The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has appropriated $7.2 billion to RUS and NTIA to establish programs for awards to eligible entities to develop and expand broadband services in unserved and underserved areas.  In additional goal of this funding is to create and save jobs for American workers.

In the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau (2005), nearly 80 percent of the net new jobs came from small businesses with fewer than 500 employees…

Small business will continue to play a major role in revitalizing the American economy.  [SBA] Office of Advocacy research documents the importance of entrepreneurship to innovation and to the prosperity of the nation, the states, and economic regions.

The Small Business Economy: A Report to the President – 2008 http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/sb_econ2008.pdf

Over the last 10 years, small entrepreneurial businesses have innovated and created thousands of jobs throughout rural America by utilizing license-exempt fixed wireless technology to solve the challenge of bridging the digital divide and have created “lemons out of lemonade.”  To quote former FCC Chairman Michael Powell

Historically, these unlicensed bands were dubbed “junk” bands because of the plethora of devices and manufacturing equipment occupying them – devices and equipment not used for communications purposes, but occupying spectrum only because RF energy was a byproduct of their operations.  Now, spectrum that was formerly the exclusive province of microwave ovens and industrial equipment also plays host to wireless broadband networks that provide not only last-mile connectivity, but last-30-50-mile connectivity.  In fact, and impressive by all accounts, some of your networks span large geographic regions, even covering several states.  And, perhaps most importantly, many of your provide service in rural and remote communities that have no other broadband option – demonstrating that, with relatively small investments, hard work, and ingenuity, broadband services are possible for everyone.

You are among my broadband heroes – spinning wheat into gold – turning the spectrum “junk” bands into venues for providing increasing important services to businesses and consumers.

WISPs: Brining the Benefits of Broadband to Rural America – October 27, 2004 http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-253686A1.pdf

Today, over 2,500 small businesses provide broadband access to over 5 million households in rural America using fixed broadband wireless technology.  No longer a “niche play,” Wireless Internet Service Providers today are a viable mainstream “third alternative” for broadband access.

As a home high-speed connection, wireless has also increased its presence – from next to nothing in 2002 to up to 12% of the home broadband market as of May 2008.

Pew Internet & American Life Project: Home Broadband Adoption 2008 http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2008/PIP_Broadband_2008.pdf

Most rural broadband wireless service providers are local privately-held businesses with less than 50 full-time employees and are ill-equipped to navigate their way through a federal program like NTIA’s BTOP and craft a federal grant proposal.[1]  In addition, most aren’t adequately staffed to face the increased overhead of handling the administrative requirements of servicing governmental grant programs.[2]

Governmental Application & Funding Process

While the application and implementation process for the BTOP program is still undetermined, WGC is using the following framework for estimating the process based upon our experiences in working with the RUS Community Connect Grant Program.

-          Step 1: Application

-          Step 2: Detailed Engineering and Implementation Project Plan Development

-          Step 3: Pending Appropriate Approvals: Project Implementation

-          Step 4: Installation & Implementation Audit

-          Step 5: Project Reconciliation and Close-Out Report

Broadband Wireless Industry professionals with extensive expertise in this process have banded together to form the WiNOG Grants Cooperative (WGC); a business association with the goal of helping rural wireless broadband service providers,take advantage of Broadband Stimulus Program Funding.  The WiNOG Grants Cooperative (WGC) helps service providers draft, implement, deploy and audit their funding applications and manage project implementation and funding administration n a cost-efficient manner.