ALA files comments to NTIA and RUS on broadband stimulus programs | District Dispatch

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Library Association (ALA) today filed comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) regarding the implementation of the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP)...

TIA weighs in on improvements for second round of broadband stimulus funding - 2009-11-30 22:43:05 | Broadcasting & Cable

The government agencies responsible for handing out over $7 billion in broadband stimulus money are getting plenty of advice on how to improve its second and final round of grants and loans.

The National Telecommunications & Information Administration and Rural Utilities Service have been collecting public comments on how to improve the process after getting criticism from the industry, Congress and elsewhere over how it handled the first round of bidding, winners for which are expected to be announced in the next couple of weeks...

Telecom companies offline with broadband stimulus - Central Penn Business Journal

Some of the largest telecommunication companies that have a presence in Central Pennsylvania declined to seek federal stimulus money to expand broadband Internet networks, saying more government involvement would be too restrictive.

One problem with broadband money in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is open-access provisions requiring telecoms to allow competitors to use their infrastructure, some companies said...

Q&A: Internet Innovation Alliance Co-Chairman David Sutphen - 2009-11-28 07:00:00 | Multichannel News

The Internet Innovation Alliance, a coalition of think tanks, nonprofits and companies focused on universal broadband deployment — from AT&T to the National Education Association — has named a new co-chairman, David Sutphen.

If the name is familiar, that’s because he once was senior vice president of government relations for Viacom. Before that, he held a similar lobbying post with the Recording Industry Association of America.

One of the alliance’s goals is to boosting broadband adoption for minority populations that lag behind other groups in high-speed Internet use. That will be in the sweet spot for Sutphen, who is also former general counsel to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), handling civil rights and telecom matters...

When will broadband stimulus funds begin to flow?

The biggest news in the broadband world this year has been the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), popularly known as the stimulus package. Included in the nearly $800 billion of programs designed to stimulate the American economy is $7.2 billion targeted specifically lor improving broadband access.

The bulk of these funds, to be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Sendee (RUS) and the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration NTIA), are for grants and loans to upgrade access network haulware and software in hard-to-scrvc areas...

Broadband stimulus grants soon

White House and USDA officials have told NACo that guidance for Broadband Technology Opportunity Program grants, funded through the Recovery Act, will be available June 22.

The BTOP program, administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Service, has $7.2 billion to deploy broadband to unserved and underserved areas of the country. NACo will provide counties with the appropriate information when it becomes available...

Should broadband access be universal? | Apple Iphone and Tech News

Making broadband Net access universally available is that century’s version of building highways or extending railroads coast-to-coast, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday.

Julius Genachowski said broadband is “a critical infrastructure challenge of our generation.” As part of the federal stimulus package, the FCC is charged with creating a plan — due in February — to assemble broadband available everywhere in the country. The stimulus money plus includes $7 billion in grants for broadband access, and the recipients will be announced soon, Genachowski said in a speech at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service...

Media law prof blog: Genachowski on broadband

Prepared Remarks of Chairman Julius Genachowski

Federal Communications Commission

“Connecting the Nation: A National Broadband Plan.”

The Clinton Presidential Library

Little Rock, Arkansas

November 24, 2009...

Intel, Dell, Lenovo part of broadband accessibility initiative

Intel and Dell are among a number of technology vendors involved in an initiative to greatly expand the reach of broadband Internet connectivity to underserved and rural areas in the United States.

The Every Citizen Online project, headed by the Connected Nation organization, is seeking $24 million in federal stimulus money to fund the initiative, which includes discounted monthly broadband service and would enable low-income residents and other populations that are not connected to the Internet to buy PCs at deeply reduced rates via instant rebates. The $24 million in federal funding would be paired with $6 million from private sources to support the two-year program...

Santa Monica seeks to expand WiFi through broadband stimulus funds

Officials in Santa Monica, Calif., are seeking about $1 million in federal broadband stimulus grant money to expand their free service throughout the Los Angeles area city and to connect more than 200 ISPs to affordable broadband options.

According to Jory Wolf, CIO of Santa Monica’s information systems department, the key cost driver and prohibitive factor in secure advanced broadband adoption continues to be the construction costs to build out infrastructure to the end user...

FCC: Broadband access should be universal - WDIV Detroit

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Making broadband Internet access universally available is this century's version of building highways or extending railroads coast-to-coast, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday.

