NTIA Chief Larry Strickling Urges BTOP Rejects to Reapply

National Telecommunications and Information Administration head Larry Strickling was in Denver Friday talkin' up the NTIA's second round of broadband stimulus funding.

"Don't fret over round one, there's more money in round two," he said. "I know folks are getting what you're calling a rejection letter, but we're looking at it as an 'opportunity to reapply' letter." NTIA spends at least 200 hours examining each application to ensure due diligence, and Strickling said that some senators he recently spoke with about the broadband monies process were impressed with that statistic. He said some of his private sector peers say if they're thinking about funding a $30 to $50 million project, they may put a team of four people working on it for six weeks. "If we award you money, we need to make sure you're still operating this project in five years," he said.

What's NTIA looking for? Project management experience and a reasonable budget, middle mile projects and connections for schools and libraries. He added that groups getting a priority are able to offer a 30 percent dollar match even though only 20 percent is required.