Broadband stimulus excludes urban areas, says city CIO

Requirements for broadband money set aside in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will exclude urban areas if language in the federal government's notice of funds available (NOFA) released last week goes unchanged, Steve Ferguson, CIO of San Jose, Calif., told Government Technology this week. He contends the requirements exclude urban cities and urban counties by requiring them to be either "un-served" or "underserved" by broadband coverage.

The broadband stimulus NOFA defines an area as "underserved" if it meets at least one of the following three requirements...