Sustainable Broadband Adoption Application

U.S. Department of Commerce

National Telecommunications and Information Agency

Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP)

Sustainable Broadband Adoption Grant Application

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

Section 6001 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), P.L. 111-5, 123 Stat. 115, established the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and authorized the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to collect information from businesses and other for-profit firms, not-for-profit institutions, and state, local, and tribal governments who apply for BTOP grants to extend broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved areas and populations, expand public computer center capacity, and accelerate broadband subscribership. The information NTIA collects from grant applicants is used to determine whether applicants meet established grant eligibility criteria and to evaluate their applications for grant funding against established objective evaluation criteria.

The information to be collected from grant applicants under this program is a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35. Federal agencies cannot conduct or sponsor and the public is not required to respond to a collection of information unless a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number for the collection is displayed. The OMB control number for this collection of information is 0660-0031, expiration date XX-XX-2010.

Applicants are required to provide all of the information requested on this application in order for us to determine their eligibility to receive BTOP grants and evaluate their applications for funding against the program’s established evaluation. If an applicant does not provide all of the information requested in this application, NTIA may not be able to determine whether the applicant is eligible to receive BTOP grants or evaluate their application for funding. If we cannot complete our review of an application the applicant will not be considered for a grant.

NTIA will protect applicants’ confidential and proprietary information from public disclosure to the fullest extent authorized by applicable law, including the Freedom of Information Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. § 552), the Trade Secrets Act, as amended (18 U.S.C. § 1905), and the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (18 U.S.C. § 1831 et seq.). Applicants should be aware, however, that the Recovery Act requires substantial transparency. For example, NTIA is required to make publicly available on the Internet a list of each entity that has applied for a grant, a description of each application, the status of each application, the name of each entity receiving funds, the purpose for which the entity is receiving the funds, and each quarterly report, and other information regarding awardees. Some of the elements in the application will be made publicly accessible through the application database at http://www.broadbandusa.gov.

NTIA estimates that each applicant will need an average of 151 hours to complete the Sustainable Broadband Adoption grant application. This includes the time required to review the instructions, search data sources, and complete and transmit the application. Written comments on the accuracy of this estimate and suggestions for reducing the burden associated with responding to this collection of information should be directed to Anthony G. Wilhelm, Director, Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), 1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W., HCHB, Room 4887, Washington, D.C. 20230; Help Desk email: BroadbandUSA@usda.gov, Help Desk telephone: 1-877-508-8364.