Following criticism about slow progress, two U.S. agencies charged with distributing federal stimulus money for broadband infrastructure projects say they will streamline the process by cutting the number of funding rounds from three to two.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture‘s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration outlined the new plan for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s broadband grant and loan programs in a statement issued Tuesday.

The two agencies have authority to fund a total of $7.2 billion for projects that will expand access to and adoption of broadband services. Of that funding, NTIA will use $4.7 billion for grants to deploy broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas in the U.S., expand public computer center capacity and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service, of which RUS will use $2.5 billion in budget authority to support grants and loans to help broadband deployment in primarily rural communities.

The first round of funding – about $4 billion – produced about 2,200 applications requesting nearly $28 billion – almost seven times the amount of funding available in the round – for proposed projects touching all 50 states, five territories and the District of Columbia.

The agencies expect to start making awards in December.

For the next round, the federal agencies are seeking recommendations on how to improve and speed the application process, and better achieve the stimulus program’s goals. The agencies plan to announce the rules for applying for available funds early next year.

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