Julius Genachowski said broadband is "a critical infrastructure challenge of our generation." As part of the federal stimulus package, the FCC is charged with creating a plan -- due in February -- to make broadband available everywhere in the country. The stimulus money also includes $7 billion in grants for broadband access, and the recipients will be announced soon, Genachowski said in a speech at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

The remaining stimulus rounds have been consolidated, but your options for funding have not | Going Wimax

The broadband stimulus funding saga continues, with an interesting plot twist introduced last week. On November 10, the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that they were “streamlining” the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s broadband grant and loan programs by awarding the remaining funding in just one more round, instead of two rounds.

The RUS and NTIA claim that the goal of this consolidation is to “increase efficiency and better accommodate applicants”, thus helping them to disseminate the stimulus funds sooner and with better results. While any effort to help get the stimulus funds into the hands of WISPs and other service providers that will help deliver broadband to under-served areas sooner should be applauded, many fear that this consolidation will hurt their chances of securing funding. This fear is based on the prospect that a consolidated final round of funding will mean a) less time to prepare their applications, and b) more competition due to the perception that this is the final opportunity for broadband funding...

Calix plans $100 million IPO | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA

Petaluma’s Calix Networks plans to go public next year with a $100 million stock offering, according to documents filed with federal securities regulators.
Calix, which makes makes optical networking technology for phone and cable companies, filed a registration statement for the stock sale Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The 10-year-old company stands to gain from the $7.2 billion U.S. broadband stimulus program, which provides grants and loans for rural phone companies to extend their broadband networks. Calix already serves 40 percent of rural service providers, the company said earlier this year...

CPUC approves $5 million for Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously approved a $4,975,009 grant from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) to the Central Coast Broadband Consortium (CCBC) on Friday, 20 November 2009.

The grant pays for 10% of the approximately $50 million fiber optic trunk line network planned for Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties on California’s central coast...

GAO recommends adequate review time for second round of broadband stimulus funding, contingency plans

According to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office, federal agencies are addressing broadband program challenges, but further actions are needed to improve implementation.

A $7.2-billion federal program to bring high-speed Internet service to areas without it lacks basic information and adequate safeguards to ensure that the money isn’t wasted, the LA Times recently reported...

Local utility, wireless broadband stimulus hopefuls go head-to-head in Pennsylvania

The FCC earlier this fall invited incumbent service providers to comment on broadband stimulus applications in their areas of service. As expected, these companies are weighing in; and, not surprisingly, their comments are often raising the ire of the applicants. Pennsylvania is just one of the latest areas in which we’re seeing debates on this front.

Specifically, Armstrong Utilities Inc. in Butler, Pa., reportedly filed an objection to a broadband stimulus application by DigitalBridge Communications (News - Alert) and Schurz Communications (the parent company of local newspaper the Daily American), arguing that more than 50 percent of the area in the application is already served by broadband Internet and that more than 40 percent of people in that area already subscribe to the broadband Internet. DigitalBridge and Schurz are seeking millions of dollars in federal monies to provide wireless Internet service in Somerset County...

Making waves in new technology | Fargo, ND

Flow Mobile is a small company with a bold plan to bring the next wave of mobile wireless communications to a large swath of rural America. The Bismarck-based firm claims to have “game-changing” technology that makes it economically feasible to cover sparsely populated areas of 12 states in the Midwest and West.

The launching pad for Flow Mobile’s proposed wireless network is North Dakota, with a pilot project expected to start soon in Cass County to demonstrate its technology, which has drawn skepticism. To help build its wireless empire, Flow Mobile has applied for $52 million in federal stimulus grants, including $29.1 million for projects in North Dakota...

Company files objection against broadband application - Johnstown's Community Newspaper

A utility company has filed an objection to the application that would secure federal funds to provide wireless Internet service to those in Somerset County.

Armstrong Utilities Inc., based in Butler, has made the objection against the application Schurz Communications and DigitalBridge Communications submitted to try to seek millions of dollars for the federal broadband stimulus project. Schurz Communications is the parent company of the Daily American...

FCC gets down to brass tacks on fiber

Yesterday the FCC featured what I found to be the most interesting, insightful, and in-depth broadband workshop yet on the topic of advanced fiber architectures. Organized and moderated by David Isenberg, this wide-ranging discussion brought up a number of excellent points worth reiterating. You can watch video of the workshop here. Here's a sampling paraphrased, grouped by speaker, and commented on...

Media by Sistrunk: Do we need a national broadband plan?

Universal broadband access is a major technology goal of President Obama. As part of Congress’ agreement to include broadband grants and loans in its stimulus bill, it mandated the FCC to figure out what else it would take to hook up every home to the Web.

