The U.S. government’s plans to distribute $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funding became clearer when the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published its funding requirements in early July.

The Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA), released July 1, outlines what state and local governments must do to apply for broadband stimulus grants set aside to develop high-speed Internet connectivity to unserved and underserved areas as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The RUS and NTIA will accept applications until Aug. 14.

More importantly, the guidelines for awarding funds to companies and the deadlines for when those projects must be completed, have been laid out. All broadband stimulus money must be disbursed by Sept. 30, 2010, and grant recipients have three years to fully complete their projects.

Several satellite companies are seeking a share of the broadband funding, and the 30,000-foot view of the distribution and use rules — or the view from 2,000 kilometers and above — provides a good boost to satellite prospects.

The NOFA also defined the terms of what constitutes an "unserved" and "underserved" area – practically eliminating major urban areas from eligibility for funding, according to complaints from big-city CIOs. This is also good news for satellite players, whose main strength is providing services outside of urban areas.

The guidelines for project completion — three years — also should provide some advantage for satellite players, since those with spacecraft already in orbit only need to distribute end-user equipment in rural areas. That should provide an advantage over terrestrial players who come with offers that depend on extending cable infrastructures into rural areas — a difficult and time-consuming prospect.

Market research also points to strong opportunity for the broadband satellite services market in this field and it couldn’t have come at a better time. One study projects that the market will exceed $6.4 billion as several new high-speed networking applications using existing bandwidth continue to drive the requirement for higher rates. The number of global subscribers and sites for broadband satellite services will surpass the 3 million mark by 2010," according to "Broadband Satellite Services: A Global Strategic Business Report," released by Global Industry Analysts. The report finds that North America will continue its role as the leading market, while Europe is expected to post the fastest compound annual growth rate between 2006 and 2015.

After hearing — and writing about — a number of reasons why satellite broadband providers face an uphill climb when fighting for a share of the stimulus money and a share of the growing market, it’s nice to see some good news.