Groups lobby NTIA to clarify broadband funding rules

With the deadline for applications to the NTIA for broadband stimulus grants and loans fast approaching, some industry groups are clamoring for last minute changes to the rules the agency has set. However, any changes would need to be made swiftly since the NTIA has already launched the first round of bidding, which ends Aug. 14. A set of industry groups that includes the National Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, Public Knowledge, Media & Democracy Coalition, and Consumers Union, say they want to alter some guidelines as well as the way NTIA defines other sections.

Specifically, the groups would like to see the NTIA clarify the meanings of "unserved" and "underserved" areas for broadband availability, while emphasizing affordability in the meaning of underserved. In addition, the groups argue the NTIA should remove the provision that enables incumbent service providers to protest applications and the stipulation that new broadband buildouts be in unserved or underserved areas.

For more:
- see this Multichannel News article

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