Broadband Stimulus: Biden expected to release funding regs. July 1

Vice President Joe Biden will be the featured speaker at an event tomorrow, July 1, in the City of Erie, Pennsylvania focusing on the Obama Administration's commitment to the $7.2 billion "broadband stimulus" provisions of the Recovery Act.

StimulatingBroadband.com believes the Vice President will use the public event to announce the release of the federal agency regulations that will launch the first grant and loan round for the broadband stimulus program.

In federal parlance, the regulations will be released in a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA)...

Firms await broadband grant rules - WSJ.com

WASHINGTON -- Obama administration officials will announce rules Wednesday for handing out $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funds, but some companies already are raising concerns about how long it could take to award the money.

Officials are expected to detail how they plan to distribute $4.7 billion in broadband money from the Commerce Department in grants and $2.5 billion from the Agriculture Department in grants or loans.

Commerce Department officials will still be doling out the first of three rounds of broadband grants in December. Such a delay, business groups and some states say, could push back construction of some projects in northern states to next summer or 2011...

Cabinet officials coming to New Mexico as part of rural tour

The White House announced today that two cabinet secretaries will be visiting New Mexico in September as part of a rural tour throughout the United States.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will be in Las Cruces on September 30 to discuss infrastructure needs. In addition to New Mexico, Vilsack and other White House officials will hold events in Alaska, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Stimulus players to convene for broadband event - 2009-06-30 13:52:52 EDT | Broadcasting & Cable

Sources confirm that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will travel to Erie, Pa., Wednesday for a broadband-related event that will unite some major players.

Also scheduled to attend the event are Vice President Joe Biden, who hails from Scranton; Commerce Secretary Gary Locke; and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack...

Biden visit to Erie area to tout rural access

The nation's No. 2 is coming to Erie County. Vice President Joe Biden will visit Seneca High School, 10770 Wattsburg Road, on Wednesday to talk about President Barack Obama's rural broadband initiative -- one piece of the $787 billion federal stimulus package.

Joining Biden will be U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, of Erie, D-3rd Dist...

NTIA delivers for vendors on Buy American restrictions

On Friday, July 26, 2009, the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) granted a “limited waiver” for the Buy American restriction in the Recovery Act covering certain types of equipment that may be required for broadband projects. The NTIA is responsible for overseeing the process of delivering $4.7 billion in stimulus funding for broadband projects and is administrating the broadband Vermont Polesgrants through the BTOP (Broadband Technology Opportunities Program).

One of the general requirements of the Recovery Act was the “Buy America” provision requiring grant recipients to purchase “manufactured goods” used in the product from approved U.S. vendors. The Buy America provision gave the agencies broad authority to waive the requirement if certain conditions were met, one of which is if the Buy America requirement is not in the “public interest” in a particular industry...

Cape Cod broadband network may be model stimulus project

Stiff competition awaits local governments that are seeking a piece of the $7.2 billion set aside for broadband infrastructure in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Many already have plans that were shelved after the national craze for broadband deployments imploded a few years ago.

Local governments with less developed strategies may want to learn from one initiative observers consider a likely recipient of stimulus money: OpenCape is a consortium of local government and small business representatives in Cape Cod, Mass., who spent the last two years crafting a plan to deploy a broadband backhaul network for the entire cape...

Broadband stimulus may disappoint thousands - Digital Life Blog - InformationWeek

The ball might finally get rolling tomorrow for the $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funds, not a moment too soon where operators and Internet-starved rural communities are concerned.

Worse, though, than the fact that many projects won't actually get started until the spring of 2010, is the number of groups and communities that are going to come away from the process empty handed and potentially discouraged. "There's going to be some folks spurned at the wireless stimulus altar," broadband business strategist Craig Settles told me...

More shortcuts for federal grant applicants

Grants.gov has been overwhelmed by traffic since passage of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. But federal agencies are continuing to open up alternate routes for grantseekers. Local/State Funding Report (May 4, 2009) lists ten departments and agencies that have begun accepting grant applications through their own web sites...

Fiber to the library: How public libraries can benefit from using fiber optics for their broadband Internet”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) of the American Library Association (ALA) releases “Fiber to the Library: How Public Libraries Can Benefit fom Using Fiber Optics for their Broadband Internet Connections” which articulates the benefits of fiber optic technology for public libraries and strategies to obtain such fiber connectivity.

An important goal of this policy brief is to help applicants include “fiber to the library” in their federal broadband stimulus funding proposals under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)...

…and Net Neutrality for all: An advisement against regulated broadband expansion | thelobbyist

Ever since the now YouTube famous Google interview of then Senator Barack Obama promoting broadband Internet deployment nation wide, broadband deployment as part of Obama’s overarching $825 billion stimulus package has been a ready topic of conversation in technology circles. Broadband penetration in the United States is only 25.67% of all Internet connectivity or available to roughly 71 million Americans, ranking the U.S. 19th in the world.

Home connections via broadband have risen to 92.4%, creating the argument that the majority of Internet users are engaged in daily activities that require, or at least benefit from, broadband connectivity. Obama has promoted this line of thinking, and believes “that America should lead the world in broadband penetration and Internet access”. Pushing it even farther, he believes that the Universal Service Fund should be implemented in the expediting of deployment. This line of thinking is more than likely impossible...

Sites help navigate grants, jobs - Nashville Business Journal:

With the infusion of federal stimulus money, a new pool of grants aims to incentivize businesses that develop new products, services and technology named as priorities for the Obama administration. Those include development of clean energy, and Tennessee businesses — whether established or start-ups — can apply for hundreds of thousands of dollars to research, develop and take that technology to market.

The source for information on those grants is www.Grants.gov, the federal Web site that is a clearinghouse for grant opportunities of all sorts...

Microsoft template monitors stimulus money free of charge - Houston Business Journal:

Microsoft Corp. has developed a template for tracking stimulus dollars and is offering it to state and local governments free of charge.

The Houston office of Idea Integration Corp., a Jacksonville, Fla., information technology services provider, is pitching Microsoft Stimulus360 to governmental organizations and nonprofits in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and even as far away as Chicago. “It’s a complete solution for tracking and reporting back to the feds all the stimulus money,” says Sandy Bateh, a senior vice president and the manager of Idea Integration’s alliance with Microsoft...

Key waivers granted for broadband stimulus 'Buy American' rules

Many types of broadband equipment now are covered by a waiver of ‘Buy American’ rules associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 "broadband stimulus" program operated by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Many equipment categories, including routers, switches, transport gear, access equipment, customer premises equipment and billing or operations support systems are exempted from the ‘Buy American’ rules...

buy american and broadband « Tech/Policy/Advisory

In a notice published on June 26, the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is in charge of distributing nearly $5 million of the $7.2 million broadband stimulus initiative, announced an “exception” to the directive that American companies be given preference in receiving broadband stimulus funding.

The Secretary of Commerce has granted a “limited waiver” of the Buy American provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 “with respect to certain broadband equipment that will be used in projects funded under [the broadband stimulus program,” NTIA said...

NTIA drops 'buy American' requirements for broadband stimulus funds - FierceBroadbandWireless

The federal government won't require the "buy American" stipulations it had originally planned to require of companies obtaining stimulus money to build broadband networks.

In a notice published Friday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is distributing $5 billion of the $7.2 billion earmarked for broadband deployments in unserved and underserved areas, said the Secretary of Commerce granted a limited waiver of the buy American stipulation in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to broadband equipment used in broadband networks deployed using stimulus money...

Stimulus funds for tech slow to appear

MANCHESTER – New Hampshire high-tech firms interested in stimulus funding may have to wait for awhile.

Federal rules for broadband Internet-based economic development work under the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 haven't been issued yet...

U.S. vs. Japan: Residential Internet service provision pricing « WISPA

Washington, DC - June 25, 2009 - Today, the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative released a report comparing residential high-speed Internet pricing in the United States and Japan.

With broadband stimulus funding applications due soon and discussion over the creation of a national broadband policy heating up, this report sets a baseline for comparing the current state of Internet service provision...

Talking to the White House about ARRA Funds: Improving Benefits to Rural « Blandin on Broadband

The White House wants to be sure that the American Reconstruction and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is making a Bernadinepositive difference for rural America.

Last week, I joined representatives from five other foundations invited to DC to talk straight about what’s working, what’s not, and what the Administration can do to help the stimulus package have a bigger, better impact on rural places...

Broadband stimulus exempted from ‘buy American’ requirements

The federal government is backing away from the ‘buy-American’ requirements originally attached to broadband stimulus award guidelines that had been highly criticized by broadband equipment vendors.

In a notice published today, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is in charge of distributing nearly $5 billion of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus initiative, announced an “exception” to the directive that American companies be given preference in receiving broadband stimulus funding...

Don’t miss the chance for broadband in southern Ohio | Farm and Dairy - The Auction Guide and Rural Marketplace

Like many of your readers I live in the countryside, out of reach of modern broadband and barely in range of cellular service. I, for one, would like to see that situation improved.

The problem is that the population and income densities where I live are just too low for the major telecom companies to make money. They’re too big and inefficient...

Broadband-field-of-dreams :: Connect Ohio

Dear whomever wrote the blog entry 'Broadband field of dreams',

That is one pathetic essay! With optimism like yours, one can only expect bad things or even nothing in return.

As I have been reading articles on broadband implementation in the recent past, awaiting the guidelines for the broadband applications, I have been amazed at the power of broadband and encouraged by our future investments all over this world.

There is a book you may want to read called 'Broadband Communities'. It is a very realistic overview of how broadband has and will improve our world.

You may also want to read a great article about the city of Issy-les-Moulineaux in France (http://www.govtech.com/gt/695564) and how they have made a commitment to being a broadband community and are reaping the benefits today.

You should look at the great projects that will come of the hard work by the members of OneCommunity.org in Northeast Ohio. They are creating a realistic non-profit business model that will build broadband infrastructure in Ohio and around the world.

There are many other great things coming forward as a result of this focus on broadband investment. Just because it is being initiated by our Federal government, does not mean that ALL projects will be 'bridges to nowhere'. There will be many projects that change the world and they will occur right here in the great state of OHIO!

Next time you want to rant and complain about how horrible this initiative is going to be, why don't you keep it to yourself or how about helping those of us that live here by taking your great optimism out of Ohio!

