U.S. Department of Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack, Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Copps and U.S. Dept. of Commerce Senior Advisor and Acting Chief of Staff Rick Wade kicked off the joint broadband initiative under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act today and announced a series of public meetings. 1 Department of Commerce 2 NTIA Meeting 3 March 10, 2009 4 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. 5 6 ADMINISTRATOR GOMEZ: Good morning. I'm 7 Anna Gomez, Acting Administrator for the National 8 Telecommunications Information Administration. 9 It's my pleasure to welcome you to the Commerce 10 Department, and I want to thank you all for being 11 here. I know it's been probably a long morning for 12 most of you. We're delighted to have with us today 13 co-hosting this meeting U.S. Secretary of 14 Agriculture Tom Vilsack, acting chairman of the 15 Federal Communications Commission, Michael Copps, 16 and Commerce Department Senior Advisor and Acting 17 Chief of Staff, Rick Wade. To bring new jobs, 18 services, and products to all of the American 19 people, President Obama has made expanded access to 20 broadband services a priority in the American 21 Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In his inaugural 22 address the president spoke of laying a new 2 1 foundation for growth, including the digital lines 2 that feed our commerce and bind us together. The 3 President realizes the extraordinary potential 4 expanded access to broadband technology has for 5 transforming lives by bringing the world closer, 6 spurring job creating innovations and growing the 7 economy. Commerce, Agriculture, and the FCC will 8 work together closely to implement the act's 9 broadband initiatives and to develop a national 10 broadband plan. We've asked you here today to 11 begin a dialogue on the president's broadband 12 initiatives and the development of that national 13 broadband plan. To jump start this discussion on 14 the president's broadband initiatives, it is my 15 great pleasure to turn the podium over to Iowa's 16 former governor and president Obama's and America's 17 new U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. 18 SECRETARY VILSACK: Thank you very much. 19 And good morning to everyone. This is an important 20 day for rural America. President Obama promised 21 during the course of his campaign within 100 days 22 to take action on an aggressive rural agenda, and 3 1 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act made 2 good on that promise. We're here today to begin 3 the process of a dialogue and a discussion about 4 how best to invest in America's future by expanding 5 broadband access to rural America. I'm 6 particularly interested, and I know the President 7 is as well, of making sure that we make this 8 technology, which is the lifeline to economic 9 development, available in all parts of the country. 10 Our emphasis at USDA will be first and foremost on 11 creating a transparent and participatory process to 12 get the best ideas as to how we can expand this 13 technology and then to quickly implement this 14 technology in communities across the country, 15 particularly those that are unserved today. Today 16 in those unserved areas there are farmers and 17 ranchers in need of technology so that they can 18 access up-to-date information on markets, to make 19 informed decisions about their operations. Today 20 in those unserved areas there are small business 21 individuals who have a creative idea and a product 22 that might gain worldwide acceptance if they had 4 1 access to worldwide markets. Today in America in 2 those unserved areas there are youngsters doing 3 reports that need to access information so that 4 they can get the kind of education and training 5 that they need to be competitive in a very 6 difficult global economy. That is what broadband 7 access promises. The opportunity for farmers and 8 ranchers to prosper, the opportunity for small 9 businesses to grow and develop, and the opportunity 10 for our young minds to be as prepared as possible 11 for the challenges of the future. 12 Our USDA commitment is $2.8 billion. 13 We're interested in working with the private 14 sector, working with our federal partners 15 as well as local governments to find the most 16 creative and innovative ways to expand this 17 technology. And we're anxious to leverage the 18 resources beyond the $2.8 billion. Sixty years ago 19 the Department of Agriculture was challenged by 20 another administration to expand rural telephone 21 access. It was a dream and a hope that those in 22 rural America would have access to this new 5 1 technology. We delivered on that promise, and 2 today we begin another chapter and another journey, 3 to provide up-to-date technology to all of America. 4 I think it's safe to say that we are not 5 as far ahead in this technology as we need to be, 6 but with the passage of the American Recovery and 7 Reinvestment Act we are going to take a significant 8 step forward to realize President Obama's dream of 9 an America that has the framework and technology to 10 compete successfully in whatever the global economy 11 may require. 12 I'm anxious to get to work. I apologize 13 that I'm not going to be able to stay. As good as 14 this audience is, I have an appointment with Cookie 15 Monster and broccoli as we promote school 16 nutrition. The challenges of being the USDA head. 17 But this is an important discussion, and I 18 appreciate the fact that as many people who are 19 here today are as interested as we are in making 20 this work. This is a very important technology 21 that every American needs to have access to, and I 22 look forward to working with all of you to make 6 1 that happen. Thank you very much. 2 [Applause] 3 ADMINISTRATOR GOMEZ: Thank you, 4 Secretary Vilsack. Next we will hear from a person 5 I deeply respect, former Department of Commerce 6 Assistant Secretary for Trade Development -- Former 7 Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary for 8 Trade Development and now Acting Chairman of the 9 Federal Communications Commission, Michael Copps. 10 CHAIRMAN COPPS: Thank you. Good 11 morning. Thanks, Anna, for the very nice 12 introduction. The Commerce Department is truly 13 lucky to have such a terrific FCC alum, and that 14 comes from a Commerce alum that has gone to the 15 FCC. This is a beautiful day. I'm pleased to be 16 back here in this beautiful hall of commerce where 17 I see many old friends that bring back many good 18 memories from my years here in the 1990s, and it's 19 good being here with the Secretary of Agriculture, 20 Tom Vilsack, and commerce's Acting Chief of Staff 21 Rick Wade to launch at long last a proactive 22 broadband build-up for our country. I also want to 7 1 recognize and thank my friend and colleague from 2 the FCC, commissioner Jonathan Adelstein who is 3 here and who has been working tirelessly at the 4 Commission as an advocate for rural broadband since 5 he came to the Commission. Together we have been 6 asking for years, where is the policy for 7 broadband? Where is the action? Where's the 8 national commitment? Where's the beef? 9 The fact that we are here today talking 10 about President Barack Obama's bringing broadband 11 to all corners of the country should be evidence 12 enough for everyone here if you need any more 13 evidence that change has truly come to Washington. 14 Seven years ago, shortly after I went to the FCC, 15 the Commission issued another of its 16 Congressionally-mandated Section 706 reports about 17 whether advanced telecom services were being 18 deployed around America in a reasonable and timely 19 fashion. And the answer was always yes, 20 everything's great. Don't worry, be happy. 21 But I wasn't happy, and I did worry. And 22 just last week we got another of those many reports 8 1 telling us how far the United States has fallen in 2 the ranking of nations when it comes to broadband. 3 This one from the International Telecommunications 4 Union concluding that your country and mine has 5 now slipped to a dismal number 17. Too few 6 consumers and small businesses in this country have 7 the high speed broadband they need if they're going 8 to succeed. We pay too much for service that is 9 too slow. It's holding us back as individuals, it 10 has cost our economy billions, and things are only 11 going to get worse if we don't do something about 12 it. Now, thanks to the vision of the President and 13 the foresight of Congress, we are doing something 14 about it. The years of broadband drift and growing 15 digital divides are coming to an end. We begin to 16 understand how key broadband infrastructure is to 17 the future of each and every one of us. Broadband 18 is a central infrastructure challenge of our time. 19 Earlier generations of Americans, going all the way 20 back to the beginning, met and mastered their own 21 great infrastructure challenges. They built roads 22 and turnpikes and bridges to get settlers' produce 9 1 back to markets, they built regional and vast 2 transcontinental railroads to bind the burgeoning 3 nation today. They put power lines and basic 4 telephone service out to every hamlet in America. 5 They built a web of interstate highways to deliver 6 the mobility that we all wanted. They did it by 7 working together, innovative private enterprise 8 encouraged by far-seeing public policy. But you 9 know, we forgot those lessons on how to build our 10 country when it came to the roads and highways and 11 bridges of the 21st century. High speed broadband. 12 So we lost precious time. We lost golden 13 opportunities. We shortchanged our economy, our 14 kids, and ourselves. Well, today we say enough. 15 We mobilize and we begin to build. And I am 16 pleased at the recently enacted and altogether 17 historic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 gives 18 the FCC an important role to play in turning our new 19 national commitment into a workable national strategy. 