With more than $7 billion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act set aside for increasing broadband access in the United States, the stimulus presents a huge opportunity for schools and communities to help close the digital divide.

The stimulus package authorizes the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to implement the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), which is a $4.7 billion, one-time competitive matching grants program. The funds are intended to expand broadband services to underserved areas, improve broadband access for public safety agencies, stimulate the economy, and create jobs. NTIA implemented the program along side the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Services, which received $2.5 billion for broadband loans, loan guarantees, and grants under the Recovery Act, and in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Of this $4.7 billion, $4.35 billion will pay for competitive grants to acquire and deploy equipment, technology, and infrastructure that promotes access and educational or employment opportunities among low-income, unemployed, and otherwise vulnerable populations and improves public safety broadband communications services.

Of this amount, $250 million is slated for innovative programs that encourage sustainable adoption of broadband services; at least $200 million will go toward upgrading technology and capacity at public computing centers, including those at community colleges and public libraries; and $10 million will be transferred to the office of inspector general for program audits and oversight. Another $350 million will be set aside for developing and maintaining statewide broadband inventory maps to provide an accurate representation of broadband availability across the United States.

The two-year, competitive BTOP grants will be available to states, nonprofit organizations (including schools and colleges that bring broadband services to their larger communities), and internet service providers, and they require a 20-percent matching investment from nonfederal funding sources.