Sincerely,
Jeff Beebe
Nova, Ohio

New FCC Chair brings us one step closer to Net Neutrality

Julius Genachowski, a strong proponent of Net Neutrality, was confirmed by the Senate late Thursday to be the influential chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

Genachowski is well regarded in the technology community, both as former chief counsel to Reed Hundt, an FCC chairman under President Bill Clinton, and as a private-sector entrepreneur and venture capitalist...

FCC extends broadband plan reply comment deadline | Broadcasting & Cable

Stakeholders will have some extra time to ponder the many possible variations on broadband deployment. The FCC has extended the reply comment deadline for its national broadband plan to July 21.

Several parties asked for the extention, pointing to the fact that there were more than 500 comments, some lengthy and detailed, that were being replied to. The initial reply comment deadline had been July 7. The FCC cited the "vastness of the record" and "magnitude of the issues involved" in granting the extension, and said it does not routinely grant them. But it actually does grant a fair number of extensions over holiday weekends, with the July 7 deadline falling the Tuesday after the July 4 holiday...

Arkansas: Officials share plans for stimulus

State representatives from the Arkansas Recovery Office made stops in two Northwest Arkansas cities Thursday to detail spending plans for the state's $2.9 billion share of federal stimulus dollars.

A dozen or so state officials have traveled in vans and buses over the past two weeks to brief area leaders on the recovery money available from various state agencies and departments and the chances local, private and nonprofit groups have in getting some of it...

Thoughts on public/private partnerships

So in one camp you have folks who think broadband deployment should be purely market-driven, all broadband networks should be owned/operated by private companies, and these networks should be vertically integrated with services.

In another camp you have those who believe all broadband networks should be publicly owned and operated, and that these networks should operate as dumb pipes...

But how connected are we; really? « Blandin on Broadband

I wanted to share the following editorial by Jim Hoolihan. It went out to 140 dailies and weeklies in Minnesota.

Now is the chance to take two minutes to find out, and to tell our rural experience to the Minnesota Ultra High Speed Broadband Task Force. Until June 30, the task force is collecting the results of an online speed test. With the click of one button, at http://www.connectedmn.org, provide a critical data point. The resulting statewide map will be used by decision-makers as the state maps a more connected future...

A group of government and business leaders from Alachua and Marion counties came together Thursday with an ambitious goal: Put together a proposal to increase development of broadband capabilities into rural areas. | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun | Gainesville, FL

OCALA - A group of government and business leaders from Alachua and Marion counties came together Thursday with an ambitious goal: Put together a proposal to increase development of broadband capabilities into rural areas.

The potential payoff? An estimated $50 million to $75 million in federal economic stimulus dollars. The challenge? Get organized in less than a week and draft a compelling proposal by Aug 15...

U.S. Senate approves communications panel chief | Politics | Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved the Obama administration's nomination of Julius Genachowski, a telecommunications industry executive, to head the Federal Communications Commission.

Genachowski is set to chair the five-member panel that will be dominated by Democrats seeking to bring more power to consumers and extend high-speed Internet access to rural parts of the United States...

It’s official: Julius Genachowski is FCC Chair

The congratulations are rolling in after the Senate today confirmed Julius Genachowski as the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. The Senate also confirmed Robert McDowell for his second term, leaving only two spots remaining to be filled on the five-member commission.

The confirmation by the full Senate came one week after the Commerce Committee held hearings at which the FCC was excoriated, accused of not being transparent enough and a tool of the telecommunications industry, rather than a voice for consumers...

DigitalBridge and the hunt for stimulus funds

It’s no secret that service providers of all stripes are lining up to grab their share of the government stimulus funding pie directed at broadband deployment. Our friends at DigitalBridge Communications got some prime-time buzz the other night, when CBS Evening News stopped by for a video look...

Obama rounds out FCC with Baker nomination - InternetNews.com

President Obama today nominated Republican Meredith Attwell Baker to serve on the Federal Communications Commission, a widely expected move that would fill the last spot on the five-person panel.

Just hours after the announcement, the Senate voted to confirm Julius Genachowski as the agency's chair, also approving Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell to serve a second term...

Broadband field of dreams

As I have mentioned in previous entries I am responsible in my organization for following the Broadband Stimulus funding part of the ARRA. The latest expectation is that the requirements for grant funds will be published in July. As part of the process I have been reading the many articles and blogs on this topic along with the endless white papers and studies that are being published. The more I listen and the more I read, the more I am reminded of the movie Field of Dreams and the tag line "If you build it he will come". But in the broadband field of dreams will he come?

The Broadband Stimulus funding is approximately 7.2 billion dollars. While some have described this as a down payment on broadband investment, I am becoming fearful that much of this funding will go towards projects that will build many broadband "bridges to nowhere". Some questions that I continue to ask that no one has any real answers for...

Bluefield competes for federal dollars

BLUEFIELD — The wheels are in motion for a much-needed bridge replacement project in Bluefield, with a healthy portion of federal economic stimulus funding, an in-kind local match and no out-of-pocket expense from the city’s coffers.

The board of directors passed a resolution in support of regional broadband initiatives, but Merriman made it clear that the endorsements don’t conflict with the city’s present broadband initiatives. “We support statewide broadband,” he said. “It’s a great tool to recruit businesses and people into the area...”

Despite economy, broadband use rises in state

San Francisco -- A slumping economy didn't stop an increasing number of Californians from accessing the Internet in their homes using broadband, but the digital divide along ethnic and income lines persists, according to a recent study.

The Public Policy Institute of California survey interviewed more than 2,500 people and found that 62 percent said they had broadband at home, a seven-point increase from last year. The results mirrored the national average reported last week by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project: 63 percent...

Working together for our broadband future

While our nation is facing unprecedented challenges, we are also experiencing unprecedented opportunities. The stimulus package has set the stage for tremendous federal investment in information technologies to create jobs and advance health, education and government efforts.

Fortunately, Northern Ohio has been working in these areas for years, and OneCommunity has stepped in to propel plans and pursue funding for cooperative, tech-related projects in the region. We established the Regional Technology Stimulus...

Akron wireless project opens first square mile

DOWNTOWN AKRON — City officials last week opened the first wireless “hot spot” at Lock 3 Park and the first square mile of wireless broadband coverage, which includes all of South Main Street from Market Street to Exchange Street, Cascade Plaza and the Akron Civic Theatre, along with buildings and sidewalk cafés on Main Street.

The first 10 square miles of the wireless demonstration project announced a year ago should be wired and completed by October...

It’s a bird, It’s a plane, It’s super LEC! : A new breed of rural mega-carriers Is rising

The FCC is expected to approve the merger between Tier 2 telcos CenturyTel and EMBARQ later this week, which will create the fourth-largest ILEC in the nation, with 7.7 million access lines in 33 states. The deal is part of a bigger mergers and acquisitions wave that is creating a breed of rural super-LECs — and it’s a trend that has big ramifications for customers and competition.

“Clearly there is movement in the Tier 2s to consolidate, corresponding on the other side with the RBOCs jettisoning some of their rural properties,” said John Celentano, president of research group Skyline Marketing Group. “The big phone companies, as they move on to grander schemes via fiber to the x, haven't put money into rural properties — only to the extent they're told they have to. And the IOCs are often contiguous to the Bell footprint, making taking that business an easy addition...”

The new financial capitol - CBS Evening News - CBS News

(CBS) The DigitalBridge company is trying to bring broadband technology to the small town of Appomattox, Va. But in this economy, financing is not easy to find. "It's been incredibly hard to raise venture capital and only the best business plans get funded," said Kelley Dunne, the CEO of DigitalBridge.

Private investment into these kinds of deals has collapsed from $30 billion a year in 2007 to only an estimated $18 billion this year, reports CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason...

Study: US sees 'broadband boom' this decade - PC World

The U.S. government should avoid making huge changes in its deregulatory telecom policies because consumers have seen a "broadband boom" since 2000, according to a new paper released Wednesday.

Residential broadband speeds in the U.S. grew by 54 times between 2000 and 2008, while wireless broadband speeds grew by a factor of 542, said the paper, from tech research firm Entropy Economics...

Building successful stimulus funding applications

As part of the US Government’s Broadband Stimulus Plan, the NTIA and RUS announced plans to issue a joint Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) at the end of June. The release of this NOFA will help resolve many outstanding issues and questions, but will also signal the start of the highly competitive process to submit applications for federal funding of broadband projects.

Join experts from Alcatel-Lucent and special guests on July 8th as we review the NOFA, discuss the implications for potential applicants, and assess the impacts of its key provisions. Attendees will also receive an exclusive invitation to our upcoming Building Successful Stimulus Funding Applications workshops, which will provide hands-on guidance for the preparation of a broadband stimulus application...

FCC near OK for CenturyTel-Embarq deal - FierceTelecom

The Federal Communications Commission, still limited to three commissioners pending the arrival of a new chairman and one other commissioner, reportedly is very close to approving the CenturyTel-Embarq deal. The companies agreed to acquisition approval conditions that included a pledge to upgrade broadband speeds, not a particularly surprising condition given that the FCC is knee-deep in its development of a national broadband plan.

The broadband commitments include providing 90 percent of broadband customers with download speeds of at least 768 kbps in the next three years, and delivering at least 1.5 Mbps to at least 87 percent of customers within two years, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. Within the next year after the deal closes, about 75 percent of customers are supposed to get at least 3 Mbps capability...

A season of great change in D.C. won't bring smooth sailing | Blogs | ITBusinessEdge.com

Climate change, the economy, health care and various odds and ends confront the Obama administration. Telecommunication policy, another sticky issue, is on the horizon. While it isn’t quite as monumental as those three, it certainly is vital. It also challenges and perhaps surpasses them in complexity.

Complexity comes with the territory. Regulation and administration of telecom always has been fraught with complications because of a basic and inherent contradiction: Major carriers such as AT&T and Verizon simultaneously compete with and supply other companies. Being fair to the Davids as well as the Goliaths is a complex minuet that, if nothing else, has put the sons and daughters of countless telecom lawyers through college...

