The business of Internet, wireless, and telecom law.

NTIA Delivers for Vendors on Buy America Restrictions

Posted by Barlow Keener

Technorati Tags: FCC,NTIA,Cisco,Alcatel-Lucent,FTTH,Fiber,Recovery Act,BTOP

On Friday, July 26, 2009, the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) granted a “limited waiver” for the Buy America restriction in the  Recovery Act covering certain types of equipment that may be required for broadband projects.  The NTIA is responsible for overseeing the process of delivering $4.7 billion in stimulus funding [...]

Waiving the Recovery Act’s Broadband “Buy America” Provision?

Posted by Barlow Keener

Technorati Tags: FCC,NTIA,Recovery Act,Buy America,Broadband

The Recovery Act included a “Made in America” requirement for all $787 billion of stimulus funding. Section 1605 of the Act provides that in a “public work” all “manufactured goods used in the project” must be “produced in the United States.” A Federal agency is authorized to waive the requirement if [...]

NTIA: Show Us the Money

Posted by Barlow Keener

Technorati Tags: NTIA,ARRA,Recovery Act,National Broadband Plan,Recovery.gov

On May 18, 2009, NTIA submitted the first required quarterly progress
report to Congress on getting the Recovery Act funding out the door. Without a press release or press conference, NTIA “quietly” (a word GigaOm’s Stacey Higginbotham used) explained to Congress that the first tranche of broadband [...]

Should Broadband Fees Fund Broadband Growth?

Posted by Barlow Keener

Technorati Tags: FCC,National Broadband Plan,ARRA
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act ("ARRA”) appropriated $7.2 billion for various broadband projects.  The primary goals of the ARRA broadband provisions are 1) to increase broadband penetration for the unserved, both rural and urban, 2) to increase broadband adoption for the “underserved,” and 3) to deliver new jobs.   The USDA’s [...]

The Recovery Act Delivers Broadband Growth

Posted by Barlow Keener

While visiting Denver’s Museum of Nature and Science this week, President Obama signed the historic “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” For the telecom industry, as well as other sectors of the economy, the Recovery Act presents the opportunity for obtaining billions of dollars of grants and loans and delivering jobs and hope to the economy.  [...]