Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me some money : A Q&A With JANCO Partners’ Ray Hernandez

The national broadband stimulus initiative offers plenty of opportunity for service providers. To win funds from the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), they must contribute 20 percent in matching funds for the projects. But what about operators without that kind of dough on hand?

The idea behind the matching clause is to prevent companies from using government money (and none of their own) to expand, only to abandon the no-risk projects later if they prove a drain. Providers don’t have to have the matching money upfront, although they’re more likely to win bids if all the funds are lined up...