Alvarion snags a big one

Last week Alvarion announced an agreement to supply Open Range Communications with WiMAX and core networks. This contract is a step forward for Alvarion as they fill the role of prime contractor of a deal that is valued at US$100 million over a five-year period.

A unique aspect of the Open Range deployment (for the U.S.) is the tie-in with a satellite company for use of terrestrial broadband spectrum and satellite overlay. This hybrid network approach has been used to reach under-served areas in Africa and elsewhere that the cost and time to deploy of building backhaul infrastructure is prohibitive. Partner Globalstar has agreed to the use their Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) authority spectrum to provide a hybrid satellite-terrestrial access network that will eventually reach an estimated 546 rural communities. Open Range has secured US$367 million in investments and loans: US$100 million from One Equity Partners (OEP), theprivate equity arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM). This guarantees release of a United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Utilities Program (RDUP) approved Broadband Access Loan of US$267 million (March 2008)...

Taking the FCC's website to 2.0

So the FCC's website is horrendously outdated. While perhaps cutting edge in the 90s, it's painful to use today, especially the public commenting system, which is difficult to navigate, find what you're looking for, and even read that information once you find it. For the best walkthrough and subsequent indictment of how bad things are, check out David Isenberg's post lamenting his experiences with cries of, "Oy, oy, oy!"

I can tell you that as a first-time commenter this year I've found the whole process to be frustrating, artificial, and distant. It feels like I'm just throwing my comments down a hole. While I know they're being read as they have to by law, I don't know how well they're actually being considered nor is it immediately obvious if anyone's commenting on my comments. It's also cumbersome replying to the comments of others as gathering and reviewing all the data is time-consuming, and the response mechanism again makes me feel disconnected from the decision-making process...

City launches new push for broadband | Crain's Chicago Business

Chicago is angling for about $100 million in federal stimulus money to build a high-speed Internet network that would reach some of the city's poorest neighborhoods.

City officials have seized on the stimulus program as a second chance to bring broadband service to underserved areas like the South Side, after a more ambitious proposal to blanket the city with a wireless Internet signal fizzled in 2007. In the next few months, they plan to apply for federal funds to provide high-speed Internet access to tens of thousands of Chicago residents and a multitude of businesses...

Hazlett and subsidies of high-speed data networks

Thomas Hazlett and Richard Epstein write periodically in the "New Technology Policy Forum" in the "Technology" section of the Financial Times. Anyone interested in telecommunications should keep up with their work. As part of the stimulus bill, formally known as the American Recovery and Investment Act, the Congress allocated $7.2 billion to subsidize the spread of high-speed data networks in unserved and underserved areas.

Hazlett explains why this program as passed by the Congress will not stimulate economic activity ("Shovel-ready broadband stimulus," May 1, 2009). It is illustrative of perverse incentives created by government programs to improve private economic activities through subsidies...

Alvarion signs $100 million contract to deploy rural broadband in US | Wimax News

Alvarion has signed its biggest contract ever, to supply WiMax wireless communication equipment for a project sponsored by the United States government. The project’s goal is to build a WiMax wireless network for 6 million residents in an area spanning 17 states and 546 rural communities.

Alvarion’s contract will be worth $100 million to $150 million. The company’s biggest deal up to now was for $56 million. The contract was signed with U.S. broadband wireless operator Open Range Communications, for equipment to be delivered over the next five years, and is expected to provide Alvarion with $20-$30 million each year...

Join us for a free webinar: FTTH: Making that Business Model Work

Only one week remaining to register for this Yankee Group webinar.

Don’t miss this discussion of how vendors and service providers, and the municipalities they serve, can make fiber to the home a reality.

Join us for a complimentary one-hour presentation:
Fiber to the Home: Making That Business Model Work
Date: June 30, 2009
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT
Presenter: Benoît Felten...

NeoNova to present 2nd in webinar series on broadband economic stimulus plan

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NeoNova Network Services, the industry leader in managed IP services for telcos, municipal organizations and cable companies, today announced the second in a series of webinars discussing the impact of the Economic Stimulus Plan on broadband deployment in rural America.

In February, 2009, President Obama signed a $787 billion bill allocating more than $7 billion to be focused on expanding the reach of broadband networks to underdeveloped areas that many telecom providers have yet to serve. In response to this bill, NeoNova is sponsoring a series of webinars featuring telecommunications experts from Wiley Rein LLP, a law firm with significant expertise in telecom regulation, discussing the portion of the economic stimulus plan targeted at broadband investment...

Calix taps proven sales and marketing executives to accelerate growth and market leadership | SYS-CON UK

Calix, the largest communications equipment supplier focused solely on access solutions for broadband service delivery, today announced that it has expanded its leadership team with the appointment of four new executives to sales, marketing, and business and market development positions.

Calix is also expanding its field and corporate operations to enhance its direct customer engagement model to capitalize on the company’s current strong rate of growth and to better prepare it for the potential impact the broadband stimulus component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will have on its service provider customers...

House Bill to turn the Internet into a Utility « Geek-Online

The “Broadband Internet Fairness Act” is a bill being prepared by Eric Massa, a congressman from New York that aims at turning the Internet into a government regulated utility.

As the bill states it purpose…To Authorize the Federal Trade Commission, in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission, to review volume usage service plans of major broadband Internet service providers to ensure that such plans are fairly based on cost.

It sounds fair and reasonable. There are five finding that this bill revolves around...

Private Sector: Broadband stimulus is job stimulus, too

Stanford University economist Paul Romer's observation that "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste" could be a rallying cry for past and present efforts to revive the economy and create jobs by bringing critical technology to Americans who need it.

In 1935, the crisis was the Great Depression and the critical technology was electricity. In 2009, the crisis is what's being called "the Hurricane Katrina" of recessions, and the technology is broadband Internet service...

Increased broadband access coming to a community near you | Illinois Technology Partnership

In a move to increase broadband access, the City of Chicago is vying for about $100 million in federal stimulus dollars to build a high-speed Internet network. According to Crain’s:

An expanded high-speed wireless network would help fulfill a goal of Mayor Richard M. Daley and others who long have argued that the lack of affordable broadband in some areas is an obstacle to education and economic development. The city estimates that broadband penetration in 23 of its 77 neighborhoods is lower than that in rural areas...

U.S. Labor Department awards approximately $114 million in grants to help youth with education and training [06/12/2009]

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis has announced the award of approximately $114 million to 183 community groups to provide education and training to young people across the United States. This amount is an initial increment for two years of grant operations. A remaining increment may be awarded pending the availability of additional funding. Among today's awardees, 62 are current Department of Labor YouthBuild grantees, and 121 are new to the department. The YouthBuild program assists out-of-school youth in obtaining their diplomas or GEDs while providing occupational training in the construction industry.

While acquiring leadership skills and participating in community service, at-risk youth build and renovate affordable housing within their communities. The awards include approximately $47 million allocated to the YouthBuild program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009...

FCC to probe exclusive handset deals, enhance diversity in the radio business | blog of bile

Likely Federal Communications Commission chair Julius Genachowski has promised Senator John Kerry (D-MA) that he’ll give due attention to a petition asking the FCC to investigate exclusivity arrangements between handset manufacturers and wireless carriers. The most famous of these is AT&T’s deal with Apple for the iPhone. The White House’s pick to run the Commission also pledged to take action if the agency concludes that these arrangements hurt consumers.

The long standing request for action on this issue came from the Rural Cellular Association (RCA), which charges that they shortchange rural areas. “Yes, if confirmed, I will ensure that the full record on the RCA petition is reviewed, and act accordingly to promote competition and consumer choice,” Genachowski declared in a set of formal responses to questions posed by Kerry...

New York City's broadband gap

I was in New York City recently for a few meetings and learned that the broadband gap I discussed a few weeks ago in Brooklyn also exists in Harlem. While I was at lunch with a couple business associates we overheard a group of people complaining about their Internet service. Thinking I could help out, I joined their discussion.

Turns out they were small business owners from Harlem that weren’t able to get high-speed Internet. Operating a business on dial-up speeds was always a struggle for them and once the recession hit, they were at an even further disadvantage...

Civility creeping into Net neutrality debate? - InternetNews.com

ARLINGTON, Va. -- For the last several years, Net neutrality has been known to many as the third rail of telecom policy. The arguments, often less than civil, have taken on an almost religious fervor.

But in a panel discussion this morning at Pike and Fischer's Broadband Policy Summit, advocates on both sides of the issue agreed that the Net neutrality debate has evolved into a more sophisticated and respectful dialogue...

Another ex-governor adapts to the Senate

Indeed, Warner clearly misses the wide latitude that being governor afforded him. He was in his element hours after that June 4 hearing as he met with local officials and lobbyists from Halifax, a town in southern Virginia, in his sparsely decorated office in the Russell Office Building.

With his suit jacket off and his arms behind his head, Warner rattles off names, restaurants and economic development projects in towns throughout the region. His interest is particularly piqued whenever a mention of expanding broadband Internet access, new battery technology or rural development projects — some of his personal priorities during his tenure in Richmond — comes up...

FCC Chairman-designate indicates government should focus on unserved

FCC Chairman-designate Julius Genachowsk is inching closer to confirmation as his nomination was given the thumbs-up in the Senate Commerce Committee last week. He is expected to get quick approval from the entire Senate fairly soon.

During his testimony to the committee Genachowski talked about the FCC's national broadband plan and how he would like to see the agency advise the federal agencies responsible for the broadband stimulus grants...

Networking firms in Silicon Valley see stimulus potential in their customers - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

The $7.2 billion in stimulus money the federal government plans to spend to improve broadband access is viewed as a “wait and see” situation for Silicon Valley networking companies. As in, while waiting for the government’s rules on how and where the money can be used, they are seeing what their customers need for projects backed by the stimulus spending.

Giants such as are vying for chunks of the funding, but even the valley’s smaller “arms dealers” (as one wit put it) are determining how to help customers apply for the potentially lucrative grants — because if those customers get grant money, they will need equipment...

Mayors complain about stimulus spending - Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Washington -- President Obama is facing complaints from big-city mayors and county politicians that parts of the economic stimulus package are shortchanging their constituents.

Vice President Joe Biden has been holding private conference calls on the stimulus with elected officials from around the country, some of whom have been telling him that metropolitan regions are losing out to rural areas in the competition for stimulus money...