A Federal Communications Commission task force has begun to outline hurdles to universal access. FCC broadband planners have identified three of many hurdles...

Broadband stimulus grants delayed - Network World

One of the government agencies in charge of doling out broadband stimulus cash has pushed back the dates for when it will start handing out grants.

FCC identifies roadblocks to broadband adoption...

House Committee on Agriculture: Subcommittee examines federal rural broadband program i8mplementation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Mike McIntyre, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture, held a hearing to review the progress made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce to award grants to expand broadband access in rural areas.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) with $7.2 billion to expand access to broadband services. Currently, RUS and NTIA are reviewing applications for these funds...

Stimulus funds mixed impact | Wireless Week

With $4 billion of federal stimulus money coming down the pipe in December and $3.2 billion more on its way, you'd think there'd be no debate about the potential impact of the funds. It will be big, right? Well, not so fast.

"This is all really uncertain stuff," says Frost & Sullivan analyst Mike Jude. "It's not clear to us that it's going to have any significant impact on broadband access. We might have saved $7.3 billion just by letting the market work..."

Deloitte | Broadband Stimulus | Technology | Media | Telecommunication | Deloitte TMT | American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Universal access to technology is one of the components of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and among the programs included in this Act is one for broadband stimulus. It is an ambitious plan to expand broadband access to unserved and under served communities across the U.S., increase jobs, spur investments in technology and infrastructure, and provide long-term economic benefits.

The Act provides a total of $7.2 billion split between the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS)...

Second round of broadband stimulus being pushed back

With the finish line for round one of the broadband stimulus being pushed back even further, I'm already growing increasingly concerned about the fate of the second round.

To review, the NOFA for the first round came out in July. By August it had attracted 2,200 applications. It's now November and the only applications that have been approved are a handful of mapping projects, and the whole of the first round of funding won't be completed until February, six months after the applications were submitted...

FCC discusses barriers to national broadband plan | Signal Strength - CNET News

The Federal Communications Commission met Wednesday to discuss obstacles to enacting a national broadband policy that will provide high-speed Internet access to every American.

President Obama has made universal broadband access a key goal. Grants and loans for helping make universal broadband access a reality have already started being doled out as part of Congress' economic stimulus package...

A realistic estimate for building a 100Mbps nation

One of the challenges advocates of a 100Mbps Nation have faced has been the lack of an accurate estimate for what it will cost to achieve our goal. The FCC suggested that achieving a universal 100Mbps Nation would cost $350 billion, but some recent calculations by Dave Russell of Calix have shown that we can achieve a Full Fiber Nation, which should be able to enable a 1Gbps Nation and beyond, for less than that.

Before getting into his specific numbers, though, I want to point out something that he did that I think makes a lot of sense and helps frame this discussion in a more realistic way...

Broadband stimulus Q&A: The hidden toll on telecom providers

As federal officials are just a few short weeks away from announcing the recipients of the first round of funding under the federal broadband stimulus program, some service providers are already gearing up for those projects.

While the $7.2 billion in stimulus funding will initiate projects to bring broadband access to underserved areas across the nation, there’s one catch. The demand on field service will overwhelming. As different areas require different installations and solutions, technicians will need to move faster, or risk losing potential customers...

Illinois Farm Bureau - Feds to announce broadband grants by mid-December

Christmas will come early for broadband projects that will be receive federal stimulus funds in a nationwide competition.

Officials with USDA and the U.S. Department of Commerce said Tuesday the first round of funds will be announced in mid-December with additional awards coming in January and February. The federal agencies received more than 2,200 applications for more than seven times the money available in the first round. A total of $7.2 billion will be awarded as broadband stimulus funding...

CenturyLink opposes local NC broadband application - FierceTelecom

As the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utility Service (RUS) get set to award broadband stimulus grants, it was only a matter of time before incumbent telcos such as CenturyLink--who opted to not participate in the program--started raising their hackles against applicants in their respective regions.

Following similar protests by Comcast, CenturyTel is questioning Electronic Solutions' proposal to build 27 wireless antennas to bring broadband service to North Carolina's Person County. The tier 2 ILEC believes that the areas Electronic Solutions is building the network for are in areas that CenturyLink has already built out sufficient broadband facilities...

Feds mull rules, fees to spur Net access - WSJ.com

WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators are considering whether the government should take greater control of the Internet and ask consumers to pay higher phone charges in order to provide all Americans with cheaper access to broadband Internet service.

