Broadband Mapping NOFA: "NOFA" Enough, But Not "BADFA" A First Try
After reading the NTIA Broadband Mapping Notice of Funding Availability ("NOFA"), it's clear that the "treasure map" I was hoping for isn't going to materialize. However, I'm not destroyed, because--relative to my expectations, the NTIA--with one really weird exception, and another, more minor, nit--didn't do so bad at all, especially for having a limited amount of time and no confirmed leader until less than a week prior to the NOFA being released.
OK, to get us all on the same page, Congress told the NTIA to come up with a broadband inventory map when it passed the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act ("Recovery Act") earlier this year. Prior to passage of the Recovery Act, though, Congress also instructed the Commerce Department (NTIA) to collect very similar data, and instructed other federal agencies to collect different, relevant broadband-related data, in the 2008 Broadband Data Improvement Act ("BDIA").
Both laws, essentially, seek the same thing--a static inventory of broadband availability in America. The NOFA requires periodic updates, so "static" isn't an entirely fair characterization, but it's not that far away. "Backward-looking" is probably a more accurate characterization. The ultimate "purpose" of the map can be as obvious (and useful) as just letting policymakers know who still needs access to broadband service. Another good use of the map/data is to provide feedback on whether policies are working. More importantly, though, the mapping data can be even more helpful to broadband penetration and deployment if it helps to eliminate information gaps/inefficiencies that prevent forces of supply and demand from working as they should. A broadband map that helped to facilitate this intermediation function would easily pay for the $350 million allocated for the map.
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