Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions. If you have any other questions, please feel welcome to contact us. Click here to see New FAQ's posted December 14, 2004.

What is the Digital Divide Investment Program?
The State of Michigan is using a portion of its statewide CDBG allocation for the implementation of this new Digital Divide Investment Program (DDIP).

What does the DDIP do?
The Digital Divide Investment Program combines MBDA loans with CDBG dollars and is intended to make broadband service more affordable for low and moderate-income households. First, an initial Michigan Broadband Development Authority (MBDA) loan will be provided to support the winning vendor's costs for installation of their broadband network in the entire investment area. There is no cap on the size of the loan that can be obtained from the MBDA for this purpose, so long as the business plan and financial well being of the applicant can support it. Second, once the network is up and running in the eligible grant communities, a grant for the expenses associated with the eligible grant communities therein will be provided in a lump sum payment to the vendor. The size of this grant is based on the percentage of low and moderate income (LMI) households likely to subscribe to the selected vendors service.

When will the RFP be issued?
The Request for Proposals for Muskegon County will be issued on Monday, November 1, 2004. For a copy of the RFP, visit the Muskegon County website at: www.co.muskegon.mi.us /digitaldivide/rfp.htm

The Request for Proposals for Marquette County will be issued on Friday, November 5, 2004. For a copy of the RFP, please visit the Marquette County website at www.co.marquette.mi.us .

When are responses due?
Responses to the RFPS must be received no later than Friday, January 14, 2005.

Who do I contact if I have specific questions about the RFP?
Please feel free to contact the appropriate county via email at digitaldivide@co.muskegon.mi.us in Muskegon County and abek@uproc.lib.mi.us in Marquette County. The answers will be posted on the website of both counties, as well as on the MBDA website.

What if I have questions about the MBDA loan portion of the proposal?
Please contact the MBDA for any clarification at abek@uproc.lib.mi.us.

How were the pilot counties chosen?
Both Marquette and Muskegon counties are underserved in the area of broadband services. Additionally, they contain large concentrations of LMI households that would benefit from this program.

Where will the DDIP be offered next?
That is yet to be determined. There are several areas throughout the state that meet the qualifications outlined above.

When will the next round of RFPs be issued?
2005.

Is the lower cost broadband service available to all residents of the county? What about business customers?
As a part of the DDIP, service providers are required to offer low-cost service to all of the residents of the entire county to be served for 3 years. Business customers do not fall into this requirement.

Is the broadband provider required to provide the same level of access, for the same price, to all county residents?
Yes. Equivalent levels of access must be offered equally to all residential customers at the same rates throughout the entire county.

Will the price ceiling for service rates (for three years) apply to all county residents?
Yes. The Service Provider that is selected must guarantee the same price of service to ALL residents of the ENTIRE COUNTY for 3 years. Business customers are exempt from this requirement.

What level of service is required to be accepted as "Broadband" in the RFP?
The commonly held definition by the FCC is a minimum of 200kbps in one direction (usually downstream).

Are there any limits placed upon the proposed provider in relation to current ISPs and service/rates, etc.?
There are no limits that we are aware of in relation to current ISP's and service/rates, etc. Current ISP's and interested vendors are encouraged to work together to provide a county-wide broadband solution. They might partner up with one another, rather than competing, for instance.

Would a municipality be able to offer our current, internet-ready wired CATV infrastructure to the provider to help expand access within the city limits, and thereby, the County at large?
This is one idea that could benefit all. The municipality could get cable modem broadband service and a provider could gain access to a ready to market customer base.

Are there pre-bid requirements or is vendor registration required prior to submitting a response to the RFP?
No.

Who is eligible to respond to the RFPs?
Any for-profit broadband service provider is eligible to respond to this RFP.

Is a Service Provider required to take out a loan with the MBDA to be accepted for the project?
Yes.

Where do I obtain a loan application?
A copy of the MBDA Loan Application #5: Investment Area Loan can be found on the MBDA website: www.broadbandauthority.org

New FAQ's posted December 14, 2004

There will likely be a variety of solutions that could be applicable to the topography and population density of the county. No one solution is preferred over another.

