Rural telecom associations say BIP rules are flawed | Telecompetitor

Asserting that the current evaluation criteria illegitimately favors larger over smaller broadband carriers, a coalition of industry associations representing small rural telecom providers has written a letter to the administrator of the Dept. of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service urging the agency to change proposed evaluation criteria in the Notice of Funds Availability for the federal government’s Broadband Initiatives Program.

Part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Congress directed that when appropriating BIP funds “priority…shall be given to projects that provide service to the highest proportion of rural residents that do not have broadband service,” the letter states. The August 5, 2009 letter is addressed to Jonathan Adelstein, new administrator of the RUS...