Ohio libraries under siege

I'm a librarian for a rural library system in Ohio and we just received word today that the Governor's proposed budget will cut funding for Ohio public libraries by 50%. Many libraries will be forced to cut services and hours, or to close outright.

As you can guess, given the economic downturn, Ohio library usage has dramatically increased over the last two years. As patrons trim their personal budgets, they rely on libraries more and more for access to reading material and other media. We're also the one-stop clearinghouse for government and community information. People have also come to rely on us for job searches and assistance and for free, public broadband Internet access...

LIVE WEBCAST: Investing in Broadband Infrastructure for Economic Stimulus and Growth? at eDevelopment Thematic Group Blog

As part of their response to the ongoing crisis, many countries are implementing economic stimulus packages. Public support to the build out of broadband infrastructure figures in many of these packages.

What is the rationale for such support? How can it be implemented to support and enlarge private investment? What are the outcomes of such stimulus in terms of jobs and economic growth..?

Analysis: Amid shifting economic data, Obama tempers optimism with ‘on the other hand’ caution

WASHINGTON — It’s a difficult balancing act.

Where some economists see “green shoots” of a recovery others see only yellow weeds of continuing recession. It’s hard to know for sure whether things are getting better or worse...

A bill introduced in the Senate this week, would require any federally-funded transportation construction to trench fiber alongside

The $7.2 billion set aside by the government for the broadband stimulus package isn’t the only bucket of money for telecom to tap into. Case in point is the “Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2009” introduced to the Senate this week, which would require any federally-funded transportation construction to also trench fiber along the road.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar, (D-Minn.), and Mark Warner, (D-Va.) sponsored the bill, which calls for highway crews to put in conduits and fiber—might as well, as long as the road is torn up anyway...

National broadband plan should be guided by private sector not government officials « The Swine Line

For a number of years, CAGW has been dedicated to eliminating waste and inefficiency in government. Particularly, CAGW emphasizes the importance of the government taking as small a role in theprivate sector as possible.

This is especially true with technology. On June 17, 2009, Liya Palagashvili, Koch Fellow and Summer intern at CAGW, had the opportunity to attend a broadband symposium hosted by the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA) on “Developing a National Broadband Strategy: Deployment, Adoption, and the Stimulus.” IIA hosted a number of notable speakers who addressed a variety of significant issues facing broadband...

Internet stimulus grant givers want community coalitions - WSJ.com

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Commerce are on the verge of publishing guidelines for $7.2 billion in economic stimulus grants for high-speed Internet projects around the country.

A Commerce Department official said Friday that the agencies are hoping the rules encourage communities to bring their disparate groups into coalitions - hospitals, colleges, public safety groups, community centers, etc.

"A large broadband pipe allows for lots of silos in various communities to come together," said Mark Seifert, a senior adviser at the Commerce Department's telecommunications unit. ...

U.S. Federal Communications Commission to investigate exclusive cell phone deals, backs broadband stimulus

The Senate Commerce Committee approved Julius Genachowski as chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. He favors using $7 billion of stimulus money to extend broadband Internet service to consumers who lack access now, a view backed by big telecommunications and cable companies.

Genachowski held various positions at Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp and co-founded technology investment firm Rock Creek Ventures. He also served on the boards or as advisers to Ticketmaster (TKTM.O), Web.com (WWWW.O), The Motley Fool, Beliefnet, Truveo, and Rapt...

Four months and counting... still no broadband stimulated

Just dawned on me that yesterday was the four-month anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act becoming law. Four months since over $7 billion was set aside to "stimulate" the deployment of broadband.

Yet this has really been a "stimulus" in name only as to date not a single dollar has been turned into deployment. Zero, zilch, nada...

City to flip switch on new Wi-Fi

With the click of a mouse at 11 a.m. today, city officials will turn on the first section of a Wi-Fi corridor along South Main Street, from Market to Exchange streets, enabling nearby computer users equipped with wireless adapters to access the Internet for free.

The half-mile stretch of South Main Street is the first phase of a project that aims to provide free broadband Internet service to anyone in about a nine-square-mile area downtown. The $2.2 million project, called Connect Akron, is a partnership between the city of Akron and OneCommunity, the nonprofit group that is installing the equipment...

China counterattacks with “Buy China” policy

If you ever wondered how trade wars start, pay attention. We are in the early stages of saber-rattling on trade and if some adult supervision does not come along, it could get much worse. Here’s how.

Politicians tries to curry favor with unions or the steel industry or the auto industry and they insert a “Buy American” clause into legislation. In this case, it was the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009, otherwise known as President Obama’s economic stimulus plan. Then, politicians in other countries get the same ‘bright’ idea and they insert protectionist trade policies into legislation over there as China is now doing. Rinse, repeat and escalate and before long you have a serious problem...

Broadband stimulus program spending to be wasted?

Vice President Joe Biden says "some" waste is inevitable in spending related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. And it appears some of that waste is destined to occur in the "broadband stimulus" parts of the program, as well.

The Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service might not be able to properly dispense funds supporting rural broadband as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act "broadband stimulus" program, an audit of RUS by the Department of Agriculture's Office of the Inspector General for the Southwest Region warns...

Broadband connections up, but broadband stimulus efforts can reach more households

Rarely a day goes by in DC without a panel discussion, new report or legislative hearing on the importance of broadband. Yesterday, the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project released a lengthy survey on Home Broadband Adoption. Not only does the study delve into the importance of Internet in the everyday lives of Americans, but it also shows a noteworthy rise in broadband usage over the last year.

The study notes that now, “63% of adult Americans now have broadband internet connections at home, a 15% increases from a year earlier.” That is up from 54 percent in 2007. In addition, Pew’s study also looked at specific populations, like seniors, rural Americans and lower income households. Some key statistics from the report include...

Broadband stimulus application checklist

Broadband Stimulus application checklist
Considerations for funding...

Alvarion scores major WiMAX win in the US — WIMAX

Open Range Communications began moving forward with its plans after receiving funding of $374M earlier this year to build out its network - including a $274 loan from the USDA's Rurual Utilities Service (RUS) and $100M from One Equity Partners. The funds received from RUS are from its annual re-reoccurring program and separate from the US Broadband Stimulus Funds being released later this year. The company plans to begin deploying the network in Q3 with the first services offered in Q4 this year.

Open Range plans to use WiMAX technology to deliver broadband services to un-served and underserved communities in America - offering portable and eventually mobile voice and internet services to its planned coverage areas including western states California, Colorado and Nevada; Midwestern states Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Nebraska; southern states Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina; and eastern states Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware...

Obama’s bet for FCC top post to prioritize broadband deployment — Schooley Mitchell Telecom Consultants

President Barack Obama’s choice to be the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has vowed to make broadband service available and affordable to consumers.

Julius Genachowski said during the hearing of the Senate Commerce committee, that the country’s broadband service should be accessible and affordable to be “a 21st-century infrastructure that generates economic growth, opportunity, prosperity...”

W.Va. hailed for broadband plan

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin thinks the Mountain State can make a good case for getting some of the $7 billion broadband money that was included in the economic stimulus package that passed Congress earlier this year. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is responsible for doling out more than $4 billion in grants and the Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service has the job of distributing $2.5 billion.

Both have to act fast with Manchin and other state officials eager to put the money to use. Manchin, a pioneer in the broadband space, delivered a keynote address at an Internet Innovation Alliance symposium Wednesday and spoke with reporters afterward. He also received IIA's Broadband Innovator of the Year award for his efforts to advance deployment and adoption in West Virginia...

Genachowski handily passes confirmation hearing

The Senate confirmation hearing of Julius Genachowski as FCC chairman on Tuesday was about as contentious as two Buddhist monks talking at a peace rally. Genachowski handily won confirmation by the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, while reaping the benefit of compliments like "if you aren’t qualified, then I don't know who is" (Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb.), and “[you have the] perfect background" (Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.).

Committee members did warn Genachowski that they expect big changes, and told him that former Chairman Kevin Martin’s approach to things was the opposite of what they want now...

Broadband Internet access as a utility

In the past few days there was a renewed push to include broadband Internet access in the list of utilities. Included in most current lists are: electricity, water, sewer, telephone, steam, and natural gas. The perceived importance of broadband Internet access has been echoed by both politicians and academia for some time. (See Prof. Frieden) One need only look at the MuniWiFi projects around the US, or the efforts of local communities to develop fiber networks in their communities.

Recently British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made the comparison that Internet access is as important as access to other utilities (Thanks to Blandin for posting about this). The US included quite a bit of monetary support to increase broadband penetration and access in the US this past February in the stimulus bill. Many times President Obama has signaled that broadband Internet access is essential to the future of the US.

As broadband expands rapidly, America's poor lag - BusinessWeek

Recession or no, more Americans are getting online via fast, higher-priced connections, a closely watched study of U.S. Internet use has found. As of April, 63% of U.S. adults had broadband Internet connections in their homes, according to the Pew Research Center. That's a big jump from a year earlier, when a comparable survey found that only 55% of U.S. adults had broadband access at home.

Survey participants reported they're paying an average of $39 a month for broadband service, up from $34.50 a year earlier. At $39 per month, the average price is as high as it was in 2004 before it fell for the next four years. More consumers regard a broadband Internet connection as a necessity akin to electricity or water service, says John Horrigan, associate director for the Pew center...

SAC Wireless and Open Range partner to bring WiMax to midwest | BriefingRoom on TelephonyOnline

SAC Wireless, LLC signed a five-year contract to build wireless network infrastructure for leading wireless broadband service provider Open Range Communications (ORC), headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colo.

Over the next five years, Open Range Communications is building a 17-state network under the Department of Agriculture’s RUS program covering un-served and under-served communities in more than 500 markets across the country. According to the contract, SAC Wireless will join Alvarion in deploying the Open Range network in Colorado, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. SAC Wireless will deploy the 4G WiMAX network, taking charge of all aspects including site selection, installation and service...

Open Range signs $100 million deal for rural WiMAX | Telecompetitor

Open Range Communications, a Colorado-based rural wireless network operator, has signed a five year agreement with Alvarion for WiMAX equipment that could reach $100 million. The deal provides the equipment necessary to build Open Range’s broadband wireless network, which spans 546 rural markets, across 17 states, covering 6 million people.

