Orange County NC Website
Attachment 1 <br />Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) Grant Application <br />The federal ARRA grant program has two components, the Broadband Technology <br />Opportunities Program (BTOP) administered through the US Department of Commerce — <br />National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIS) and the Broadband <br />Initiatives Program (BIP) administered through the US Department of Agriculture — Rural <br />Utilities Service (RUS). The BTOP is focused more on urban areas and "Middle Mile" <br />projects. The BIP is focused on "last mile ", rural libraries, and satellite projects. <br />Orange County will be applying to the BIP for one or more requests to locate broadband <br />service providers as collocators on new American Tower sites and to locate a facility at the <br />Northern Human Service Center. American Tower, Inc. will build the towers at its own <br />cost. The grant(s) will be to subsidize broadband service in the rural, un -served portions <br />of Orange County. <br />Rural is now defined as a service area not less than five miles from an urban area with a <br />population greater than 20,000 people. In Orange County this will exclude a five -mile ring <br />around the Town of Chapel Hill and those portions of eastern Orange County within five <br />miles of the Durham Urban Growth Boundary. <br />Un- served areas are those service areas with no access to facilities- based, terrestrial <br />broadband service, either fixed or mobile, at the minimum broadband transmission speed <br />[5 Mbps (upstream and down). A premise has access to broadband service if it can <br />readily subscribe to that service upon request. <br />Key grant points: <br />• No local match is required. <br />• Library grants are funded at 100% <br />• All other grant requests are for 75% grant and 25% loan, except if socio- economic <br />data can support an exemption. <br />• Funding requests are limited to $10,000 per premises, except if socio- economic <br />data can support an exemption. <br />