20 We are already hard at work on the job and it's my 21 intention that at our next full Commission meeting 22 on April 8th we will kick off an open, participatory 10 1 public process with a far-reaching notice of 2 inquiry to marshal the data and expertise we need 3 to have to make sure that we can meet our 4 legislatively mandated date of one year for 5 presenting Congress and the American people with a 6 national broadband strategy worthy of the name. In 7 doing so, we will put the FCC in the position of 8 having the hard data necessary to support sound 9 policy-making for the future. And working with 10 NTIA, we will have important new tools, like a 11 national broadband map to help us gauge how the 12 efforts begun today are actually progressing. This 13 will be a truly inclusive process. It will have 14 comprehensive private sector and public sector 15 input. It will ask the tough questions that must 16 be answered if we are going to succeed. It will 17 search out a myriad of traditional and 18 nontraditional stakeholders who deserve to be 19 heard, consumers, industry, labor, public interest 20 organizations, local, state, and Federal 21 government, all the agencies gathered here for 22 openers, but very likely just about every other 11 1 agency of government, too. Because the goal of our 2 national strategy must be to bring value-laden 3 high-speed broadband to all of our citizens, no 4 matter who they are or where they live, rural or 5 urban, affluent or needy, living in a comfortable 6 condo or not-so-comfortable tribal land, physically 7 able or dealing with a disability. “All” must mean 8 everyone. 9 And we will endeavor to ignore no sector of 10 our national life. Stop to think about it for a 11 moment. What doesn't broadband impact as we look 12 to the future of America? Not just the basic ways 13 we communicate with one another, but health care 14 information technology and the need to computerize 15 medical records. Better utilization of scarce 16 energy resources through the use of smart grids. 17 Higher education and the needs of schools, 18 libraries, and students as they gear up for the 19 challenges of the 21st century. More efficient 20 agriculture. Better housing. Public safety and 21 cyber-security. Education. The environment. Each 22 of these presents its own questions and new 12 1 opportunities which need to be examined as part of 2 a national broadband plan. I should note that as a 3 preliminary step today, the Commission issued a 4 public notice asking for comment on how there can 5 be better interagency coordination of broadband 6 initiatives in order to develop a report on a rural 7 broadband strategy by May of this year in response 8 to the farm bill passed last year by Congress. 9 This is just a first step in a larger picture, and 10 it's one that should have been addressed by the 11 Commission much more seriously many months ago. 12 So I am pleased to be here as part of 13 this interagency effort, to put us on a real road 14 to broadband, a road carefully laid out, funded and 15 incentivized and solidly built to meet our 16 country's pressing needs. If business and 17 government and stakeholders of every kind can all 18 work together to make this happen, it will happen. 19 We can do this job. Success will be measured in 20 jobs for our people, better health, education, 21 self-fulfillment for each of us as individuals, and 22 renewed economic opportunities for our country's 13 1 goods and services around the world. Talk about 2 the game being worth the candle. This is precisely 3 how we built this country of ours. Infrastructure 4 challenge by infrastructure challenge. And it is 5 how we will get it growing again and how we will 6 keep it great. So thank you for having me here and 7 consider me and the agency I have the privilege of 8 representing here signed up for the duration. 9 Thank you very much. 10 [Applause] 11 ADMINISTRATOR GOMEZ: Thank you, Mr. 12 Chairman. I am pleased to introduce Rick Wade, who 13 is Senior Advisor and Acting Chief of Staff of the 14 Department of Commerce. I am very grateful for 15 Rick's commitment and support for the broadband 16 program. 17 [Applause] 18 MR. WADE: Good morning, and let me as 19 well add my welcome and say thanks to all of you 20 for participating in this very, very important 21 meeting. I especially want to thank Secretary 22 Vilsack and Acting Chairman Copps. I also want to 14 1 recognize those who are joining us through our web 2 cast. Of course, that speaks directly to the 3 reason why we are here today. To collectively take 4 a step forward towards realizing President Obama's 5 vision of a 21st century communications 6 infrastructure for everyone in America, and through 7 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act we begin 8 working towards that end. This stimulus funding 9 makes a down payment toward that goal. We won't be 10 able to get broadband access to everyone with this 11 money, but we will begin moving in the right 12 direction, and if we invest effectively and 13 efficiently, we will learn a great deal about what 14 works well. There are five straightforward goals 15 for the administration's broadband stimulus 16 funding. 17 First, we want to begin to close the 18 broadband gap across America. So we'll extend high 19 capacity pipes closer to users in rural, remote, 20 and underserved communities. As Congress has 21 instructed us, other companies will be able to 22 connect to those pipes which will spur competition 15 1 and get services to people and businesses. 2 Second, we want to stimulate investment 3 by requiring companies that take federal money to 4 invest their own funds as well. 5 Third, we certainly want to create jobs. 6 Fourth, we want to start taking steps 7 toward ensuring that our schools, our universities, 8 our libraries and community centers and job 9 training centers and hospitals have high-speed 10 access. We've been asked by Congress to focus on 11 funding high-speed connections to these community 12 anchor institutions. 13 Finally, we want to encourage demand for 14 broadband. We think that when more people 15 understand how broadband access can help them find 16 new ways of making a living, that they'll want to 17 have it for themselves. When he announced his 18 candidacy for the presidency, then-Senator Obama 19 called on us to be the generation that reshapes our 20 economy to compete in the digital age. High speed 21 Internet access networks are fundamental to 22 America's economic growth. We need our scientists 16 1 and our researchers to stay on the cutting edge. 2 We need people in rural, unserved and underserved 3 areas to be able to work online at 21st century 4 speeds. All of these things will be supported and 5 forwarded by increased high-speed access around the 6 country. If communities are relying on 20th 7 century information infrastructure, they're not 8 going to be able to compete in this global 21st 9 century economy. We're calling on each of you to 10 engage with us and dedicate your best and your 11 brightest to develop proposals for funding. This 12 program will offer extraordinary opportunities to 13 provide connectivity to more Americans. We 14 encourage you also to engage each other, working 15 together state and local governments, nonprofit 16 organizations, community institutions, and the 17 business sector can devise viable, vibrant joint 18 projects, and that spirit of collaboration is 19 critical to achieving our goals. It is the 20 principle that guides our efforts to implement this 21 program. Today's meeting is a reflection of that 22 effort. We will do our part and fight to remove 17 1 the artificial boundaries of geography. We're 2 working in close concert with the USDA and the FCC, 3 and we pledge to do the same with states where the 4 broadband needs of local communities and centers 5 are known to ensure that public funds are used as 6 wisely, efficiently, and effectively as possible. 7 Both Commerce and USDA's broadband programs 8 represent a critical component of the 9 administration's larger economic recovery package. 10 The targeted timely and temporary investments that 11 we make must connect to the other related goals of 12 our economic stimulus efforts. These include our 13 investments in transportation infrastructure, smart 14 grid technology, and health information technology. 15 Still, whenever the President addresses the path 16 towards our economic recovery and job creation, he 17 never fails to mention the importance of broadband 18 Internet access. There's a reason. It will create 19 jobs, both long-term and immediate, with men and 20 women who will be put to work building the towers 21 and digging the trenches necessary to connect the 22 information superhighway, and it will improve the 18 1 lives of Americans. Take the farmer in North 2 Carolina, for example. With broadband access he 3 will be able to get real time, up to date minute 4 reports, not only on weather and crops, but market 5 information that will tell him the best place to 6 sell his goods. And then there's the sick child in 7 Illinois in a rural health care center. With 8 broadband his doctors will now be able to connect 9 to the cutting edge centers of care in Champaign or 10 even New York. The outcome: a healthier child 11 spending less time in a medical facility and 12 hopefully less money on care. Guided by the 13 Federal Communications Commission, we will be 14 working together in the year to come on a national 15 broadband plan. Today we take that first step. We 16 have the privilege to live in a transformational 17 moment, the President said last year, a moment when 18 technology empowers us to come together as never 19 before, while letting each of us reach our own 20 individual dreams, a moment when we can finally 21 progress and move beyond the huge challenges that 22 have stood in the way of progress for far too long. 19 1 The time has come for us to seize this moment. We 2 look forward to continuing this dialogue and 3 working with each of you in the days, the weeks, 4 and months ahead. Thank you so much, and thank you 5 for being here. 6 ADMINISTRATOR GOMEZ: Thank you, Rick. I 7 want to thank again Secretary Vilsack, Chairman 8 Copps and Rick Wade for joining us today. I will 9 now turn the program over to Mark Seifert who is 10 Senior Advisor and is spearheading this program for 11 NTIA. 12 MR. SEIFERT: Welcome. It's my pleasure 13 to turn to Dr. Bernadette McGuire-Rivera. She will 14 review some of the programmatic aspects of the NTIA 15 portion of the grant program. Just one note. It's 16 been the Obama's administration deep and 17 abiding desire that we work together, both the FCC, 18 NTIA, and USDA to make sure that we work in a 19 coherent, effective way, and so although we're 20 separated into two separate parts for programmatic 21 purposes, you should know that we are working very 22 hard to make sure that this is done in a smart and 20 1 forward-looking way. I'll turn it over to 2 Bernadette. I think if you'll come up to the 3 podium and speak from here. 4 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: Good morning. Thank 5 you. Welcome, everyone. I don't think we've had 6 this many people in the Commerce Department since 7 it was built. It's very, very exciting to see so 8 much excitement around broadband. I see a lot of 9 very familiar faces who have been very interested 10 in this for a very long time, and I know each of 11 you in your own way would like to see more and 12 better broadband, and we've been given a very 13 unique opportunity to make that happen. However, 14 it's going to have to happen very fast. So it's 15 not just the FCC, RUS and NTIA that need to 16 cooperate. Everyone needs to work together to make 17 sure we do it and we get it right. 