Open Range secured funding through the RUS Broadband Loan program for the build out. Under the terms of the deal, Open Range will use Alvarion’s 802.16e BreezeMAX® solution, which utilizes an all IP architecture for radio access equipment, customer devices (CPE) and systems integration...

Broadband important for rural areas, groups say...

Without broadband, Becky Collins would be out of business. Collins, owner of Granny B's Clothesline, said she was able to leave her job filing out Medicare forms and start her own children's clothing business because of broadband availability in Homer, Louisiana, population 3,800. Collins, who started out selling dresses to friends, left her Medicare paperwork job in 2006.

Collins, speaking at a broadband policy forum sponsored by the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), called on U.S. lawmakers and private groups to continue to push for broadband in rural areas. Our downtown is virtually dead, Collins said. If I opened a business in downtown Homer ... maybe five people a day might come into my store. Now, I have customers from around the world. The broadband forum came as two U.S. agencies, the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), get ready to distribute US$7.2 billion for broadband deployment beginning later this year...

Alvarion lands largest gov't-backed WiMax deal - Telecom News Analysis

Alvarion Ltd. (Nasdaq: ALVR) announced a $100 million contract to supply U.S. WiMax startup Open Range Communications Inc. for the largest government-funded WiMax deployment in the country. The deal is significant not just because of its size, but also because it gives a taste of what's to come from the U.S. government's $7.2 billion broadband stimulus plan.

Open Range received a $267 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) in March 2008 to fund a WiMax-deployment plan to cover 6 million people in underserved regions. In January this year, the startup also received a $100 million investment from One Equity Partners , which is the private equity arm of JP.MorganChase...

Sen. Tom Coburn stimulus oversight report, ‘A second opinion’ | The blog of the Rhode Island Republican assembly

U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D., today released an oversight report 100 Stimulus Projects: A Second Opinion that discloses 100 of the worst examples of waste in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or stimulus bill. The projects included in the report – worth $5.5 billion – range from Maine to California, and even two from the state of Oklahoma. Click here to read the entire report.

“The American people have a right to know how their stimulus dollars are being spent. In too many cases stimulus projects are wasting money we don’t have on things we don’t need,” Dr. Coburn said...

Survey: Elderly, poor narrow broadband service gap

NEW YORK (AP) — Some groups that have lagged in signing up for high-speed Internet service, like the elderly, the poor and rural residents, have started to gain on those who have had a head start, according to a new survey.

Those conclusions come as the government is set to decide how to spend $7.2 billion in stimulus money on expanding the availability of broadband. Broadband usage among those 65 or older grew from 19 percent in May 2008 to 30 percent this April, the Pew Internet & American Life Project said Wednesday...

Genachowski glides through confirmation hearing - InternetNews.com

WASHINGTON -- Julius Genachowski, President Obama's nominee to chair the Federal Communications Commission, sailed through a breezy confirmation hearing this afternoon, but several members of a Senate panel emphasized the enormity of the task ahead of him.

The senators gave no indication that he will have any trouble securing a final confirmation, saving their most pointed comments for the way the FCC has been run in recent years...

Study finds broadband adoption up 15% - InternetNews.com

The portion of adult Americans with broadband access in their homes has risen to 63 percent, a 15 percent increase from a year earlier, according to a new study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

The steep climb came despite an increase in the average cost consumers reported paying for broadband service, suggesting that the Internet has taken on an enduring consumer value even in an economic downturn...

Britain may tax for universal broadband. Why can’t the U.S.? | Personal Finance

Britain is moving toward a 50-pence-a-month tax on all fixed telephone lines to help bring next-generation broadband to the entire country.

The small levy would establish an independent national fund to ensure "maximum next-generation broadband coverage" by 2012, when the Olympics come to London, said Ben Bradshaw, the Culture Secretary, as quoted in the London Telegraph...

Rural broadband stimulus not so rural and not so stimulating » The Foundry

A key stimulus program to bring Internet service to rural America may not be up to the job of spending its $2.5 billion in extra funding effectively, according to a report (PDF) released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s inspector general.
…
Monday’s report found that the Rural Utilities Service continues to grant loans to areas that already have broadband service and to communities near major cities...

FCC pick backs broadband stimulus, opposes fairness doctrine - WSJ.com

WASHINGTON -- Julius Genachowski, the man nominated to head the Federal Communications Commission, said Tuesday he favors using $7 billion of stimulus money to extend broadband Internet service to consumers who lack access now, a view backed by big telecommunications and cable companies.

Mr. Genachowski also told a Senate committee he doesn't support reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, an FCC rule abandoned during the Reagan administration that required broadcasters to air both sides of an issue. He said he doesn't believe the FCC should be in the business of censoring political speech...

Alvarion shares jump on 5-year WiMax contract

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Alvarion Ltd. (ALVR) shares jumped Wednesday after the WiMax equipment maker announced a five-year contract with Open Range Communications that is expected to be worth more than $100 million.

Open Range, a broadband wireless provider that uses WiMax technology, will purchase a full range of Alvarion's equipment for a WiMax deployment covering up to 6 million customers in rural areas across 17 states. WiMax is a high-speed wireless broadband network boasting speeds on par with today's cable Internet connection...

Consumers favor Internet over cell phone and cable TV according to new study from Pew Research Center

Americans value broadband more than ever with home broadband adoption rates up 15 percent in 2009 and consumers favoring Internet over cell phone and cable TV, according to new research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The 29-page study will be unveiled today in Washington, DC at the Internet Innovation Alliance's Symposium "Developing a National Broadband Strategy: Deployment, Adoption and the Stimulus."

The Symposium will feature notables and pioneers in the technology space such as West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin and NBA All-Star Chris Bosh and will highlight two main issues: bringing broadband to unserved communities and making broadband affordable for all Americans. Featured speaker at the event John B. Horrigan, Associate Director of the Pew Internet Project, will discuss the findings of Pew's new report "Home Broadband Adoption 2009..."

Beat the summer heat and better yourself at the library - Book Reviews - Bradenton.com

Looking for something to do this summer? Go to the library. You might find more than you expect. And the best part is it's free. In addition to innovative summer reading programs and other interesting activities, libraries are also a source of free computer access.

This is a big deal for many communities. In one recent survey, more than 70 percent of libraries identified themselves as the only source of free access to computers and the Internet in their area, according to the American Library Association (ALA). And, Internet services are escalating rapidly within the nation's libraries. The ALA also reports that more than 76 percent of all public libraries provide Wi-Fi access, up from 65.9 percent one year ago...

FCC NBS Comments: Agreeing and disagreeing with Brett Glass

Continuing my exploration of the comments to the FCC on how best to formulate a National Broadband Strategy I wanted to dive into those filed by Brett Glass.

Brett heads up LARIAT, a wireless Internet service provider in Wyoming that was "among the first, if it was not the very first, of the world's terrestrial high-speed WISPs." Brett's also been a long-time independent and vocal voice on matters of broadband policy, speaking from the perspective of a smaller network operator who's committed to bringing broadband to those who don't have it. In fact, in their service area in southeastern Wyoming only 5% of their customers have access to any form of wireline broadband...

Alvarion shares jump on unsourced report of major contract

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Alvarion Ltd. (ALVR) jumped as much as 13% Tuesday on an unsourced report in a Tel Aviv-based newspaper that said the WiMax equipment-maker won a deal in the U.S. worth $90 million to $100 million.

The article, written in Hebrew in the newspaper Calcalist, said the deal is with Clearwire ...

FCC Chair nominee: Broadband deployment a major priority... | Sharecatalog

Rolling out broadband to rural and other areas that lack service will be a major priority for the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, the man nominated to be chairman of the agency said Tuesday.

The FCC, tasked by the U.S. Congress with creating a national broadband plan, will focus on making broadband available and affordable to U.S.residents, said Julius Genachowski, nominated by President Barack Obama to become chairman of the FCC...

FCC pick backs broadband stimulus, opposes Fairness Doctrine - WSJ.com

WASHINGTON -- Julius Genachowski, the man nominated to head the Federal Communications Commission, said Tuesday he favors using $7 billion of stimulus money to extend broadband Internet service to consumers who lack access now, a view backed by big telecommunications and cable companies.

Mr. Genachowski also told a Senate committee he doesn't support reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, an FCC rule abandoned during the Reagan administration that required broadcasters to air both sides of an issue. He said he doesn't believe the FCC should be in the business of censoring political speech...

FCC chair nominee: Broadband deployment a major priority

IDG News Service - Rolling out broadband to rural and other areas that lack service will be a major priority for the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, the man nominated to be chairman of the agency said Tuesday.

The FCC, tasked by the U.S. Congress with creating a national broadband plan, will focus on making broadband available and affordable to U.S. residents, said Julius Genachowski, nominated by President Barack Obama to become chairman of the FCC...

U.S. readies broadband stimulus details

SAN JOSE, Calif. — U.S. government agencies may release by the end of June guidelines for applying for the first round of a total of $7.5 billion in stimulus funds to extend the reach of broadband networks. Carriers and communications systems makers are gearing up to apply for the grants and loans, some of which will be awarded as early as September.

"It will be an intense three months," said Kevin Suitor, vice president of marketing and business development at Redline Communications Inc. (Markham, Ontario), a maker of WiMax systems. "We believe the stimulus funding in the U.S. and other programs around the world will provide a bump to WiMax adoption," he added...

Is the Internet as vital as water and gas?

As Britain unveiled its plans this week to stay competitive with the rest of the world in regards to broadband speed and availability across the islands (sorry, Ireland, it is plural), Gordon Brown reported that "The internet is as vital as water and gas." Brown compares the infrastructure of roads and bridges built in the 19th century Industrial Revolution with the infrastructure of cable and towers being built today.

I'm not sure how the leap is made from bridges and roads to water and gas, but I do agree with Brown's assessment of broadband's importance to growth in the 21st century. Here on our side of the pond, we're realizing the same about our own future. Much attention has been given to the role of Fixed Wireless Broadband infrastructure for rural internet access, both on this blog and elsewhere...

Smart Grid DSL: Current and Qwest team up

Companies are building out the smart grid with various broadband technologies — cellular, WiFi, WiMAX — so why not good ol’ DSL? For non-network geeks, that’s the high-speed broadband that your phone company offers over copper wire. This morning, smart grid sensor and software maker Current is touting a new smart grid partnership with DSL provider Qwest.

