January 21, 2010Honorable Jonathan S. AdelsteinAdministrator, Rural Utilities ServiceU.S. Dept. of Agriculture1400 Independence Ave., S.W.Mailstop: 1510Room 5135-SWashington, D.C. 20250Honorable Lawrence E. StricklingAdministrator, National Telecommunications andInformation AdministrationHerbert C. Hoover BuildingU.S. Dept. of Commerce1401 Constitution Ave., N.W.Room 4898Washington, D.C. 20230Gentlemen:WCAI applauds the National Telecommunications and InformationAdministration and the Rural Utilities Service for the release last Friday of Notices of Funds Availability (NoFAs) that will make approximately $4.5 billion in additionalstimulus funding available to promote the deployment of broadband infrastructure acrossAmerica. We appreciate the complexity of the job Congress entrusted to both yourorganizations, and the short time frame you have been afforded to complete that job.WCAI is concerned, however, that potential applicants for funding under these NoFAs nolonger have critical information required to evaluate potential funding opportunities, andrespectfully requests that your agencies again make available data regarding the proposedservice area of granted and pending first tranche applications.Under the NoFAs, a second tranche application will not be funded if its proposedservice area overlaps the proposed service area identified in a granted, first trancheapplication for the same category of service (

i.e.,

Middle Mile or Last Mile). The problemfor potential applicants is that, of the approximately 1,300 infrastructure applicationsfiled for first tranche funding, only fourteen have been granted, and virtually all of theremainder is still pending. WCAI appreciates that the agencies are working as quickly aspossible to process the remaining applications. However, we understand that it will beseveral weeks, at best, before all of the pending applications can be ruled upon.