18 Can I have a show of hands for how many 19 people have ever received a federal grant before? 20 Okay, that's good. How many from the Commerce 21 Department? I see not so many. 22 Okay, I think most of you out there are 21 1 used to RUS grants or you have worked a lot with 2 the FCC. The Commerce Department tends to do 3 things a little differently, and we're -- I'm going 4 to go through some of this this morning because 5 actually you could start working on your grant 6 application as soon as you walk out the door. So 7 I'm going to go through, and one of the reasons is 8 because the Act itself has been very prescriptive 9 in setting the parameters of the grant program for 10 us, and I think that's going to prove to be very 11 helpful as we move out in full speed. 12 Now, in addition to the information I'm 13 going to give you, I know that a lot of you are 14 concerned about many of the definitions such as 15 under-served, unserved, nondiscrimination, and 16 interconnection. We are going to have a series of 17 public meetings to discuss these. There is a 18 public notice now up on the Federal Register that 19 goes through 15 questions and a great deal of 20 detail about things that we want public input on as 21 we put together the guidelines and the rules for 22 this particular program. So be sure to check that 22 1 out as soon as you leave here, and let me give you 2 the dates of the public meetings. 3 The first meeting will be on the 16th of 4 March, and it will be here in this auditorium. The 5 next two meetings will be field hearings on the 6 17th in Las Vegas and on the 18th in Flagstaff, 7 Arizona. There will be meetings again here on the 8 19th of March, the 23rd, and the 24th, and we will 9 shortly be issuing an agenda for each of these 10 meetings that will cover the different topics that 11 will be discussed at each meeting. So that will 12 give you a lot of opportunities to provide input on 13 really every facet of this grant program. 14 Now, we are responsible at NTIA for $4.7 15 billion. Out of that we may spend up to 16 $350 million on broadband mapping and planning. Of 17 the $4.35 billion left, we will spend at least $200 18 million on public computer center capacity grants 19 and at least $250 million for innovative programs 20 to encourage sustainable broadband adoption. And 21 our plan now is to have those as four different 22 programs: one, the broadband mapping, one for 23 1 public computer center capacity, one for innovative 2 programs, and another large broadband deployment 3 and expansion program. The Act very specifically 4 sets aside $10 million for what they call audits 5 and oversight, and basically that's for the 6 Inspector General. We will be watching these 7 grants very carefully. It's sort of unusual that 8 they'll set aside money like that. It also allows 9 NTIA to spend up to $140 million on administrative 10 costs. The program purposes are to provide access 11 in unserved areas, provide improved access in 12 underserved areas, provide access for public safety 13 agencies, and to stimulate broadband demand, 14 economic growth and job creation consistent with 15 the overall stimulus program, and to provide 16 education awareness, training, access, equipment, 17 and support, and in that they ask us to provide 18 this to a very wide range of organizations—schools 19 and libraries, medical and health care, higher ed, 20 community organizations, organizations supporting 21 vulnerable populations, and entities that will 22 create jobs in designated areas. The Act also sets 24 1 out some specific responsibilities for NTIA. It 2 directs us to consult with the states and of course 3 to coordinate with the FCC and RUS. We have to 4 award all the grants by September 30th of 2010, and 5 the grants that we award we need to ensure that 6 they are substantially complete within two years. 7 We also have to establish contractual obligations 8 for adherence to the nondiscrimination and network 9 interconnection obligations that we will establish 10 in coordination with the FCC. We will also have to 11 report to Congress every three months, and we will 12 be establishing a database of all the applications, 13 the recipients and the quarterly reports submitted 14 by the recipients. 15 To be eligible for a grant, you need to 16 be a state or a political subdivision or territory. 17 Indian tribes and native Hawaiian organizations are 18 also eligible, as are nonprofit foundations, 19 corporations, institutions or associations. New 20 for the Commerce Department is that broadband 21 service providers and infrastructure providers may 22 be eligible if we determine it to be in the public 25 1 interest. You will have to, of course, apply for 2 this. We are expecting to have the first notice of 3 availability of funds out somewhere in the April to 4 June period this year. Our plan is to have three 5 grant rounds. This will allow us, one, to get the 6 stimulus money out as rapidly as possible and to 7 give people who need a chance to spend more time on 8 their application to put the application together. 9 The first grant round, again the notice for that we 10 expect to go out, I'm going to give you ranges of 11 times, between April and June of this year. Second 12 round, from October to December of this year. 13 Third round around April or June in 2010. These 14 are all going to be competitive grants based on 15 published selection and evaluation criteria, and 16 the grant application will have to of course 17 provide a detailed description of how you're going 18 to spend the money, and a detailed budget. The law 19 requires that you demonstrate that this project 20 would not have been implemented in the time period 21 without federal assistance. You'll have to 22 disclose other federal or state funding that you've 26 1 either applied for or that you already have, and 2 it's okay to apply to both programs. We're going 3 to be working and coordinating. So you can apply 4 to both programs. The only thing is the unjust 5 enrichment which basically I call that the 6 no-double-billing clause, so you can't try -- you 7 can't have both organizations pay for the same 8 piece of equipment. We have to award, according to 9 the law, at least one grant per state. We need to 10 consider each application in terms of will it 11 increase broadband affordability and 12 subscribership, will it provide the greatest 13 broadband speed to the most users? Will it enhance 14 service for health care, education or children? 15 And whether or not the applicant is a socially and 16 economically disadvantaged small business. 17 So that really sort of is the highlights 18 of what is in the Act that will affect your grant 19 application. I believe really you can start, if 20 you're going to apply for a grant you can start 21 pulling all this information together now. Again, 22 I want to stress the public meetings coming up, 27 1 because it's a very short timetable. 2 March 16th, 19, 23rd and 24th here at the 3 Commerce Department. March 17th in Las Vegas, and 18th 4 in Flagstaff. Again we really appreciate you 5 working with us on this timetable, but it's really 6 necessary in order for us to meet the obligations 7 of the Act and get the funding out. So I'm going 8 to let you hear from RUS and the FCC, and then 9 we'll take your questions. Thank you. 10 [Applause] 11 MODERATOR: Thanks, Bernadette. It's 12 comforting to have pros in charge of this. It's my 13 pleasure to introduce David Villano, the Assistant 14 Administrator of the Telecommunications Program for 15 the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 16 MR. VILLANO: Good morning, everybody. 17 It's a great honor to be here from the USDA and 18 support the President's broadband initiative. As 19 Secretary Vilsack mentioned this marks the 60 20 anniversary of USDA's Telecommunications Program. 21 Since that time USDA has provided over $20 billion 22 in telecommunications loans and grants in rural 28 1 America. As many of you know, USDA currently 2 administers four major telecommunications loan and 3 grant programs. We have our infrastructure loan 4 program, which has been around for 60 years, our 5 broadband loan program, which originated out of the 6 2002 farm bill, and we also have two smaller loan grant 7 programs, our community connect grants and distance 8 learning and telemedicine loans and grants. 9 Of the $7.2 billion authorized, USDA has 10 received over $2 billion that will allow us to 11 deliver a fifth program to help deploy broadband 12 service in rural America. Equally important, we're 13 very excited to be working with NTIA and FCC 14 together in collaborating and providing a 15 transparent and seamless process to provide 16 broadband service in rural America. As I 17 mentioned, we have over $2 billion in budget 18 authority at USDA. Many of you might know about 19 budget authority. We could deploy all that as 20 grants or we could convert some of that budget 21 authority to loans, which we intend to do. So 22 we're hoping that we will be able to leverage those 29 1 resources to deliver substantially more than the $2 2 billion that we have been given by the President. 3 Let me just take a moment to highlight 4 some of the key elements of our portion of the 5 stimulus package. Seventy-five percent of the area 6 to be served by the project has to be in a rural area 7 without sufficient access to high-speed broadband 8 service to facilitate rural economic development. 9 As has been mentioned here, one of the goals of the 10 Act is to create jobs, and we're hoping to do that 11 through the stimulus package. And within that we 12 have to give priority to projects that will give 13 end users a choice of more than one service 14 provider. We have to help the areas that have the 15 highest proportion of rural residents that do not 16 have access to broadband service, and we're looking 17 for projects that commence immediately upon our 18 approval and can be completed within a reasonable 19 time frame. At USDA we're ready to implement. 