Current largely provides the sensors that monitor different conditions on the electrical network, like voltage and current, as well as the software that processes the sensor information for the utility customer. While Current is mostly focused on the distribution portion of the grid, it can also provide communication gear and sensors for smart meters and in-home gateways, which it is doing for Colorado utility Xcel Energy for its SmartGridCity rollout. Because Current needs to get its information back to the utility, it works with a number of companies that provide that network connection. The latest is Qwest, which Current started partnering with, and is currently working with, for Xcel Energy’s SmartGridCity plan (Qwest provides phone and broadband service in Colorado). The buildout of SmartGridCity is supposed to be completed soon, followed by an assessment of the network’s benefits...

Will 'Buy American' provisions trip up broadband stimulus?

Cisco Systems and Alcatel-Lucent want broadband stimulus “Buy American” provisions waived. That troublesome provision is typical of the many "little" details that will have to be ironed out before final rules are announced in June. The provision is one example of conflicting goals within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 generally. The funds are supposed to act as a pump primer during the recession, but most of the money will not be spent until 2010 through 2012, when it is likely, if not certain, the current recession will be over.

The broadband stimulus is supposed to promote more broadband use, but also is supposed to create jobs immediately. It now appears little of the $7.2 billion can be spent in 2009, as slippage in the time table now suggests the first disbursements could not be made until the fall, and actual construction would not begin until sometime after that, including the difficulty of undertaking major construction projects in the winter...

New broadband fiber optic training for summer youth program in Charlotte, NC

Alliant Personnel Solutions Inc. (APSI) the Urban League of Central Carolinas along with collaborative partners Mike Minter and South Piedmont Community College (SPCC) launch a new broadband initiative to prepare dislocated and underemployed individuals for the 21st Century with $450,000 Stimulus grant.

The lead agency Urban League of Central Carolinas (ULCC) received a $450,000* Stimulus grant from the Charlotte- Mecklenburg Workforce Development Board (CMWDB) to begin a new National Broadband and Fiber Optics Certification program for individuals and families. The program is made possible through a partnership with Alliant Personnel Solutions and its Mike Minter Workforce Development Program (MMWDP). APSI’s Mike Minter Workforce Development Program is a collaboration of South Piedmont Community College (SPCC) and the Fiber Optic Association (FOA)...

Ingram Micro unveils stimulus demand gen program for VARs - Government - IT Channel News by CRN

Ingram Micro (NYSE:IM) Tuesday debuted IMStimulus, a slate of demand generation services the distributor is rolling out to help its VAR community take hold of opportunities presented by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

IMStimulus, which according to Ingram will become available in July, will include everything from end user needs assessment and stimulus deal tracking to grant writing and ARRA-specific sales training...

Quantum Networks to roll out 3.65 GHz WiMax to rural operators nationwide | Wimax News

Quantum Networks, a turn-key WiMAX service provider, targets rural wireless operators by offering WiMAX services in the newly affordable 3.65 GHz spectrum in the United States.

Operators with shovel-ready WiMAX projects will be able to tap into the Obama Broadband Stimulus, to quickly and economically roll out WiMAX technology to their customer base...

Astroturfing: Pacific Technology Alliance - Another AT&T (among others) supported “grassroots” group

From time to time, Stop the Cap! readers send us news tips based on things they find in their local newspaper or online. Shaffa in Seattle sent us a link to a letter to the editor in the Seattle Times which seemed to be right up our alley.

The writer, Tom Gurr, executive director of something called the Pacific Technology Alliance, wrote the newspaper advocating the redefining of broadband as “a necessary, transformative element to modern life.” Gurr advocates widespread deployment of broadband service to all Americans. So far so good...

Senators introduce “run the tubes under the highway” bill | Epicenter | Wired.com

National broadband plan? We don’t need no stinking, national broadband plan, two Senators all but announced Monday, introducing a measure that would require states to build tubes for internet fiber optic cables under every bit of highway or rail they build or modify with federal funds.

And that could be a lot of tubes, given the billions flowing to the states for infrastructure projects as a way to stimulate the economy...

Lessons from South Korea’s broadband buildout for a U.S. smart grid rollout

South Korea’s ability to use government funds to boost the country’s broadband industries has long been hailed as a savvy move that reinvented South Korean industry and identity as a country. Now the country that led the broadband revolution is looking to create a new market for smart grid technology, and lucky for us, is planning to share its best practices. This morning U.S. smart grid trade group the GridWise Alliance and the Korea Smart Grid Association (KGSA) have teamed up to share intelligence about building out smart grid technology.

The partnership raises a question in my mind: What lessons can companies and policy makers take from South Korea’s government-led broadband build-out and apply to the development of the smart grid in the U.S.? The rollout of broadband and cellular infrastructure is clearly different than building out the smart grid, but when companies and organizations are developing, testing and deploying network infrastructure, spurred by government funds, there are notable similarities. Here are a few...

‘Change’ theme means Obama may face trouble on remaining FCC picks « The SiliconANGLE

Promising change means sometimes it has to be delivered.

It’s been just over five months since I sat in the Senate press gallery as the clock ticked towards midnight, waiting for Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, to enter the chamber to cast the deciding vote for President Obama’s economic stimulus bill, which among other things, appropriated $7.25 billion to help deploy broadband internet service to all Americans...

REMINDER: Broadband Stimulus Program Update

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has accelerated the delivery of the broadband stimulus program in the United States. As the date for submissions draws closer, Redline is pleased to provide an update on the policies and procedures for applying for funding under the RUS and BTOP programs.

The Redline webinar will showcase a variety of industry experts sharing their insight and expertise on the ARRA Act, broadband technology options, and the how it can benefit companies in the Broadband sector. The webinar will take place on Tuesday, June 16 at 11:00 am to 12:00 pm (EDT) ...

Think big when swimming in the stimulus pool « KGP Broadband Stimulus Blog

The recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes either an enormous amount of pork-barrel spending or is an injection of much-needed capital for a faltering economy. It all depends on one’s perspective.

For small telcos and cable operators, the key sections from the stimulus bill, of course, are those two parts that carve out $7.2 billion to improve broadband availability and penetration rates in this country. The pool of money is divided into two pools: $2.5 billion to be funneled through the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and $4.7 billion to be delivered via the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA)...

Australia's economic stimulus creates national broadband infrastructure

When Australia finally announced its long-awaited and much debated superfast National Broadband Network (NBN) on April 7, it wasn't really big news. Neither was Prime Minister Kevin Rudd describing it as the biggest infrastructure project in the country's history. The big news was that Australia is the only government in the world that has a multibillion-dollar economic stimulus package centered on the creation of broadband infrastructure.

Rudd announced the establishment of the NBN, admitting that Australian broadband is lagging and that a superfast national network is the only way to "turbo-charge Australia's economic future." The country will invest $30 billion USD over the next eight years for broadband infrastructure...

Rural telcos seek bigger role for Universal Service in National Broadband Plan

June 12, 2009

Many familiar themes and a few new ones can be found among the comments filed by associations representing rural telcos with the FCC this week in response to the Commission’s April notice of inquiry about a National Broadband Plan. Among the familiar themes—the idea that universal service funding should cover broadband, including the cost of providing “middle mile” connectivity to the nearest Internet point of presence.

To raise the additional funding required, the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association and the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies both advocate requiring Internet service providers to pay into the USF Fund. But the NTCA went a step further in its comments, recommending that Internet content providers such as Google also should pay into the fund...

G.E. offers $2 billion in loans for e-health record purchases - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

June 15, 2009

G.E. Capital has mostly been a headache for its parent company, General Electric, since the financial crisis hit last fall. But on Monday, the finance arm will be putting its muscle behind G.E.’s health care unit as it tries to grab a hefty slice of the market for electronic health records, a prime target for economic stimulus spending by the Obama administration.

G.E. is announcing that it will offer doctors and hospitals loans that are will carry no interest until the institutions begin receiving goverment money, typically in 2012. The loans, of course, will be to buy GE’s Centricity electronic health records — either as conventional personal-computer software or as a Web-based offering...

The real battle behind network neutrality - Business Center - PC World

June 15, 2009

In some ways, broadband has become the tech industry's equivalent to healthcare and education: everybody agrees that it's a good thing and everybody thinks all Americans should have access to it.

A quick glance over the deadline-beating public comments filed with the FCC last week shows that the vast majority of industry players and consumer advocates think that universal broadband access is a noble goal worth working toward. The Internet Innovation Alliance, for instance, says that the national broadband plan should "enable the government to partner with the private sector to extend broadband service to every corner of the country..."

Cisco and Alcatel oppose 'Buy American' broadband requirements - NYTimes.com

June 15, 2009

WASHINGTON — Cisco Systems and Alcatel-Lucent said they wanted “Buy American” provisions waived in a $7.2 billion U.S. program to expand high-speed Internet access, saying the rules were difficult to meet and undermined the economic stimulus program.

Requiring parts made in the United States would be “grossly inefficient” and a “radical departure” from normal practice, said Cisco, the largest maker of networking equipment. The comments were filed with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the U.S. agency running the broadband initiative that is part of $787 billion in stimulus spending...

Infrastruture deployment reform needed to achieve sustainable broadband goals & avoid waste

June 15, 2009

The availability of funds for broadband expansion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 creates an opportunity to move toward the national goal of extending broadband capability to geographic areas that remain unserved or underserved. Several states, such as Vermont, California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New York have adopted programs to promote and fund broadband expansion.

The National Telecommunications and Information Agency (“NTIA”) and the Rural Utilities Service of the US Department of Agriculture (RUS) have been authorized to funds broadband expansion grants. These agencies are expected to shortly issue grant application guidelines to kick off the grant application process. All grants are expected to be awarded by October 1, 2010...

Nonprofits prepare for a share of broadband stimulus funds - South Florida Business Journal:

June 12, 2009

With $7.2 billion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated to provide broadband access to unserved and underserved populations across the nation, the region’s nonprofits are scrambling to bring a share to South Florida.