What will the costs be to the individual households?

A requirement of the RFP is that the chosen service provider must guarantee a low cost solution for a minimum of 3 years to all households in the county. A survey was conducted to find what costs most families would find affordable- we're hoping RFP respondents will be able to offer high-speed service at low monthly rates given the grant amount available. The important clarification that applicants should make in their proposal is to describe their pricing plan in terms of bandwidth ( e.g., our service for 256 kbps is $10.00 per month and our service for 1 megabit is $20.00 per month or $30 per month or what have you).

What speed requirements are you considering ?

While we do not define broadband levels in the RFP, we are planning that the selected ISP will provide different levels of service at different price points. See answer to question above. Also under consideration will be the projects sustainability and adaptability to future technologies.

How much of a loan do you have to take?

The loan should be equal to what the service provider is proposing to invest in the project.

If we have an investor that will fund the whole project, do we still have to take a loan?

Yes, a mandatory component of the DDIP is the loan requirement. It is necessary to not only sustain the program, but is used to track the “real” or the promised broadband investment in any given area.

As I understand it, the system has to be up and running before the grant
money will be distributed, is this true?

The federal grant money can be drawn down once service is up and running in the LMI areas. The entire investment area (county) does not need to be completely lit for this to occur.

We would like to perform site surveys on the investment area and the
eligible grant communities and would like to know who we would contact to do so.

Applicants have been provided a detailed list of the grant communities and the investment area is the county in its entirety. We are not asking providers to light areas of the county where there is no population base. If there are particular towers or other infrastructure that an applicants needs information about, those questions should be directed to the appropriate owner of that infrastructure.

In Appendix D, the budget outline, what do you mean by capital and direct labor?

We would like to know the actual cost of the labor associated with building the broadband infrastructure. (Also, please note Davis-Bacon compliance requirements).

In Appendix B, the MBDA loan application, question number 11.  Is this looking for demographics on the market only for Muskegon County or all the areas in which the
company currently operates?

This question pertains to only the investment area of Muskegon County.

Since this is being funded by state and supervised by the state/county, are government towers, buildings and other facilities accessible for use of equipment?

The DDIP uses two funding instruments: it is federally funded (through a grant) and is funded by a loan that is made available through bond sales. No state funds are used for this program. Each tower and public facility will have to be assessed on a case by case basis. We have some information about state and private towers co-location possibilities which can be made available upon request. County facilities may be accessed unless otherwise prohibited.

If government property is available, will it be at a non-cost or at a discounted rate for at least the first 3 years?

This again will have to be negotiated with the entity that owns and operates the facility.

Would there be a need to include subscriber units in the loan proposal, if such units could be charged the subscribers in the non-LMI areas?

All costs associated with providing service to the LMI households can be rolled into the grant amount, including customer premise equipment and subscriber units. The loan amount should be equal to what the service provider is proposing to invest in the entire investment area. If subscriber units (or customer premise equipment as some refer to them) are to be purchased by the residential customer as part of the providers business plan, they do NOT need to be included in the loan request. But, those dollars would then also have to be deducted from the overall planned investment in an applicant's proposal. Those CPEs or “subscriber units” within LMI areas need to be included in the request if the provider wishes to be reimbursed for such expenses through the digital divide grant portion of the program.

Do you want to see total coverage even if it is over areas where there are no residents or less than 5 residents? For instance, would a 95% coverage be acceptable if covering the last 5% is cost prohibitive?

We request 100% coverage unless a reasonable case can be made, for example, where there are large tracts of state or park land where no population base exists. In general, however, we feel that the combination of the grant and loan would address any cost affordability issues.

Are you requesting a minimum (CIR) bandwidth up & down?

No, we have not defined a minimum bandwidth for the area, but applicants should differentiate their pricing plans in terms of cost and bandwidth—see answer to question #2 above.

Are you preferring a particular technology, for instance – licensed, licensed free?

No. The RFP is vendor and technology neutral. We are looking to the service providers to arrive at the most effective technology suitable to the area.