20 We're very fortunate that we have a broadband and 21 telecommunications program. We have seasoned staff 22 here in Washington and also being part of the rural 30 1 development mission area, we have 6,000 field staff 2 throughout rural development field offices 3 throughout the country. We also sought comments on 4 our broadband regulations back in 2007, and through 5 the farm bill deliberation, we have a lot of input 6 already from the public in how to deploy our 7 broadband funds. But we're very excited about 8 participating with NTIA and the upcoming public 9 meetings that will be commencing next week. That's 10 our way to get public comment from you in person, 11 and there will also be a process for submitting 12 public comments in writing throughout that time 13 frame. 14 So you're probably all wondering when are 15 we going to get the funds out? Well, this is our 16 implementation plan. Within 60 days of the public 17 comments, we plan to publish a series of notices of 18 funding availability, NOFAs, similar to NTIA. The 19 first NOFA, as I mentioned, should be published 20 within the next 60 to 90 days, and then we'll be 21 publishing subsequent NOFAs thereafter. We 22 anticipate there will be at least three NOFAs. The 31 1 timing of the subsequent ones, we want to see. 2 We're going to be working very closely with NTIA and 3 the FCC. We want to get the first one out as soon as 4 possible based upon the demand for that, and the 5 funding available through NTIA, we want to 6 coordinate. We expect them to be approximately 7 three to four months each time, but that's all very 8 flexible at this point. The NOFAs will have the 9 amount of funds that we'll be making available. 10 They will have the applicant, the area, and the 11 project eligibility requirements. They will explain 12 the whole application process, and the time frames that 13 applicants would need to submit those applications. 14 We will lay out all the scoring criteria and the 15 evaluation criteria, and the reporting requirements 16 that the applicants have to abide by to receive 17 these grants. We are similar that we have funds in 18 the stimulus package for our office of the Inspector 19 General to review the programs, and we want to make sure 20 that these very limited resources, this down-payment on 21 broadband deployment throughout the country are well 22 utilized. 32 1 With that, I’m going to yield the microphone 2 over to Mark to turn over to the FCC. On behalf of the 3 Secretary and everybody at USDA, we look forward to 4 working with you. 5 MODERATOR: Thanks David. We probably need 6 no introduction for Scott Deutchman, Acting Senior 7 Legal Advisor to Acting Chairman Copps of the FCC. 8 MR. DEUTCHMAN: No more introduction than any 9 of my other colleagues up here for sure. Thank you for 10 the opportunity to speak today. I realize that after 11 45 minutes of the program and standing in some lines 12 to get in here this morning, that I’m the only one who 13 stands between you folks and the comment period, so I’m 14 going to try to be brief. 15 As you’ve heard, the FCC has an important job 16 given to it under the Recovery Act. We’ve been charged 17 with the development of the national broadband plan, a 18 role we are very excited about. 19 As Chairman Copps outlined, we view this as a 20 comprehensive effort that will seek input from many 21 quarters – the private sector, and government agencies. 22 We'll be looking at a cross-section of issues, including 33 1 health care, cyber security, energy, and many 2 others. We will also be starting -- we will also 3 be reporting, excuse me, on the progress, and I 4 expect the successes of the down payment that these 5 broadband projects being started will achieve. We 6 plan to rely on a wealth of data including better, 7 more useful broadband maps. 8 Separate from the broadband plan, which we 9 expect to kick off at our April meeting on the 8th, 10 the Commission released a notice this morning in 11 coordination with the Department of Agriculture. 12 The chairman of the FCC must provide Congress with 13 a report on a rural broadband strategy by May 22nd 14 of this year, which does not give us much 15 time. So we've released a public notice seeking 16 comment today. The report is supposed to include 17 recommendations on promoting interagency 18 coordination of broadband policies and rural 19 broadband initiatives. We're seeking comment on 20 how best to achieve this and I would expect the 22 report will be one of the building blocks for the 34 1 larger national broadband plan. Thus, I encourage 2 everybody to participate and to make comments. The 3 notice is now on our web site, the docket number, 4 it's up on the web, but the docket number is GN-0929. 5 0929. Comments are due by March 25th, given the 6 short time period. 7 In addition to this report and the national 8 broadband plan that we'll be working on, the Commission 9 has a key role to play in supporting NTIA and the 10 Department of Agriculture in their broadband grant 11 and loan programs. We will be working closely with 12 them to provide substantive expertise on the implications 13 of important definitions relevant to their process, such 14 as the definition of unserved and underserved areas, 15 on broadband and the like. We also will be 16 providing our counsel on key questions regarding 17 network interconnection and nondiscrimination 18 obligations as they relate to the grants. 19 I can tell you that our staff from all 20 the relevant parts of the Commission are working 21 hard on this effort in order to do our part in 22 making the national broadband plan and the 35 1 interagency process we are all involved in a 2 success. With that I thank you. I look forward 3 for your comments. 4 [Applause] 5 MODERATOR: Thank you, Scott, thank you, 6 David, thank you Bernadette. We will now turn to 7 the public comments section of this meeting. For 8 those of you who have comments and questions, begin 9 queuing behind the microphones. We have a hard 10 stop unfortunately at 11:30. We will get through 11 as much of the comments and questions as we can. 12 We are joined today, I'm very excited to 13 say, by folks on the web who are watching this web 14 streaming and by folks on a teleconference. We are 15 also, I'm very happy to say, broadcasting this with 16 text streaming so that folks who need that ability 17 to participate are able to participate. 18 So as you've heard from everyone, this is 19 the beginning of our process. We are reaching out 20 to each of you to help us make these programs a 21 success. I think you've heard the word down 22 payment a couple of times, and I can't stress that 36 1 strongly enough. We have approximately seven 2 billion dollars. We have 50 states, some 3 territories, and the District of Columbia that we 4 are trying to make sure that these grant funds 5 reach out to. If you do the simple math, that's 6 not a lot of money per state, but that's not an 7 impediment, that's a challenge. 8 We need the best and the brightest. We 9 need innovators. We need the American spirit to really 10 put forth proposals that can help us figure out how 11 to do this in the future. 12 I invite you to work very hard and very 13 fast, and fast is key to the stimulus, to help us 14 reach our goals. 15 As Bernadette mentioned, we issued the 16 joint request for information, and she spoke about 17 the 15 questions. There are questions that are 18 separate for NTIA and for RUS, but you'll see some 19 overlap. We would particularly enjoy your commentary 20 on how we can make the two programs work together. 21 You’ll find that’s up for all of you folks on the 22 inside who know how the Federal Register works, that’s 37 1 up on their pre-release, but we have a link to it 2 on our page for you folks who happily don't know how 3 the Federal Register works. 4 If you go to www.NTIA.doc.gov\broadbandgrants, 5 you’ll find a link to that information. 6 The meetings that are going to be held 7 here and in Las Vegas and Flagstaff are also going 8 to be web streamed, and we invite the public to 9 attend, to participate, and to join in. 10 I’m excited to say now that we begin 11 our comment and question period that we're also going 12 to take questions. We have some questions that were 13 e-mailed in to us, and we have folks on the 14 teleconference who I believe should be queuing up 15 now and they will be sending their questions in. 16 So if you would like to make a comment or question, 17 and it's going to be hard for me to see but I'm 18 going to number the microphones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 19 then I'll go around. 20 In order to try to get as much commentary 21 as possible, I would like you to limit your question 22 or comment to 60 seconds. No need to fill the entire 38 1 60 seconds. We're not billing today. If you don’t 2 get a chance to ask your question or make your comment, 3 all of these will be made part of the record, and 4 if yours doesn’t get asked, you can submit it and it 5 will be part of the record. These questions and 6 comments will help us make our decisions and help 7 us get the best possible proposals out for funding. 8 So let's start with microphone number 1. 9 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you. My name is 10 Debbie Goldman. Is this on? I'm with the 11 Communication Workers of America. I simply want to 12 applaud the public meeting and the work that you've 13 already done. We worked very hard to get this 14 program passed because we're very concerned about 15 the key, one of the key goals that you all 16 mentioned, which is job creation. We're in the 17 midst of a terrible, terrible economic situation. 18 Our country, our people are losing their jobs, and 19 keeping our focus on this will create jobs – not 20 just temporary but permanent, good career jobs for 21 people, and we’re looking to you to include that 22 as a top priority as look at these competitive grants. 39 1 Thank you. 2 MODERATOR: Thank you very much. Now I 3 have a question from email from SONNY in San 4 Francisco, California. Will collaboration amongst 5 several applicants into a consolidated application 6 be encouraged or welcomed over individual 7 proposals? 8 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: I guess it's what 9 the group comes up with. But we will, you notice 10 the act does say we want to get as much to as many 11 users as possible. I would really encourage people 12 to get out and cooperate in applications, and 13 aggregate demand. 14 I don't think we have a “no” decision 15 just because simply you're a group of people and 16 that's going to be better than someone that's 17 not a group, but I would encourage people to get 18 together and put applications together. 19 MR. VILLANO: As mentioned, we want to do 20 this in a collaborative manner, so we would 21 certainly want to look at applications that use 22 joint funding between USDA and NTIA. 40 1 MODERATOR: Microphone 2 in the back. 2 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes, thank you. My 3 name is Joe Saundry. I'm with Fiber Tower Company. 