Stimulus Seekers and the Ides of March

[Commentary] If you're following developments with the broadband-stimulus program, you may have caught the latest bone of contention with the process that many of us have, particularly those working in the trenches actually trying to get proposals out the door: It's time.

There's not nearly enough time between Feb. 16, when applications started to be accepted, and the March 15 final deadline for these applications. There are several reasons why this is causing major heartburn. One of the biggest is that you can't win a grant in this second round of funding if you propose to deliver service in an area that someone received money in Round 1 to build out. Logical, practical and fair. The problem, though, is that we won't see the last of Round 1 money going out until Feb. 28, giving people just two weeks to adjust to areas of conflict or jump into the game if they've waited for final results.