The Federal Communications Commission Wednesday will lay out the case for expanding broadband Internet service, outlining current obstacles to making it widely available. The agency is considering whether to force Internet providers to share their networks with rivals and raise fees charged on consumer phone bills to pay for the broader access...

Lowenstein: Should spectrum be free? - FierceWireless

Now, let's look at the fixed broadband side of the world. The average household has a choice of two broadband networks, one cable and one telco (DSL or fiber).

About 5 percent of households have no access to broadband and another 5 percent are "underserved" (defined by me as getting less than 1 Mbps downlink). We are actually behind several countries in broadband, both in terms of availability (percentage of homes covered) and capability (speed and other performance metrics)...

The key word for our National Broadband Plan: Leverage

Given the fact that America's financial resources appear as though they'll never be turned full force towards tackling the broadband challenge, it's likely that our national broadband plan will have to be crafty with how it recommends allocating scarce resources to maximize the impact of the dollars we do have to spend. In other words, the plan must leverage whatever money is available as much as possible.

Unfortunately, to date our government hasn't been very good at leveraging taxpayer dollars to create long-term broadband assets that can be built upon and expanded on into the future...

Saving the broadband stimulus | Blogs | ITBusinessEdge.com

Take an inexperienced government bureaucracy, mix it with an overflow of grant money, and throw in a highly polarized, politicized atmosphere. The result isn’t hard to predict: unhappy applicants, delays and general grumpiness...

U.S.' $7.2-billion broadband stimulus program risks waste and fraud, GAO says | Technology | Los Angeles Times

Federal programs to bring broadband Internet service to areas without it lack basic information and adequate safeguards to ensure that the money isn’t wasted, a new government report said.

The Commerce and Agriculture departments were given $7.2 billion to expand U.S. broadband availability as part of last February’s federal stimulus package. But they have been scrambling to review a crush of grant and loan applications while facing tight deadlines to distribute the money, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Monday...

Lawmakers say broadband grants should be more accessible to small firms - The Hill's Hillicon Valley

House members are calling for a simplified application and review process for small businesses applying for broadband stimulus grants.

House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY) and ranking member Sam Graves (R-Mo.) sent a letter today to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utility Service asking for barriers to be lowered for smaller firms vying for broadband funds. NTIA Assistant Secretary Larry Strickling and RUS Administrator Jonathan Adelstein testified before the committee last month and were asked to address some of the complaints of small businesses trying to navigate the application process...

Interview: Community Mobile Project as broadband stimulus template

We’ve spoken to dozens of broadband stimulus applicants on this site, and many of them make a great case for their grant requests.

The Dixie Technology Funding Agency – through consulting attorney James L. Driessen – is no exception. The agency is seeking three separate grants for about $1.7 million, $1.2 million and $8.8 million, to support its proposed “Community Mobile” project...

House Small Business Committee backs focus on broadband funding for remote areas - 2009-11-17 15:30:00 | Multichannel News

The cable industry has found allies in the chair and ranking members of the House Small Business Committee in its push to get the government to focus broadband stimulus money on areas where there is no broadband access.

In a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS), which are soliciting comments on ways to improve the stimulus fund bidding process, Committee Chair Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.) and ranking member Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), wrote: "It is the Committee's recommendation that funds should be targeted to areas which are first "unserved" and only then to "underserved" areas, if funding remains." The letter was signed by 21 members, or about two-thirds of the committee...

Progress update for broadband stimulus program revealed | Telecompetitor

I moderated a panel yesterday at TelcoTV which revealed some interesting insight into the broadband stimulus program. Mary Campanola, Outreach Coordinator for the Rural Utilities Service revealed some progress to date concerning the RUS Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP).

Perhaps the most revealing insight was, to date, 18 RUS BIP applicants have been notified that their applications made it to the second phase of the review process. Other insight included...

KeyOn reports third quarter 2009 results

OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- KeyOn Communications Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: KEYO), one of the largest providers of wireless broadband, satellite video and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services in the United States, reported its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2009.

"Our efforts to control expenses and improve operating efficiencies in order to generate positive EBITDA continued into the third quarter. While we reported negative EBITDA for the first time in three consecutive quarters, our third quarter was close to EBITDA positive after adjusting for non-cash items and some one-time expenses. In particular, third quarter results from operations include over $370,000 of expenses incurred in connection with KeyOn's$150 million stimulus applications under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)," commented Jonathan Snyder, President and CEO of KeyOn Communications...