4 We’re a carrier backhaul using shared access. We’re 5 very curious – will the map show how many towers and 6 buildings are broadband enabled so that when 7 broadband services, whether they are commercial or 8 government or community, when they are launched to 9 save money, will it all go back to one specific 10 shared access point much like when we built the 11 nation's highways? 12 So just to repeat, will we be mapping and 13 then giving grants to folks who build that type 14 of infrastructure, enabling towers and buildings 15 to get back to the Internet? 16 MR. DEUTCHMAN: Thanks for the question. 17 It's certainly a good idea. What exactly will be 18 on the maps at end of the day, the mapping 19 inventory I think is still to be determined as part 20 of the questions that are part of the request for 21 information that NTIA and RUS put out today. I 22 think the goal here is at the end of the day to be 41 1 as granular as possible. Our hope and expectation 2 is that we can provide as much information and get 3 as much detailed information collected so that 4 we're in a position and our colleagues at different 5 agencies are in a position to be really making 6 data-driven policy-making, so our expectation is to 7 vastly improve on what we have today by far more 8 granular mapping of the broadband infrastructure. 9 MODERATOR: Thank you, Scott. I think 10 you'll see in the Request for Information we seek 11 comment from the public about how to do things 12 better in this whole broadband map area. There's 13 opportunities, there's lots of data out there from 14 various agencies, and there's ways to make this map 15 a very, very helpful device for all the 16 policymakers. So we look forward to your comments 17 on that microphone number 3 in the back. 18 AUDIENCE MEMBER: I think it's me here. 19 My name is Louisa Handa. I just launched Rumba. I 20 encourage everyone to go to Rumba.com. I'm just a 21 hill country activist in Texas that could not get 22 any sleep, and I heard that this amount of money was 42 1 available and that there was no structure to bring 2 people together to work on the best possible 3 technology to put out there. Our alliance is an 4 alliance of hundreds of telcos, small rural 5 companies that are confused, that do not know if 6 they should apply individually So what we want is 7 to bring everybody together, and our proposal to 8 you is to give us this opportunity to bring 9 everybody together to work on the best technology, 10 the cheapest and the one that can be deployed the 11 fastest. This is not about who gets there first. 12 It's not about people dusting off their old 13 equipment which they did not use to help the rural 14 areas, and present it for a grant at this time. 15 This is the time for truthfulness. I just 16 encourage everybody to look into RumbaUS.com, 17 and I would appreciate your comment on whether this 18 is a good idea. 19 MODERATOR: One piece of information that 20 will help is typically in these grant programs 21 after you get the grant guidelines out there are 22 workshops, furthering education because there are 43 1 a lot of technical questions that will come up 2 and that is definitely in the plans for both 3 of these programs, and it has been the practice 4 for both Department of Commerce and the Department 5 of Agriculture to do post-grant follow-up so that 6 folks understand exactly how to solve these issues 7 that you've raised. No I’m going to go to another 8 email. Has the FCC determined the definition of 9 underserved areas? I’m interested in this answer 10 by the way. 11 MR. DEUTCHMAN: For those of you in the 12 room who have studied the issue, you know that the 13 answer is not definitively yes. How do I qualify 14 that? Can you hear me now? I was just saying the 15 FCC has not done that. Our role in this process, 16 given by the statute, is to provide a consultative 17 and coordinating role with the grant-making 18 agencies. We will be doing that, and we are 19 certainly -- they are certainly asking questions 20 about that in the RFI, and we'll be providing them 21 our expertise and counsel, but that decision by 22 anybody that I'm aware of has not been made at this 44 1 point, and there are things to guide everybody in 2 terms of what the FCC and others have done in the 3 past, but we don't have a definitive answer on 4 that. 5 MODERATOR: I think that's right. We're 6 seeking your comment on how to do that and what's 7 the best way to do that given the goals and the 8 structure of the Act. I know the NTIA portion of 9 the act uses underserved and unserved and the 10 agricultural part of the act uses rural. We're 11 working very closely together to try to make sense 12 of how all of these terms can be rolled out 13 together so that we are working together and making 14 a coherent, unlike my comments right now, a 15 coherent approach to these sorts of things. 16 Microphone number 4. 17 AUDIENCE MEMBER: My name is Bob Schmidt. 18 I'm the CEO of a company called Great American 19 Broadband. We operate in rural America. We have 20 7,500 subscribers in Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska and 21 Wyoming. We serve the underserved areas. The 22 biggest issue we face as a small business company 45 1 is liquidity, and if this system continues to 2 operate the way it has, we will still be in need of 3 liquidity. I encourage you to utilize as many 4 local banks on some sort of guarantee program so 5 that the funding can be distributed and properly 6 audited as you go through the four corners of this 7 country. Thank you. 8 MODERATOR: I would like to follow up on 9 that. One thing we're also trying to do in these 10 programs, as we set them up, is to try to leverage 11 the other broadband based programs in the Recovery 12 Act. There is the smart grid, there is Department 13 of Transportation money going out, so the thought 14 has been if you come forward with a proposal and you 15 don't have to dig the trench twice, that shows 16 efficiency and effectiveness, and so we want to -- 17 I think we raised this in the Request for 18 Information -- we want to request that you to think 19 about how to utilize all aspects. Like the health IT, 20 there are a number of different programs within the 21 Recovery Act, and so in your local communities and 22 your states, when you're designing these programs 46 1 looking for ways to leverage those different 2 aspects will be very helpful. 3 Microphone number 1. 4 AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'm Jim Smith with the 5 law firm of Davis Wright Tremain on the behalf of 6 several applicants. My question regards the three 7 grant rounds that both of you, the NTIA and the 8 Agriculture Department were talking about having. 9 In those three rounds, do you anticipate allocating 10 a third or different amount of available funds in 11 each of those rounds. Presumably you don't want to 12 run out of money in the first or second round. 13 Secondly, would you anticipate in those 14 three rounds to have each round open to every type 15 of applicant or to try to have certain types of 16 grant applicants in each of the rounds and 17 categorize it that way? 18 MODERATOR: I'll jump in for a second, 19 then I'll let Bernadette and Dave follow up. These 20 are just our thoughts right now. Your question has 21 gone into the public record, and we want people to 22 tell us about this. We're trying to give you some 47 1 meat to help you with how we should design the 2 program. I think that's our current thinking right 3 now. The concept is, I believe, to have a third, 4 approximately a third, and approximately a third so 5 we can get some money out the door, and it would be 6 across all the programs. It wouldn't be one versus 7 the other. But I'll turn it over to Dave and 8 Bernadette. 9 MR. VILLANO: That was well put. 10 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: You picked it up. 11 It wouldn't make any sense to give all the money 12 away in the first round. 13 MODERATOR: Thank you. Back in the back. 14 Yes? 15 AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'm Steven, I'm with 16 zone technology. As it happens, we're the only 17 access gear vendor that is manufacturing all its 18 gear here in the U.S. We have a nice factory in 19 Florida. My question is about the implementation 20 of your programs and the buy-America provisions 21 in the bill. Could you comment on that angle 22 please. 48 1 MODERATOR: I can comment that we're 2 waiting to hear about that, and that we will -- 3 that will be part of the information that comes 4 out. So we're waiting to hear. And we're aware of 5 that issue and are trying to get a legal opinion on 6 that. 7 Three, in the back on this side. 8 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you. My name is 9 Mitsaco Herrera. I'm with Montgomery County, 10 Maryland. We thank you for having this. We hope 11 in your discussions as you look forward to the 12 application process and the consolidation that just 13 as there are tensions between rural states and more 14 populous states in the Senate, there are also 15 tensions between urban counties and urban cities 16 within a state and statewide so that when you look 17 at consolidation that good weight is given to the 18 value of accepting applications at the local or 19 from the local jurisdictions. What we would also 20 do is in Montgomery County we're looking at 21 weighing different, ag reserve, if you consolidate 22 projects that you be sure to give weight to the 49 1 different types of projects within there. For 2 NTIA, are you planning on hiring additional staff 3 or will you be outsourcing the actual review of the 4 applications? What's a reasonable number of grant 5 applications, whether that's 10,000, 5,000, 1,000 6 to expect to be able to give to and for the library 7 program, are you looking for specifically those 8 applications to come from individual libraries or 9 from library jurisdictions? 10 MODERATOR: I'll answer the second 11 question first, then I'll turn the first question 12 over to Bernadette. We're looking for the best 13 that you have to offer, and so we're not 14 restricting in that sense. The statute lays out 15 specific guidelines for who is eligible and who can 16 apply and what you have to have in your 17 application, but I think opening the door wide 18 allows for the opportunity for us to review and 19 see, and the cream will rise, I believe. 