NTIA, RUS create application process, define terms for allocating broadband funds - 2009-07-01 14:49:15 EDT | Broadcasting & Cable

The government will allow private companies to bid for BTOP money and has defined broadband as 768 kbps downstream, 200kbps upstream, according to just-released guidelines for broadband stimulus funds. The open access conditions will mirror the FCC's four Internet openness principles.

The government will give applicants extra points for exceeding what it is defining as baseline broadband speed, and for exceeding minimum requirements for nondiscrimination and interconnection, including prominently displaying those nondiscrimination policies...