Still no word from BTOP, but there sure is a lot going on
Thanks to all who've posted comments -- it's my only source of information about what's going on with my role as a BTOP reviewer. Haven't heard a peep from the NTIA folks, so it's nice to have some companions. Ron and Stacy commented that they're in pretty much the same boat -- no news from BTOP. Harold dashed my hopes but then revived them when he realized that he was going through the same training I had already attended.
Reiner has actually been assigned credentials to get into the system to review grants! Here's the full comment (from Sept 14th);
My panels / apps along with the Easygrant login credentials came in on the 11th, but no word from the panel coordinator yet (so I'm not clear on deadlines). If however my assignments were representive of the average, and assuming that it's going to be a 2-week process as NTIA initially indicated, it boils down to approximately 230 proposal pages per day.
Sept 14th is an interesting date -- I think that was the original deadline by which us reviewers were supposed to be done. As I have been saying, I haven't heard anything from Central Command, but I think it's a safe bet we're going to miss that deadline. 
Meanwhile, BTOP has punted all the applications to the States for their review. I'd heard about that from my pals in state government here in Minnesota. They, like pretty much all states, are scrambling to meet the deadline that they've been handed. Click HERE to read a comprehensive piece by Geoff Daily over at App-Rising.
Pretty soon here I'm going to have to drop off the "reviewer-candidate" list because other commitments are coming due. I volunteered thinking that the review-work would fit nicely in my schedule because it was going to be done by mid-September. But if a pile of apps land on my desk now, I'm in a pickle. I bet other reviewers are in the same boat.
Pretty soon I'll write a post about how I'd spin this if I were BTOP. The short-preview version is to get out there loud and proud instead of emitting silence. I'd be saying "wow! We're overwhelmed with success! We've got way more great applications than we ever dreamed we'd get, and a boatload of reviewers." I think it's too bad that they've let themselves get behind the PR curve -- but I agree with Geoff that it's still recoverable, and too important to let fail.
This post does not reflect current state of BTOP. My group completed our review of four large middle-mile applications and have delivered results to NTIA via the web site.
[...] don’t know how much weight the Governor’s list will have but being as the volunteer reviewers still seem to be in a holding pattern I have to think the States’ views are going to matter. So I [...]
My group completed our review of 3 large middle-mile applications and have delivered the results to NTIA. I am working on 6 more. The only thing I would say is that I expected during the panel review to have NTIA but instead had Booz. I would say there does need to be a lead in the beginning to setup a timeline because I kept sending them notes asking what the plan was. A plan in place probably would have been better or if there was a plan more communicated. The team I was on has been fantastic. I hope the next teams are for the next 6 I am working on.