Though the federal government hasn’t decided the rules for disbursing the money, advocates have been strategizing for months on ways to bridge the digital divide and increase the region’s competitiveness by completing new projects and expanding existing ones...

Some projects raise question: Where's the stimulus? - Los Angeles Times

June 14, 2009

Reporting from Washington -- It is a six-mile stretch of guardrail near a manufactured lake in a desolate patch of the Oklahoma Panhandle. There's little reason for anyone to visit. Weeds are overgrown; the lake bed is virtually dry.

Yet repairing the guardrail is on a list of projects developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to tap into President Obama's $787-billion economic stimulus program...

Washington State BTOP meeting

June 13, 2009

Interests for attending the meeting fell into three basic areas: 1) a desire for more information about the NTIA grant program; 2) the ability to identify potential partners for an application; and 3) a desire to partner with the Communities Connect Network in their grant application.

Marc Baldwin, Executive Policy Advisory, Washington State Office of the Governor, re-iterated the Governor’s priorities for the federal stimulus funding which includes broadband stimulus funding. These are:

* Smart use: In the area of broadband, uses which advance the interests of the State of Washington based on the work of the high-speed internet working group and the governor’s broadband advisory council. A further clarification of state strategy in the area of broadband and stimulus funding should be available by mid-July.
* As much stimulus funding as possible: in all categories of funding including broadband to further the needs and interests of the citizens of the State.
* Accountability: Track the use of the funding closely to ensure it is wisely and properly used..."

Anti-recession fiber Internet for multi-trillion boost to the economy

June 13, 2009

High speed fiber internet is being implemented with greater speed and higher penetration around the world than in the United States. The 5-10+% [700 billion to 1.4 trillion per year initially] boost to the GDP that would come from 100+mbps symmetrical access would quickly pay for initial subsidies.

Implementation by say Japan means that other countries the United States could also have them by adjusting policies and rules to prevent incumbant companies and groups from blocking successful rollout. The first example is super-broadband. The economic benefits for super-broadband have been shown. It is to the benefit of a economic benefit of country and its people to enable super-broadband (at least 100 mbps both up and down). Having a system set up that slows and prevents this rollout is stupid...

White paper: Using municipal wireless to enhance public safety | MuniWireless

June 9, 2009

Large-scale metro area networks are becoming an increasingly important tool in providing public services and ensuring public safety and security. Ubiquitous broadband networks have not only proven to be an effective way to support the growing data, voice and video communications needs throughout an entire metropolitan area; they have become a critical element enabling the prevention of crime and rapid first response.

Responsible government agencies and municipalities are leveraging the power of broadband connectivity to embrace the safe city approach, with centralized emergency response and management in the face of threats, attack, natural disasters, crime or industrial-scale accidents. Simply put, effective communications is the cornerstone of effective municipal management and crucial in saving lives and mitigating damage...

GAO report supports broadband stimulus goals, coordination needed

On June 10, 2009, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman, Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee Chair Rick Boucher, and Congressman Zachary Space released the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) report entitled Broadband Deployment Plan Should Include Performance Goals and Measures to Guide Federal Investment.” The Report found that despite the efforts of the market-based policies of the previous Administration to deploy broadband, gaps remain, primarily in rural areas. Because of limited profit potential, investments may be targeted to other more profitable areas, regions or countries.

The GAO noted that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided more than $7 billion to the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”), the FCC, and the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Utilities Program, to map broadband infrastructure in the United States, develop a plan for broadband deployment, and issue loans and grants to fund broadband access and availability in rural areas. “This funding,” found the GAO, “will greatly increase the potential for achieving universal access, but overlap in responsibilities for these new broadband initiatives makes coordination among the agencies important to avoid fragmentation and duplication.” It added that “[t]hese efforts will help guide federal involvement in deploying broadband in the coming years. Additionally, the efforts complement each other.”

Switch from analog channels opens airwaves for wireless broadband and services for cell phones » Matzav.com - The Online Voice of Torah Jewry

June 12, 2009

The shutdown of analog channels opens part of the airwaves for modern applications like wireless broadband and TV services for cell phones. The government reaped $19.6 billion last year by selling some of the freed-up frequencies, with AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless the biggest buyers.

The shutdown was originally scheduled for Feb. 17, but the government’s fund for $40 converter box coupons ran out of money in early January, prompting the incoming Obama administration to push for a delay. The converter box program got additional funding in the national stimulus package...

What's the public CIO's role with broadband stimulus? Part 2

June 12, 2009

Last week I tackled the role of the public CIO in the broadband stimulus grant program. The main theme was that, for a better shot at winning a grant, CIOs need to approach community networks as business ventures that must raise and/or save enough money so you can afford to use them to benefit currently unserved and underserved constituents.

I want to drop from that 30,000-foot view down to look at some of the nuts and bolts of conducting effective needs analysis, and forming good partnerships. These are particularly important given recent developments with the grant disbursement schedule...

The rapid rise of broadband

From reinvigorating our economy to transforming health care, education, and the environment, broadband-driven opportunities hold tremendous potential for all Americans. With the President focused on a national broadband strategy and our industry investing approximately $ 60 billion annually in infrastructure, the U.S. continues to be a fast-evolving broadband landscape with new innovations and expanding choices reaching consumers every day. Now, a new study conducted by Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) reveals that broadband subscriptions have spiked in recent years—with more than two-thirds of U.S. households using high-speed Internet services, as opposed to one-fifth of households just five years ago.

The study also points out the well-known challenges and economic disparities contributing to broadband adoption demographics. LRG found that 89% of all households with annual incomes over $75,000 subscribe to a broadband service; whereas 70% of households with incomes ranging from $30,000-$75,000 subscribe, and only 30% of households with incomes under 30,000 have high-speed Internet. As other studies also show, many households with lower annual incomes do not have computers, or subscribe to any type of Internet service at home. And a Pew Internet and American Life Project study revealed that, of the 25% of non-Internet users, one-third said they were “not interested in going online,” nearly ten percent said it was too “difficult,” and seven percent claimed they don’t “have time.” Meanwhile, 19 percent of dial-up users said “nothing” – not even lower prices – would encourage them to upgrade to broadband.

Mobile apps to spur broadband spending | Nudjit

June 12, 2009

The U.S. government’s new technology czar said on Thursday that new mobile phone applications could spur private investment in high-speed Internet connections, but Washington would also play a leadership role.

Aneesh Chopra, recently appointed the country’s chief technology officer by U.S. President Barack Obama, said growing mobile Internet access, underscored by the popularity of Apple’s iPhone, provides more incentives for broadband infrastructure spending...

Horizon Telcom gets $18M contract to create fiber optic network in region | chillicothegazette.com | Chillicothe Gazette

June 12, 2009

Horizon Telcom in Chillicothe has been awarded an $18 million contract to create a state-of-the-art fiber optic network connecting more than 120 health care facilities across 13 southern Ohio counties.

The Southern Ohio Health Care Network announced Thursday the contract award, funded by the Federal Communications Commission...

For stimulus package, bureaucracy is taking time and money - washingtonpost.com

June 12, 2009

Spending $787 billion not only takes time, it turns out, it also costs money -- and that's good news for Washington.

To send out $14 billion in supplemental checks to most Social Security recipients, the federal economic stimulus package passed in February included $70 million to cover administrative costs -- much of it overtime for workers handling the checks and queries over the phone...

SHLB latest group to seek broadband spotlight - FierceTelecom

June 11, 2009

If you're not part of a coalition in the age of broadband stimulus, you're nobody. The latest coalition to push for better broadband access is the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition. Made up of--wait for it--28 schools, libraries and health-care providers (and Microsoft), the SHLB says these groups need between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps.

The group is coordinated by John Windhausen, who once headed the CLEC group the Association for Local Telecommunications Services and worked for the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee. The SHLB is not intending to apply for a broadband stimulus grant, but is looking to raise awareness of the broadband need among its member agencies as other companies and firms win those grants and decide how to spend them...

Residents surveyed on electronic communications | Lake County News Chronicle | Two Harbors, Minnesota

June 11, 2009

Lake County, MN -- Some Lake County residents can expect to be contacted regarding their phone, television and Internet use beginning next week.

A firm will be conducting a survey on behalf of Lake County, according to board of commissioners’ chair Paul Bergman. A random sample of residents and businesses contacted will be asked about their current telephone, television and Internet usage, as well as their level of satisfaction with current service options...

California PUC proposes supplementing US broadband stimulus funds

June 11, 2009

The California Public Utilities Commission has issued a proposed order that would allow it to supplement federal economic stimulus funds for broadband telecommunications infrastructure construction in unserved and underserved areas of the Golden State. Specifically, the proposed order would supplement $4.7 billion of the $7.2 billion broadband infrastructure stimulus funding to be distributed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

In an apparent bid to leverage the BTOP funds, the CPUC would supplement the 80 percent BTOP grant subsidy with 10 percent of the total project cost -- amounting to half of the 20 percent funding match for BTOP grant recipients. That means 90 percent of the cost of approved projects would be subsidized by the combined 80 percent BTOP grant and 10 percent CPUC funding under the proposed order...

New coalition pushes for 'big' broadband... | Sharecatalog

Schools, libraries and health-care providers in the U.S. need broadband speeds of 100M bps to 1G bps in order to adequately serve their customers' needs, according to a new coalition pushing for big broadband for those organizations.

The Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition -- with 28 members including the New America Foundation, the American Library Association, the American Hospital Association and Microsoft -- will push U.S. federal, state and local governments to consider the needs of those organizations when designing broadband deployment plans...

Billions of dollars available to bring broadband access to the underserved

June 11, 2009

The June eSchool News report featured the stimulus aid available to bring broadband access to those who don't have it. More than $7 billion is available from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to subsidize this initiative and will help schools and communities close the digital divide.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has been authorized to implement the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), a $4.7B program. The goal is to expand broadband services to underserved areas, improve broadband access for public safety agencies, stimulate the economy and create jobs...

Will ARRA broadband stimulus actually spur much broadband use?

June 11, 2009

The U.S. federal government spends about $7.3 billion a year, every year, to foster broadband and telecommunications deployment. But "additional federal investments in broadband deployment...do not necessarily guarantee increased adoption," says the Government Accountability Office.

