Only One More Chance to Ask Uncle Sam for Broadband Bucks

[qi:101] The two government agencies responsible for distributing the $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus grants said today that they’ve consolidated the two remaining funding rounds into one, and have asked for more input to improve the application process. The stimulus program, which closed the first round of applications in August, and will distribute the $4 billion in initial funds a little later than planned, has so far been a hit with about 2,200 applicants asking for more than $28 billion. However, the process of scoring applications and getting the money out the door has been slow, so the agencies, under a Sept. 10, 2010 deadline to get the full $7.2 billion deployed, are streamlining the process.