Adventures in preparing a winning BTOP proposal or….

Mark Johnson

SURA IT CommitteeMarch 10, 2010

Apologies to Stanly Kubrick et al for the references contained in this presentation

NTIA

MCNC’s BTOP Application Round 1• $28.2M request, $11.7M match, No State

Funds• Private partner put up equal match to MCNC • 37 Counties – 24 fully or partially underserved

– Private partner serves commercial customers• 480 miles of new fiber construction, an

Eastern ring and a Western ring• Round 1 Results: WE WON!!!!!!!!!

Why did we win?

• Can’t say for sure but…– BTOP aligned nicely with existing plans– We were able to show strong support from all

stakeholders– Our mantra was “Make NTIA’s job easy”: We

were maniacal about adhering to NOFA and application requirements

Challenges• We wanted a private partner from day 1• We wanted to meet matching requirements with

cash– In-kind rules made that seem risky– $4M available from MCNC endowment– Wanted (and received) equal match from partner(s)

• Wanted to submit to BTOP but could not rule out BIP

• Identifying un/underserved areas would be tricky– Public broadband mapping data inadequate

BTOP Timeline• Pre-2007 – close relationship with Lt Gov on

K12 connectivity initiative• 2007: Committed to goal of acquiring dark

fiber to all PoPs• Summer 2008 - Board commitment to

overhaul NCREN (matching?)– New design– New core routers– Completion of optical core

BTOP Timeline [2]• Fall 2008

– New strategic plan • All fiber backbone in 5 years

– SP partnership opportunity identified• Former Lt Gov Perdue elected Governor• December 2008 - Stimulus white paper in

circulation [a key in obtaining stakeholder support]

BTOP Timeline [3]• March 2009 – Solicit service provider

partnerships– Needed SP support– Definitely DID NOT want SP opposition

• July 2009 – NOFA released• July 2009 – BTOP/BIP application released• August 20 2009 – Application due• November 12 2009 – Due Diligence begins

All Hands on Deck

Developing the application

Application Development• All hands on deck• Everything in Confluence• Owners and reviewers assigned for every

question• Outside legal counsel engaged• Team assigned to mechanics of

application early on– “I have the pen”

Anyone heard of GIS?

Mapping…Joint Techs to the rescue

Google Earth Pro can read shape files

Very interesting

Key Elements/Ingredients/Inputs of MCNC BTOP Mapping

• Google Earth Pro• Enlisted assistance of e-NC Authority and

Broadband Consulting Group (BBCGI)– Un-served/Underserved Determination– Rural vs. Non-rural Determination

• Exported our Fiber Routes from (true) GIS software to KMZ files

• Creativity

Proposed Funded Service Area

NC Brownfields

NC Wetlands

2:17:24 AM

Dear NTIA, WTF

• Discovered all sorts of things about the online application as we approached the deadline– Page limits are really character limits– Mapping not working as advertised– Undocumented (or maybe just very poorly

documented) features– App won’t complete upload – uh oh!

Thank You!http://www.mcnc.org/btop