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The agencies in charge of the federal government’s broadband stimulus program have emphasized their interest in seeing applicants joint forces in their efforts to seek funding for proposed deployments. Now they’ve taken this idea a step further by introducing a new online tool, called BroadbandMatch, aimed to facilitate such partnerships.

 

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Service today announced the new tool’s launch. It’s available at http://match.broadbandusa.gov.

 

NTIA and RUS explain that the tool might allow a broadband infrastructure provider to find a  partner in the form of community institution like a university, hospital or library on a proposal to bring high-speed Internet service to their facilities. The idea of service providers partnering with such “community anchor” organizations is something the FCC (News - Alert), NTIA and RUS have been talking about pretty much since the inception of the broadband stimulus effort.

 

At the new site, any company, nonprofit, state or local government or expert individual interested in applying for funding under NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program or RUS’s Broadband Initiatives Program can create a profile, including key information about the contribution they can make to a broadband project, as well as search for other stakeholders whose skills and resources match their needs, the agencies explain.

 

“In the first funding round, many applicants wanted to form partnerships but didn’t know how best to locate other organizations with similar aims and complementary resources,” says NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling. “BroadbandMatch is a tool to help stakeholders collaborate, which can spur the highest caliber, most effective proposals for this crucial Recovery Act funding.”

 

“It’s like a matchmaking service where interested parties can discover each other to pursue their mutual interests,” adds RUS Administrator Jonathan S. Adelstein (News - Alert). “It will help in locating community partners and establishing new relationships that will foster better broadband service in areas of the country that really need it.”