Perspectives on Selection Criteria Reflect Views on Stimulus Program's Purpose

On the last day of public meetings on the broadband program by the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service stakeholders agreed that grant recipients should be selected in a way that honors the intent of the stimulus bill itself. But they had widely differing views on how to determine a proposal's worthiness. Industry representatives point to infrastructure projects, especially those that target schools, libraries, and other "public interest" institutions. Programs should also promote job creation by encouraging "affordable and sustainable" adoption, which he said would fulfill the overall congressional intent behind the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the official name for the law. Affordability should be the prime motivator in awarding grants, said Richard Murgon, president-elect of the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials International. Many organizations can't afford the $60 per month a wireless connection costs, he said. Selected programs should use off-the-shelf components and open protocols to keep costs down. "You gotta have standards," he said.