MMTC wants small business broadband stimulus fund - 2009-11-17 15:01:56 | Broadcasting & Cable

The Minority Media & Telecommunications Council wants some of the broadband stimulus money in the second round of bidding to be set aside for minorities and small businesses.

The National Telecommunications & Information Administration and the USDA's Rural Telecommunication Service (RUS) have begun collecting comments on how they can improve the second round after catching flak over how they are administering the first...

Vermont, challenged and stimulated

Now, when recovery from the worldwide recession is beginning, Vermont has an opportunity to emerge with a stronger economy, a cleaner environment, a broader tax base, and better jobs than we had before the downturn.

We also face the enormous challenges of far too many Vermonters out of work, a state budget which was expanding at an unsustainable rate even before the recession, declining state revenues which will not return to bubble highs anytime soon, unfunded pension liabilities, the looming loss of hundreds of millions of dollars of budget bandaid from the Stimulus Bill (aka American Reinvestment and Recovery Act or ARRA), and a country whose national debt won’t allow it to bail out the states (or anyone else) much longer. Oh yeah, our dominant telecom carrier is in bankruptcy too...

Stimulating VoIP

With all that is going on in Washington D.C. right now it is easy to lose sight of the $7+ Billion dedicated to the broadband portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It is amazing that $7+ Billion could be considered a small amount of money and get lost in the shuffle, but that's what seems to be happening.

There are many distractions to choose from; healthcare, jobs, the other $700+ Billion of the Stimulus and the socialization of America just to name a few. Many people wonder if the broadband portion of the Stimulus will be wasted, or actually be put to good use...

Satellite firm wants to get noticed for broadband - The Hill's Hillicon Valley

Hughes Networks, a satellite company based in Germantown, Md., has staked out a conferenc room in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, just around the corner from the Federal Communications Commission. Video-conferencing, VoIP-calling and movie-streaming demonstrations have been set up to look like a living room, and company executives are on hand today to show FCC staffers just what satellite-powered broadband can do.

They were there yesterday, too. Hughes wants to get across a simple message: don't forget about satellite companies in the broadband expansion efforts. Hughes provides satellite service to people who aren't reached by the terrestrial Internet service providers (a.k.a. cable and DSL service). That includes rural areas as well as suburban neighborhoods, where fiber exists, but residents for some reason cannot get connected...

Corporation for Public Broadcasting president pushes need for quality journalism, new business models

Corporation for Public Broadcasting President Patricia Harrison said Monday that the media need to stop pouring new wine into old bottles, and that public media are in the best position to do that.

That came at a day-long Future of News conference Monday in Minneapolis, hosted by UBS, Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media. The focus was on public media, but not exclusively. He also said there needed to be more public media representation in line for broadband stimulus money. He said there should be a strong public media component to the $7-plus billion dollars in broadband stimulus funding....

Taking profits in Towerstream (TWER)

I am coming out of a nearly four month blogging hiatus to once again write about wireless broadband provider Towerstream (TWER) following a question I received from a long time subscriber who wanted to know my current thoughts about Towerstream.

The company had released their third quarter results earlier this month and he wanted to know if I would add to my position or let it ride. After reviewing Towerstream's results and reading a research report by Canaccord Adams issued on November 6 that reiterated a Buy rating on Towerstream with a $2 price target (20% above current levels) I would have normally been inclined to hold on to my position...

Broadband stimulus program: Faster Internet, slower bureaucracy - Nextgov

NewWave Communications of Sikeston, Mo., is not a deep-pocketed technology giant that can afford to throw money around in Washington. The cable television operator serves 115,000 customers in rural portions of the Midwest and South and keeps a tight budget.

Yet the company was forced to shell out $80,000 on its application for $10 million in federal funding under the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program -- with no assurance of receiving any funds...

Broadband stimulus – The application story

As I spoke with a variety of hardware vendors at ITEXPO (News - Alert) West in Los Angeles last month, I got a good sense of what that side of the communications world expects from the broadband stimulus plan, and how it is looking to support customers’ efforts to win funding. But, what I didn’t know was much about the process itself – though, if more than 2,200 applications are any indication, it worked at least reasonably well.

Of course, the funding is being primarily directed toward last mile providers – those that provide connectivity from the backbone to the end users – in underserved areas to provide those communities a new broadband alternative and allow them to become as connected as the rest of the country...

After headache and heartburn, a gentler broadband stimulus program

Many of you involved in the broadband stimulus process, and those sitting on the sidelines, have had moments where it seemed dealing with the rules of the game was like suffering the death of a thousand cuts. Today opens a 15-day window of opportunity for you to influence a kinder, gentler set of broadband stimulus rules.

