will connect more than 24,000 community anchor institutions (e.g., libraries, hospitals, and schools), and add more than 650,000 new household and business subscribers to broadband service. NTIA continues to monitor and provide guidance to grant recipients through technical assistance on refining methodologies for collecting data on new subscribers and accurately reporting that information. NTIA also collects reports from grant recipients regularly detailing performance and performs case reviews evaluating projects’ successes and challenges in meeting milestones. These activities help NTIA understand the progress made by recipients and inform the provision of appropriate corrective actions and enforcement measures, if needed.