The GAO says "representatives from four organizations that provide broadband told us that between 80 percent and 90 percent of the residences in their service areas had access to broadband, but fewer than 60 percent subscribed..."

Winning strategies for rural broadband stimulus programs - archived webinar

Presenters: Alvarion
Main Street Broadband
Wireless 20/20

ARRA Overview
Program Phases - Design, Implementation, Final audits and shutdown

Solutions for rural areas...

Horizon Telecom awarded $18 million broadband contract | chillicothegazette.com | Chillicothe Gazette

June 11, 2009

Horizon Telcom in Chillicothe has been awarded an $18 million contract to create a state-of-the-art fiber optic network connecting more than 120 health care facilities across 13 southern Ohio counties.

The Southern Ohio Health Care Network announced the contract award, funded by the Federal Communications Commission, Thursday...

Microsoft joining broadband initiative - InternetNews.com

June 11, 2009

Microsoft has joined forces with a host of advocacy groups to form a new organization dedicated to promoting broadband access in community anchor institutions.

The Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition, launched today, plans to press policy makers to deliver high-speed Internet access to public facilities that support activities such as distance learning and telemedicine...

Agriculture Department broadband grant rules coming June 30

June 11, 2009

USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager announced yesterday that rules governing grants for broadband construction provided for in the stimulus legislation under the Rural Utilities Service will be published by June 30, opening the way for interested businesses to apply for these funds...

Just one more complicating rule for broadband stimulus funds

June 11, 2009

It's just one of a host of details applicants will have to consider, but the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act requires that all contracts comply with the Davis-Bacon Act, which stipulates that all wages comply with prevailing wage law for public projects.


As a practical matter, that means matching funds will have to account for the higher wage rates ARRA projects will require. In other words, a higher match than many might have been planning for...

Winning stimulus strategies: Enhance your application with wireless - archived webinar

Agenda - Understanding the broadband stimulus program
- Technology & solution considerations
- Proven stimulus-applicable applications
- Customer case study

Rural broadband and the prevailing wage

June 11, 2009

On Wednesday, a House Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops and Foreign Agriculture held a hearing with Dallas Tonsager, undersecretary for Rural Development at USDA, to discuss programs and how USDA is spending stimulus funds.

Overall, it was kind of stuff that makes you sit and think about what's for lunch or whether Orlando really has a chance to comeback in the Finals.

Anyway, there were a few thought-provoking moments, however. Funds for broadband programs in the past at USDA have not required contracts to comply with the prevailing wage law for public projects known as the Davis-Bacon Act. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act requires contracts comply with Davis-Bacon...

Wireless and the stimulus bill: A tough road? : WiMAX and Wi-Fi will need to educate to grab a piece of the stimulus pie

June 9, 2009

For WiMAX and Wi-Fi operators, the broadband stimulus money represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But when they're going up against so many fixed-operator heavy hitters, can they make the case to non-techie types that wireless broadband is a viable option and worthy of government funding?

The people at the Department of Agriculture and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) have a wide array of options to choose from when deciding how to allot the cash for projects — and they’re not technologists, meaning that WiMAX is likely to be viewed as less proven than the more mainstream copper or fiber technologies. As is Wi-Fi, widely known as having failed in the municipal broadband biz the first time around...

Another update planned on Colorado stimulus money

June 11, 2009

DENVER (AP) - Another update is expected on how federal stimulus money is being spent in Colorado. The governor's stimulus oversight panel expects briefings Thursday afternoon on road spending and rural broadband, among other topics.

The oversight board does not control how stimulus money is spent, but Gov. Bill Ritter set it up to review how state agencies are spending the money. Overall, Colorado is due about $3.5 billion in direct spending, which doesn't count tax breaks and competitive grants...

New York State Council for Universal Broadband seeks to maximize federal stimulus funding

June 10, 2009

ALBANY, NY -- The New York State Council for Universal Broadband held its quarterly meeting on June 9, 2009 with council members focusing on efforts to maximize funds available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to build next-generation broadband networks, support affordable internet connections, and develop digital literacy training programs for low-income households to increase household adoption rates.

Dr. Melodie Mayberry-Stewart, New York State Chief Information Officer, Director of the Office for Technology and the Chair of the Council for Universal Broadband opened the meeting by discussing steps to achieve universal access to high-speed broadband internet coverage in all corners of the state as outlined in Governor David A. Paterson's Bold Steps to the New Economy: A Jobs Plan for the People of New York State...

In California, Google's man is well-connected

June 10, 2009

Google Inc. (GOOG) is making progress in expanding its Washington D.C. political presence. But the Internet giant has already secured at least one key hire in its home state, who is helping oversee an entity likely to play a significant role in pulling in California's share of federal broadband stimulus funding.

Ross LaJeunesse, Google's head of state policy for the western U.S., sits on the board of the California Emerging Technology Fund, established by the state's Public Utilities Commission in 2005 using $60 million extracted from AT&T Inc. and Verizon (VZ) in return for permission to complete ...

Why Lenovo products are a great solution for stimulus IT funds

June 10, 2009

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or just busy keeping the IT needs of your customers under control), you’ve probably heard the term ‘government stimulus funds’ about 1,000 times. But I suspect many of you are wondering what that really means, and (more importantly) how you can benefit? (I’ll tell you right now that we estimate the IT benefit of the stimulus funds in education alone is over $5 billion…!)

Lenovo started thinking about the government stimulus funds several months ago, and I was asked to be a part of the team to represent our business partners and your specific needs. Last week, we unveiled a lot of great information on the stimulus program that I think you’ll benefit from. Specifically, we’ve published the following information

FairPoint wants to pursue stimulus funds in N.H. | SeacoastOnline.com

June 10, 2009

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — FairPoint Communications says it wants to compete for federal stimulus money to speed up broadband service in New Hampshire.

Company executives met with representatives of the Public Utilities Commission, the Consumer Advocate and Attorney General's offices Tuesday to discuss progress resolving customer service problems arising from the switch from Verizon's operating system to its own. A FairPoint spokeswoman says the company is making progress with customer wait time on calls, orders and bills issued on time...

U.S. Dept. of Labor announces more than $100 million in Recovery Act funds to help Ohio's unemployed workers

CLEVELAND — While in Ohio, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced nearly $18 million in funds that will assist this state's workers affected by recent layoffs. Of that amount, $16 million represents newly authorized Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) funds to assist workers who have lost their jobs as a result of foreign trade. The remaining $1,657,746 is an increase modification to an existing grant to assist approximately 700 additional workers affected by layoffs at the Chrysler Twinsburg Stamping Plant.

"The increase in Trade Adjustment Assistance funds will provide vital assistance to more Ohio workers who have lost their jobs as a result of foreign trade," said Secretary Solis. "The grant increase will allow affected workers of the Chrysler Twinsburg Stamping Plant to have access to the same employment-related services that other affected automotive workers in Ohio are receiving..."

ACA to FCC: Protect low-cost broadband - Telecom News Wire

June 10, 2009

PITTSBURGH -- Web-based content and service providers that succeed in forcing broadband providers to pay subscriber fees for their Internet content will cripple the national effort to deliver affordable broadband access to every U.S. household, the American Cable Association said in comments filed at the Federal Communications Commission yesterday.

Media giants are in the early stages of becoming Internet gatekeepers by requiring broadband providers to pay for their Web-based content and services and include them as part of basic Internet access for all subscribers. These content providers are also preventing subscribers who are interested in the content from independently accessing it on broadband networks of providers that have refused to pay.

Broadband Stimulus Package - Broadband Stimulus - Reshaping Your Business Around Broadband

June 10, 2009

OPASTCO has posted a two part article that explains how broadband customers are redefining the service provider network. This is a topic that is close and dear to Occam Networks and one we’ve written or spoken about on blogs, industry articles and trade show presentations.

The first blog post on the topic explains that customers rely on broadband for their communication needs as the traditional access line counts continue to erode. As broadband adoption rises and applications evolve, consumers are finding their need for traditional narrowband services (i.e. POTS, FXS, etc.) decreasing...

CEI to FCC: Don’t strangle broadband industry | CEI

June 9, 2009

The Competitive Enterprise Institute this week filed comments advising the Federal Communications Commission on how best to proceed with its plan for a national policy on deployment of broadband networks. The comments emphasize that the most growth and innovation comes from companies competing in a free market, while additional mandates and restrictions are likely, in this case, only to slow new investments in broadband technology.

“The best way the Commission can stimulate broadband is not by imposing new layers of regulation, but by adopting a deregulatory stimulus in which government-created entry barriers are eliminated and costly regulations are reduced,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews. “Marketplace investment and private enterprise have driven broadband deployment in the United States, and the Commission would be wise to expand proven, market-driven broadband policies...”

WildBlue Communications will demonstrate gen satellite broadband capabilities on June 11 in Washington D.C. | PR NEWS

June 10, 2009

WildBlue Communications, a Colorado-based, satellite broadband Internet provider, is presenting its “next generation” satellite capabilities on Capitol Hill with a hands-on demonstration.

The demonstration will be presented in Washington, D.C. to showcase what satellite broadband will be like in the future with speeds 10 times faster than the current WildBlue service. Members of Congress, staff, and the media can experience the new, high speeds alongside the current high-speed Internet service currently enjoyed by nearly 400,000 WildBlue customers in the remote locations in the United States–customers who would currently have no access to high-speed Internet if not for satellite broadband.

Vt recovery chief: stimulus grant projects moving too slowly

June 9, 2009

(Host) State officials say they expect millions of dollars to flow into Vermont in the coming weeks as part of the second phase of the federal stimulus plan.

But Economic Recovery director Tom Evslin says he's disappointed that the Obama Administration has been slow to establish rules for key broadband and energy grant projects...

Broadband stimulus and vendor financing

June 10, 2009

Debt markets may be thawing for telecom service providers. (Just this week, for example, Equinix and Terremark raised $325 million and $400 million, respectively, in new debt). But for many rural broadband providers, the doors to the country’s financial markets aren’t yet open, which poses a quandary for those hoping to snag federal broadband stimulus funds: How do they raise the capital required to undertake the broadband projects they hope will win them stimulus awards?

One way to do it — though not necessarily an easy way — is with the help of broadband equipment vendors, said Tim Nulty, chairman of ECFiberNet, the East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network...