20 Bernadette, if you can answer the -- 21 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: Definitely we will 22 be contracting out some of the support on getting 50 1 the grants out. As you know, NTIA itself is an $18 2 million agency, so we will have to be staffing up 3 and using some contract help. Probably somewhat 4 similar, I know some of you are familiar with PSIC. 5 We have used a lot of contract support in that 6 program, and that model has proved to be pretty 7 successful. We haven't determined yet exactly how 8 many grants we would be giving out or a target. 9 That's one of the things we want to talk to all of 10 you about in the meetings of what would be a good 11 number of grants. Should there be a floor amount 12 on the grants? Should there be a ceiling amount on 13 the grants? That's something we would like your 14 consultation on. 15 MODERATOR: Okay, thank you. 16 AUDIENCE MEMBER: And on the libraries? 17 MODERATOR: The libraries was my answer 18 to your question, we're opening the door wide, so 19 whatever folks think is the best approach, it may 20 be one library, it may be a group of libraries, it 21 may be libraries, public safety, the local 22 community. We leave that door wide open because we 51 1 believe it will bring more innovative and 2 forward-looking proposals for it. 3 Microphone right here. 4 AUDIENCE MEMBER: My name is Steven, I'm 5 with world innovative networks. What you're trying 6 to do is nothing new. In the past we have come up 7 with solutions where we're integrating both 8 municipal, public, public safety, and energy 9 networks in together. My question for you is, the 10 only way you can really pull that off is with a 11 true broadband wireless type infrastructure to 12 provide both fixed and local access, to provide 13 these applications and services. Does the FCC have 14 any plans under the new administration to either 15 increase the power, the frequencies that are 16 available. The 4.9, 3.65 gigahertz or to provide 17 new frequencies that would not go to auction to 18 actually allow this implementation in rural 19 environments. 20 MR. DEUTCHMAN: I believe that question 21 is ongoing at the FCC. I don't know the answer to 22 your question. I'll speak closer to the 52 1 microphone. That question is specific with regard 2 to proceedings that are ongoing at the FCC. I'm 3 happy to get you touch with the right folks -- get 4 you in touch with the right folks, but I don't have 5 an answer for you at this time. 6 MODERATOR: Now I have a question from 7 email, Lynn from Oklahoma City. She asked about 8 can a timeline be provided for RUS portion of the 9 stimulus package which I think Dave kind of laid 10 out. But I want Lynn to be on the web broadcast so 11 she can tell her grandkids that her question got 12 asked. 13 Another question is will satellite-based 14 rural broadband providers be allowed to participate 15 in this particular program? That's from John. 16 MR. VILLANO: I don't see any prohibition 17 in the statute, so we would certainly be looking 18 for public comment on that. 19 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: Same here. I think 20 particularly in some of the unserved areas that 21 that will be a very attractive sort of application. 22 MODERATOR: Thank you. Microphone 1. 53 1 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you, my name is 2 Gaylen Updike. I'm with the state of Arizona, 3 broadband manager there, and we have lots of 4 questions with regard to a number of different 5 things. I think that one of the big questions is 6 will the states be allowed to consult separately 7 with NTIA as a body or individually? Can we 8 schedule meetings with you on that? That's my half 9 question there. 10 MODERATOR: Okay. So you have 36 seconds 11 left. 12 AUDIENCE MEMBER: The second question I 13 have, it seems like the mapping dollars, there is 14 no 80-20, it's a grant I presume to an organization 15 in each state to do mapping? I presume that the 16 mapping will help certify underserved and unserved 17 areas in advance of grants applications, I would 18 imagine, and the question I have is how will those 19 dollars, those mapping dollars be implemented to 20 state organizations so they can go about and do the 21 mapping that's required? 22 MODERATOR: Let me answer the state 54 1 meeting first, then I'll turn the mapping over to 2 Scott. Many of you saw our March 2nd, that was 3 when public meetings were going to start. There's 4 a correction to that coming out. We had over 2,000 5 people sign up for individual meetings, and I 6 calculated that I would be here until 2012 having 7 all those meetings. So we have moved to this 8 process of trying to get folks to come to consensus 9 and sit on these round tables to give us their best 10 thoughts. The time pressure is such that we really 11 have to move quickly, and we need to get your best 12 ideas. Also, however, we know that statute says 13 we're supposed to reach out to the states. So 14 we're going to do our best to meet those goals of 15 the statute. I'm not sure, and I can't promise 16 that we're going to have time to sit down with each 17 of the 50 states and the territories and the 18 District of Columbia individually to discuss 19 through their proposals. We have until September 20 30th, 2010 to get this money out. I believe there 21 will be ongoing conversations with folks who submit 22 proposals that meet the requirements and the 55 1 further guidance sort of thing. So I think that's 2 the best answer I can give you right now. We're 3 going to do our best to do what Congress has told us, 4 which is to consult with the states and receive 5 their input on this, and then Scott I'm going to 6 turn it over to you for the mapping. 7 MR. DEUTCHMAN: The good news is -- I 8 can't seem to get this right. I'll get it by the 9 end, by 11:30 I should be raring to go. 10 The good news is that we're coming to 11 Arizona next week, so. 12 AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'll be there. I'm 13 very happy. 14 MR. DEUTCHMAN: There is an opportunity. 15 On the mapping, it's important to point out that 16 there are two real areas where mapping comes into 17 play with regard to the statute. One is you're 18 talking about the grants, but the other is that by 19 2011 there needs to be a national broadband 20 inventory, national broadband mapping inventory, so 21 we've got the bigger picture to strive for as well 22 as the individualized maps. 56 1 With regard to the individualized maps, I 2 think in some respects that's to be determined by 3 the grant-making agencies, but you'll see, I don't 4 mean to defer, but I think we're trying to learn 5 from you folks exactly what you said, are we going 6 to -- how are these maps going to work? What type 7 of information do you need to have on there? 8 There's a lot of questions being asked today. 9 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Will the maps be used to 10 certify underserved and unserved areas? 11 MR. DEUTCHMAN: I'll defer to others, but 12 I don't believe that decision has been made. 13 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: I just want to 14 reinforce working with the states, we will work 15 with the states. There are about five or six 16 states, and you know who you are, who have five or 17 six phone calls in to us, and we will get back to you. 18 MODERATOR: Microphone 2 in the back. 19 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you for the 20 opportunity to comment. I'm an elected city 21 counselor for the city of The Dells, Oregon. We 22 are far and away the largest population center in 57 1 our area. That kind of prefaces my question which 2 deals again with the distinction between entirely 3 unserved and underserved areas, how that 4 distinction will be made and whether a county-wide 5 proposal that incorporates a small urban population 6 center such as The Dells might be considered for 7 one of the proposals. 8 MODERATOR: So I think the short answer 9 is we've not made a decision, we have reached out 10 and asked you and folks like yourself and folks in 11 this room and folks on the broadcast and on the 12 teleconference to tell us how we should, and once 13 you submit those comments, we will review those and 14 put that up against what the statute says we need 15 to do and come up with what we believe is the best 16 answer. So I think the short answer is we are 17 waiting for you to help us get to those 18 definitions. 19 AUDIENCE MEMBER: All right, thank you. 20 MODERATOR: Thank you. Microphone 3 in 21 the back. 22 AUDIENCE MEMBER: My name is Janna, I ask 58 1 this question on behalf of clients who may be 2 potential applicants. The RUS has partial loan, 3 partial grant, a combination I heard through the 4 grapevine informally that there are talks of 5 actually doing it similar, implementing this one in 6 a similar fashion. Can I get some confirmation on 7 that? 8 Also, NTIA thinking of doing a partial 9 loan, partial grant as well? 10 The second question, will there be any 11 set-aside or consideration for small disadvantaged 12 businesses as you disseminate the grants? 13 MODERATOR: I'll take the last part of 14 your question and turn the first part over to Dave. 15 The statute actually has a provision about small 16 businesses. If you refer to the statute it speaks 17 about what you're talking about, and then Dave I'll 18 let you answer about the grapevine. 19 MR. VILLANO: Sure. The statute provides 20 us the authority to do loans, grants, and loan 21 guarantees. So we would envision that we would be 22 providing grants, loans, and loan/grant combos. 59 1 We're looking to get the best bang for the bucks. 2 MODERATOR: Ours is a grant program. I 3 imagine people with proposals who came in and said 4 we would use our grant to do it even better and 5 cheaper because we worked with our local bank to 6 get a good rate that might be a very attractive 7 thing reviewing proposals. 8 I would encourage people on the 9 teleconference if you have questions forge ahead 10 and submit them. I didn't want folks to think we 11 were leaving out. So far they have been completely 12 satisfied with the comments so far. 13 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: As I said before you 14 can apply to both RUS and NTIA, so if you have a 15 situation where you want to get a loan from RUS and 16 then get a grant from us for a separate part of the 17 project, that could work. 18 MODERATOR: Thank you. This microphone 19 right here. 20 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Good morning. My name 21 is Brian Parsons. I'm from CTI, we're a global 22 provider of services to the telcos, and we're 60 1 based in Pennsylvania. A comment and a question. 