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07/15/2009AN OVERVIEW OF THE BIP/BTOP SCORING SYSTEMS
Last week, NTIA and RUS released the application forms (along with some written guidance) for those interested in obtaining some of the $4 billion available in the first application filing window for broadband projects under the federal stimulus program. As noted in my blog last week , that window closes on August 14. Copies of the applications and associated guidance documents can be found at http://broadbandusa.sc.egov.usda.gov/
Depending on the geographic location of their proposed projects, applicants seeking broadband infrastructure funding must file either through RUS's Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) or through NTIA's Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP). Applicants who must file through BIP may also file simultaneously through BTOP; however, applicants who must file through BTOP cannot file simultaneously through BIP. At first blush, the BIP and BTOP scoring systems for broadband infrastructure applicants look fairly similar. Both use a 100 point scoring system. Both score applications using criteria grouped under the same four general categories: Project Purpose, Project Benefits, Project Viablity, and Project Budget and Sustainability (although the number of points BIP and BTOP allocate to each of the four categories is slightly different). Both score applications against the scoring criterion, not against other applications. And, in both cases, having the highest application score doesn't necessarily mean you win. Rather, it only means that your application (along with the applications of other high-scoring applicants) moves to a more detailed level of review in which BIP and BTOP staff attempt to verify the factual accuracy, feasibility and overall value of your proposal. Closer inspection reveals some significant differences between the two scoring systems. First, the extent to which an application is "rural" is a criterion under the BIP system, as is the extent to which the applicant proposes to serve rural areas that are unserved or "remote". The BTOP system focuses more on whether the applicant's proposed service area is unserved or underserved (as opposed to "rural") and thus, at least in theory, could award points in non-rural areas that would not receive any points under the BIP system. Second, the BIP system assigns a specific number of points to each of the scoring criterion.. So, for example, under the example provided above, the applicant could receive up to five points if its proposed service area is more than 75% rural; up to five points if it proposes to serve a specified number of people in unserved rural areas; and up to five points if it proposes to serve rural areas that are "remote." The BTOP system, on the other hand, does not assign a specific number of points to rural vs. non-rural, or unserved vs. underserved. Instead, the issue of where the applicant is proposing to provide service is just one of a variety of criteria BTOP evaluates under the Project Purpose category, for which a total of 30 points is available. How the various Project Purpose criteria are weighed relative to each other is left to NTIA's discretion, so long as the resulting point total does not exceed 30. Other key differences include the following: - The BIP system awards five points to entities that have borrowed from RUS under Title II of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (i.e., entities that have borrowed from RUS under the Traditional Telecommunications Infrastructure Program.) The BTOP system does not award any points under this criterion
- The BIP system awards 10 points for transmission speed if it meets a specified minimum (for last mile systems, the minimum is 20 mpbs (upstream plus downstream) for wireline systems and 2 mbps (upstream plus downstream) for wireless systems; for middle mile networks, the minimum is 100 Mbps to all end points). The BTOP system awards points for transmission speed on a sliding scale, based on how much it exceeds the minimum speed that qualifies as "broadband" (768 kbps downstream and 200 kpbs upstream) - the higher the speed, the higher the score. Also, the BTOP system explicitly identifies high latency as a negative factor.
- The BIP system awards up to 10 points for the applicant's "grant to loan" ratio - the applicant receives the full 10 points if it requests 100% loan funding, and receives less than that as its loan funding goes down and its grant funding goes up. Since BTOP is a grants-only program, grant-to-loan ratio is not included among BTOP's application review criteria.
This list is not exhaustive but demonstrates why it is important for applicants to review the BIP and BTOP scoring criteria carefully when designing their proposals. In any competitive arena (particularly this one), every point counts.
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• FCC Pressed On Improving Broadband Access
• REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR BIP/BTOP AWARD WINNERS
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