(Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) yesterday raised objections to 23 applications for broadband stimulus grants totaling $550 million that have been submitted to the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA).

“There have been numerous reports of waste and mismanagement of stimulus funds, such as hundreds of underage ‘first-time homebuyers,’ including a four year-old, seeking the $8,000 tax credit,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz.  “There is a total of $4.7 billion at stake in the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, which should not become another opportunity to waste the taxpayers’ money.”

Four of the 23 applications apply to all or part of Delaware, making it appear that the state has no broadband service whatsoever.  In fact, Delaware is already served by multiple providers.  Application #1188 from 01 Data Center seeks $15.5 million to subsidize a “last mile remote area” project in Delaware, Florida and New Hampshire.  The proposal first attacks the use of satellite access and then proposes to use that method to deliver its “solution.”  Application #297 by AlphaStar America LLC is asking for more than $25 million to build networks to connect ISPs, schools, and municipalities in unserved areas.  The application erroneously includes Delaware City, New Castle and Odessa as unserved, even though all have multiple ISPs.  MegaPath Inc. in application #1435 wants more than $42 million for underserved markets, and includes Wilmington, Newark, and areas north of Wilmington on its list.  Again, they all have multiple providers in place.  Finally, the most ridiculous request of all was made by the E-Mac Corporation in application #1121, which seeks $35.5 million for its Multimedia Digital Project, claiming that there are 397,104 underserved households and 395,323 unserved homes in Delaware when there are approximately 300,000 households, period, in the entire state.

CAGW’s letters note that the entire NTIA budget in fiscal year 2009 was $658 million.  The $4.7 billion being provided in the stimulus for the BTOP is 624.5 percent greater than that amount.  NTIA’s prior experience in issuing broadband grants was limited to the discontinued Technology Opportunities Program, which provided $233 million in grants between 1994-2004, or 5 percent of the BTOP total.

“In order for NTIA to spend $4.7 billion expeditiously without waste or mismanagement, the agency will have to thoroughly review each application.  There is a September 30, 2010 deadline to spend the stimulus money, so there may be a temptation to just say ‘yes’ to every applicant,” added Schatz.  “Taxpayers, in Delaware should be particularly concerned about the impact of these proposals on their state.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.