2 My comment is based on the plans that show how 3 important the rapid deployment of broadband 4 would be as well as in light of the current economy 5 it would seem that certainly a pragmatic approach 6 to this deployment will be most desired, and with 7 that in mind my question relates, I guess, simply 8 to digging ditches. So namely will there be or do 9 you see direction or preference given to 10 fiber-based deployments versus copper-based 11 deployments versus wireless deployments? 12 MR. VILLANO: There's no priority in the 13 statute for that, and that's what we'll be seeking 14 public comments on at the field hearings and here 15 in D.C. 16 MODERATOR: I would say if you look at 17 the statute, it also says the fastest speeds 18 possible, most forward-looking. There's a lot of 19 that in there and also in the conference report. 20 What we're looking for is bottom line the best bang 21 for the buck, but I think if we're planning about 22 the future, we need to think about the future, and 61 1 we need to have forward-looking future-looking 2 programs, expandable. To me, and having not seen 3 what the public comment is and we invite your 4 public comment on this very question, but if we're 5 going to spend public dollars, it should be on 6 something that can be an investment for the future. 7 Microphone number 1. 8 AUDIENCE MEMBER: My name is Rico 9 Singleton. I'm from New York State, deputy chief 10 information officer. We appreciate the NTIA and 11 FCC for convening these public meetings to address 12 the issues on broadband in the American Recovery 13 and Reinvestment Act. What I would like to ask, 14 in regards to the non-Federal funds matching 15 criteria in both of, both or all of these grants, 16 and specific to the local governments and 17 political subdivisions of the states, most of 18 them are typically strapped for cash, and 19 so what we would like to know is, are there going 20 to be considerations made for in-kind contributions 21 from nonprofits or political subdivisions such as 22 rights of way of fiber, fiber facilities, waiver of 62 1 fees, et cetera, whereas typically with the 2 nonprofits and political subdivisions being 3 strapped for cash, it may narrow the pool of 4 applicants whereas allowing for in-kind 5 contributions would increase the wide range of the 6 applicant pool as the goals state. 7 MODERATOR: I think I can say now that 8 the statute makes very clear about contributions, 9 and we would like to hear your comments about how 10 those contributions should be measured and how that 11 can be demonstrated. I think that's the best 12 answer we can give you right now. 13 Microphone 2 in the back. 14 AUDIENCE MEMBER: I represent Berlin 15 Atlantic capital. My question is for RUS and 16 David. You're in the midst of a rulemaking process 17 for the 2008 farm bill, and I believe you are done 18 with your rules. I don't know if they've been sent 19 to OMB. Will you continue with that process and 20 will it impact, will it become the template for 21 how you're going to deal with the grant program, 22 the loan program, and the direct loan program? 63 1 Second question, when you talk about a 2 guaranteed loan program, what kind of guarantee do 3 you think you're going to offer and what kind of 4 criteria are you going to expect from the borrower? 5 MR. VILLANO: In answer to your first 6 question, we are still working on our regulations 7 to implement the 2008 farm bill. They're in final 8 departmental clearance. They have not gone 9 to the Office of Management and Budget, and we do 10 hope to have those published within the next 60 11 days as an interim final rule on a request for 12 comments. 13 In answer to your second question, we 14 have the authority to do guaranteed loans right now 15 in our broadband program. It has not been funded 16 or utilized. So we'll be looking for public 17 comment on how we can best deploy that, if 18 possible, within the time constraints of a stimulus 19 package. 20 MODERATOR: Thank you. This question is 21 from emails. Will the NTIA, and I'm going to add 22 RUS into this question, also develop any yardstick 64 1 metrics to determine the effectiveness of these 2 programs? 3 MR. VILLANO: Well, I'll start since I 4 have the microphone. Yes, we are. We are 5 developing those right now, and you'll see in the 6 request for the public comments, we'll also be 7 seeking input from you on how we should measure 8 evaluation criteria for awarding loans and grants 9 and how we should measure success of the projects 10 funded. 11 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: Yes, we're going to 12 have metrics. It's one of the questions we want 13 your input on. I know this sounds -- and also 14 we'll have overall program metrics, and we'll have 15 metrics associated with each individual 16 application. 17 MODERATOR: I want to encourage you also 18 for folks out there who are thinking about this 19 issue to give us some guidance. One of the 20 programs is innovative, we're supposed to give 21 money for innovative programs, and we were sitting 22 around the other day saying how do you measure 65 1 innovation? Was I three times as innovative as 2 you? I know a lot of those folks out there, you've 3 been working with this and thinking about this. We 4 can use your wisdom on these issues. I think I'm 5 back here, microphone 3. 6 AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'm Tom DeReggie with 7 Rapid DSL and Wireless. We're a local broadband 8 company here in Montgomery County. I also am here 9 representing WISPA, I am on their legislative 10 committee and VP of the board. I would like to 11 start out by thanking the United States Government 12 and Congress for recognizing the needs of rural 13 America and more importantly recognizing the need 14 to deploy grants in a technology-neutral manner. 15 However, what's not very clear to me right now is 16 fulfilling the other goal, which is to make sure 17 that all Americans have the right to have broadband 18 regardless of the geographical area that they may 19 live in, including urban America. In the RUS 20 grants in the past they've previously 21 discriminated, disqualified underserved areas that 22 are within or nearby a metropolitan area. Will 66 1 that be removed from the RUS requirements in these 2 future grants or is it better for urban/suburban 3 Internet providers to be looking to the NTIA for 4 assistance in those areas? 5 MR. VILLANO: In answer to your question, 6 the existing programs that we have are very small, 7 they're very competitive, and the evaluation 8 criteria was determined based upon the availability 9 of the funds. Under the Recovery Act, they 10 exempted us from the farm bill, the rural 11 requirements of the farm bill. As I mentioned in 12 my presentation, at least 75 percent of the area 13 served has to be in a rural area, so we will be 14 able to touch on some areas that aren't considered 15 rural by USDA. In addition, we'll be working with 16 NTIA. So that might be a perfect project where 17 there's collaboration on. Again, we'll be seeking 18 comments on that. 19 MODERATOR: I think we want to be very 20 clear. 21 MR. DEUTCHMAN: I have to get at least 22 one plug in for the national broadband plan. It 67 1 was a good stepping stone, which is that look, 2 those are exactly the types of issues that I think 3 we're going to be wanting to look at. The grant 4 programs are -- we're going to learn from them. 5 They're a down payment. What the long-term vision 6 of how we get broadband out to all Americans 7 everywhere at the type of competitive speeds that 8 you're talking about is something that certainly I 9 would expect the FCC to be taking a close look at. 10 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: Of course we will be 11 able to give funding to both urban and rural areas, 12 and so I think again this will be a great place 13 where we'll be coordinating with RUS, so you can 14 take advantage of dual funding sources to do some 15 projects that you might ordinarily not have been 16 able to do. Also my question is who we should 17 apply to? Should we apply to RUS or NTIA if we 18 want a grant, should we apply to one or the other 19 if we're an urban/suburban provider? 20 MR. VILLANO: You'll be able to apply 21 for both. I think you should provide your input 22 during the public comment period and see how we 68 1 craft our NOFAs and how we're going to work 2 together in deploying the funds, and that will 3 guide you into the best way to apply for 4 assistance. 5 MODERATOR: These are issues we're 6 spending a lot of time thinking about and we 7 actually need your input. We're trying to figure 8 out a way to create an intake program that will 9 allow us to address these sorts of things. If you 10 can help us design that program by submitting 11 comment, you know, we're all better for it. 12 I’m very excited. Tina from Wilson 13 County, North Carolina has submitted a question. 14 She operates a wireless ISP company. One county 15 required a propagation study. Will all counties be 16 required to perform propagation studies? Tina, you 17 may have stumped the panel. 18 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: I haven't thought 19 about it. 20 MODERATOR: I think the law says it has 21 to comply with all local, federal, and state laws. 22 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: I think you will 69 1 also have to provide some information that you 2 would use for a propagation study. If you have a 3 propagation study, I think you're a little ahead of 4 the game, Tina. 5 MODERATOR: That will be an issue of the 6 things that we need to put into the NOFA. 7 AUDIENCE MEMBER: My name is Robert 8 Finch. I'm on the board of the National Broadband 9 Services Association. The members of that 10 association range from individual private schools 11 on up to large public university systems, and they 12 hold licenses from the FCC to provide broadband 13 services in the 2.5 gigahertz range. 14 My question really involves what 15 organizations within the state, what portions of 16 the state government will you be consulting with as 17 you get input from the states? 18 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: Again, this is a 19 good question because from state to state it 20 differs, and who within the state government is 21 responsible for broadband. In some states there 22 are more people who are responsible and other 70 1 states are not and don't seem to be quite as 2 interested. That's one of the things we're really 3 looking to in the question is for each state to 4 tell us or people who are involved in broadband in 5 the state where in your state we should be going 6 for our consultations. 