NTIA extends broadband stimulus grant deadline

The City of Philadelphia has had a few extra days to perfect its application for the broadband stimulus grant.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced late last week that because of an influx of application uploads, the deadline was extended one week to August 20, this Wednesday, from August 14.
We reported on the City’s stimulus proposal in a long-form multimedia feature package last week.
The city hopes to nab some of $4.6 billion in broadband stimulus grants being provided by the Broadband Initiatives Program and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program set aside by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Lead by Chief Technology Officer Allan Frank, the city has developed a proposal that utilizes current city infrastructure to build and improve upon a hybrid mesh network that would connect city departments, public centers (like schools and libraries), and private institutions like businesses and universities.
The network is part of discussions that Frank calls his Digital Philadelphia vision, a conversation that he hopes will guide the next 10 years of technology innovation in Philadelphia. We first reported on Frank’s vision when he announced it at a Refresh Philly meeting in May.
Frank faces scrutiny for the vision following the failure of Wireless Philadelphia, former Mayor John Street’s initiative to bridge the digital divide with a free municipal-wide WiFi network.