7 MODERATOR: Okay. Here. 8 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Good morning, Betty 9 Buckley, I'm executive director of the Communities 10 Connect Network which is a grass-roots coalition of 11 organizations across Washington state who are busy 12 implementing demand side strategies. Two quick 13 questions. One, last year we were able to work 14 successfully with the state legislature to create a 15 grant program for those organizations. 16 Unfortunately Washington, like so many other 17 states, has very little money this year, so that 18 program's no longer funded. We're hoping you might 19 consider a regranting program. That's question 20 number one. 21 Question number two, Dr. McGuire-Rivera, 22 I was very interested to hear your words. At least 71 1 $200 million and at least $250 million. I would love 2 to know more about what “at least” means. 3 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: Very good, you 4 picked up on that. “At least” means we will spend at 5 least $200 million. No, no, it also leaves it open 6 that we may spend more than $200 million. It 7 depends on what we get in terms of applications, 8 but the law says we have to spend at least that 9 much but we're not limited to it. 10 AUDIENCE MEMBER: And the regranting 11 notion? 12 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: That's a great idea. 13 We got it down. 14 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you. 15 MODERATOR: This question comes from MATT 16 with the American Cable Association. The federal 17 application process is usually very difficult with 18 a large amount of requirements. What are you doing 19 to streamline the application process? What are 20 you doing to have a technology-neutral program for 21 small, rural areas? 22 MR. VILLANO: We're looking at every way 72 1 we can to streamline the process, particularly for 2 our grant program. It makes it a little bit easier 3 when you have a loan component, we need financials 4 to be shown that the loan can be repaid. We're 5 currently working together to see how we can do 6 that. One of the advantages that we've had with 7 the 2008 farm bill is we've been developing 8 regulations to implement those, and one of the 9 steps that we've taken is a streamlined process for 10 applications, so we'll be able to transfer a lot of 11 the knowledge and the comments that we got from 12 that program into the deployment of the stimulus 13 funds. 14 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: This is not an 15 existing program at NTIA and in many ways that 16 makes it even easier to streamline because we don't 17 have a lot of legacy forms. I think also just the 18 mere fact that we have to get this out so quick 19 will be a major force in getting this to be a very 20 streamlined application. 21 MODERATOR: We just want to set 22 expectations. We have seven minutes left for 73 1 public comment at this meeting, but I want to 2 encourage you to attend and participate in the 3 upcoming six meetings. I think my next -- it's 4 over here. Thank you. Number 2. Thank you. 5 AUDIENCE MEMBER: My name is Mark, I 6 represent a nonprofit, one community broadband 7 service provider in Ohio and also the Knight Center 8 of Digital Excellence which is the best practice 9 for implementation and adoption of broadband 10 services. We were lucky enough to receive one of 11 the FCC rural health care pilot grants here a 12 little over a year ago, and we're very pleased, and 13 thank you FCC for helping make that all happen. 14 But one of the things is we're working with a 15 number of communities in helping them to find, and 16 as Dr. Bernadette McGuire-Rivera said get the 17 proposals ready now, but the issue really seems to 18 follow in towards the administrative process. Once 19 the awards occur, are we going to expect the same 20 kind of sort of time and burdens and complexity in 21 administering and using the funds or are you 22 expecting to really streamline that process so the 74 1 funds can be deployed quickly? 2 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: We will streamline 3 it, but you still have to be very accountable, and 4 I think in order to get the money out fast, we'll 5 be very careful in managing it and having quarterly 6 reportings, but I don't see anything other than -- 7 you might want to look at our program and things we 8 have done before. I think it actually is pretty 9 streamlined. But we understand what you're going 10 through in trying to get the money spent and get it 11 spent properly. Again, we'll work with you to get 12 something that works for both of us. 13 MODERATOR: I would also follow on with 14 saying because we're trying to do this test bed 15 program, because we're trying to do things that 16 will be scalable and usable in the future, I think 17 we're going to look very closely, and we're going 18 to -- we want to make sure when we give out the 19 public's money that we give it out in a wise way. 20 So I would add that to those comments. 21 One question is can sole proprietorships 22 be eligible for the RUS broadband grant program? 75 1 MR. VILLANO: It's a good comment. We'll 2 be seeking comments on that. Right now they would 3 not be, and there's nothing in the statute that 4 would preclude it. So we'll certainly look at that 5 during the comment period. 6 MODERATOR: Okay. And then I think up 7 here. 8 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Good morning. I am Tad 9 with the Mid Atlantic Broadband Cooperative. I 10 have a very large network in Virginia. My question 11 is on matching funds. We have six million of 12 non-Federal matching dollars ready to go today, I 13 have tower contractors, fiber contractors, we're 14 ready to award contracts. My question is, if we 15 award those contracts prior to any federal grant 16 award in NTIA or RUS, will those still be 17 considered matching funds? 18 DR. McGUIRE-RIVERA: That is a real good 19 question, and if it were one of our existing grant 20 programs, it wouldn't be, so we are going to go 21 back and check on that for you. So don't give up 22 hope. 76 1 AUDIENCE MEMBER: Great, thank you. 2 MODERATOR: I do want to turn folks 3 attention to the statutory requirement that you 4 demonstrate that these projects would not have been 5 funded but for grant funds under this program. 6 That's not a mushy rule, that's a hard and fast 7 rule that's in the statute, and we're going to pay 8 attention to that. 9 I have another question from email. 10 Sometimes it's not just the last mile that is 11 missing. Will the cost of creating the back haul 12 for remote areas be something that is funded? Will 13 the need to create middle mile infrastructure 14 negatively affect which projects get funded? 15 That's from Steve in Imperial, Nebraska. 16 I think that's what we're looking for 17 comment on. If I had those answers, I wouldn't be 18 here right now. We need your comment on these 19 sorts of questions, and I think we all have to come 20 together and use the collective wisdom to see 21 what's the best way to spend this money to come up 22 with proposals that will show us the way forward in 77 1 the future, that will help the FCC with the 2 broadband, national broadband program, but we 3 welcome your comments. 4 We have three more minutes. So who is 5 next? Down here. Thank you. 6 AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'm Alan, I'm with the 7 American Library Association, and we represent 8 America's libraries through our 67,000 members. I 9 have a comment and a question. The question is, can 10 you say any more about the upcoming public meetings 11 in terms of who gets to speak or who is invited to 12 speak or whether there will be themes or anything 13 of that sort? 14 The comment is that we hope that grants 15 or other federal assistance provided to service 16 providers to build out the broadband infrastructure 17 will give preference to those who build out 18 infrastructure to make it accessible to libraries 19 and other community organizations and will it 20 include some type of preference such as discounts? 21 Thank you. 22 MODERATOR: I think we've seen where 78 1 American library association is going with their 2 comments, and I think that that would be very 3 helpful to have that information in, and again I'm 4 sorry to repeat this over and over, but we need 5 your help in figuring out those sorts of answers to 6 those sorts of questions. 7 AUDIENCE MEMBER: The public meeting 8 question? 9 MODERATOR: The agenda will be out very 10 soon. If you look at the request for information, 11 you'll see a variety of topics, and what we're 12 going to try to do is have a meeting much like this 13 where we raise a topic, “eligible entities,” and how 14 you would define those eligible entities, and we 15 will do our best to get representative stakeholders 16 from the folks who will be affected by the statute, 17 we will have public comment and question period at 18 the end of each of the sessions so folks can 19 participate. All of that will be web-streamed, all 20 of it will be made available, the transcripts 21 following will be made available on our web site, 22 and it will all be part of the public record and 79 1 part of what we consider in designing the program. 2 Thank you. Sorry for missing that question. 3 All right, I hate to do this, but you're 4 the lucky last question. 5 AUDIENCE MEMBER: This is a quick one. 6 My name is Richard McKinney, I'm with Sky Casters, 7 we're a satellite broadband provider based in Ohio. 8 I'm hearing a consistent theme throughout the 9 entire meeting of the need to collaborate, to 10 network, to figure out exactly how we're going to 11 do things. I'm curious if, in fact, the program is 12 going to facilitate some of that by releasing 13 contact information of those of us at least who are 14 in this room so we can share thoughts together and 15 perhaps build better proposals for you? 16 MODERATOR: That is not currently in our 17 plan, but we can do our best. I know that our 18 comment site is getting up and running fairly 19 quickly, that's been one of our tasks, to try to 20 get that ready, and through that you will see the 21 scope and the breadth of people participating. 22 That's one easy way for us to try to have a place 80 1 for you to reach out. I would encourage each of 2 you, you're part of member organizations, there are 3 some cross organization work that you can do 4 together and reach out using your networks to come 5 together and give us those ideas about how you can 6 work together. 7 I want to take this time to thank my 8 three panelists. 9 [Applause] 10 MODERATOR: I would encourage you to be 11 concise when you're submitting comments so that we 12 can actually read them and get them and make use of 13 them, and we'll see you March 16th. Thank you very 14 much. 15 [Applause] 16 17 18 19 20 21 22