Last week, the National Telecommunications Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Services announced that there is only to be one more round of broadband funding. This probably doesn’t surprise people since it's been hinted at a bunch over the past month that the agencies were considering consolidating the final two funding rounds...

Report: Flood of comments on broadband stimulus requests indicate "significant incumbent challenges"

Telecompetitor is reporting Mary Campanola, outreach coordinator for the Rural Utilities Service, told a panel at the Telco TV annual conference and expo Nov. 12 that the agency has received 11,000 comments for the 2,200 applications it received for funding through its Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). BIP provides grants and low cost loans as part of $7.2 billion set aside for broadband infrastructure subsidies in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Telecompetitor quotes Campanola as saying 80 percent of all applications received at least one comment, which according to the interactive blog reveal "significant incumbent challenges" of proposed deployments aimed at providing broadband to areas designated as unserved or underserved...

TechSoup wants to stretch broadband dollars - The Hill's Hillicon Valley

Marnie Webb flew to Washington from San Francisco to spend this past week to try to make connections in the broadband community.

As co-CEO of TechSoup, a non-profit that helps other organizations use technology more effectively, she's interested in helping the Commerce Department make broadband stimulus grants go farther. And she is interested in partnering with other groups, like the Sunlight Foundation, in goals of getting underserved populations into the civil discourse happening online. She also wants to share broadband adoption techniques she's learned with the the Federal Communications Commission for its national broadband plan...

What will this Congress' broadband legacy be?

In a cab ride home from the airport today I had a profound moment of clarity regarding broadband policy.

It was inspired by a particularly knowledgeable driver who was able to succinctly sum up the challenge broadband policy faces of whether to treat broadband as we do highways with massive public investment or if we should leave it to private providers but then lose some amount of control over what happens on these networks...

Broadband stimulus take two - less is more?

Nov 10 2009: The United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced they are streamlining the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s broadband grant and loan programs by awarding the remaining funding in just one more round, instead of two rounds.

The first round of RUS’s Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) garnered $28bn worth of applications, and about $4bn is expected to be awarded in loans/grants. The agencies have issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public comment on how the application process may be improved...

Solid research is key to a successful broadband initiative « Knight Center Community Connection

When we read about a groundbreaking surgical procedure, we picture the surgeon using the scapel, not the hundreds of tests and years of clinical study that guided his incisions. When we watch an exciting football game, we see the elite quarterback dismantling a defense, not the days he spent watching film with a DVD remote in his hand instead of a ball.

We see the success, not the research that drove it...

The Broadband Initiative of 2009 | Microwave Journal

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law, allocating $7.2 B in grant and loan funding to expand broadband/wireless access to rural unserved and underserved parts of the country. The Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will distribute the funds to competitively chosen awardees.

This special report takes a look at this Broadband Initiative Program, the potential impact on the microwave industry and the US economy as a whole...

Webcast archive: Implementation and administration of the broadband Stimulus Act

On March 18, 2009, the Center presented a conference on “Broadband in a Post-Stimulus Environment,” which is available as a symposium issue of Media Law & Policy (available in the archives), as well as on streaming video. Since the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the Commerce Department, as well as the Rural Utilities Service division of the United States Department of Argiculture, have promulgated guidelines as to administration and implementation of the Act, an explanation of the latest regulatory policy changes will be useful to bring the law up-to-date. These papers also will be presented by Media Law & Policy and via streaming video.

We will be streaming the symposium live beginning at 1:30 pm EST. Click here for the live webcast.(Requires Microsoft Silverlight...)

Smart partner for the broadband dance | Daily Yonder | Keep It Rural

The Department of Energy last month announced 100 stimulus grants totaling $3.4 billion for smart grid projects. You may not be familiar with smart grids, but if your community hopes to build its own broadband network you should be. The companies now poised to build these new utility systems could be invaluable partners in supplying high-speed Internet.

Smart grids are the latest incarnation of a concept that originated in the 1990s. Utility companies then were looking for some way to improve meter reading. Instead of sending people out on foot to chart residential water, gas and electric utility meters -- often stymied by rough weather, locked gates or angry dogs -- companies figured that wireless technology could simplify the job...

NTIA AND RUS streamline program to bring jobs to more Americans | BriefingRoom on TelephonyOnline

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2009 - The USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced they are streamlining the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s broadband grant and loan programs by awarding the remaining funding in just one more round, instead of two rounds, to increase efficiency and better accommodate applicants.

RUS’s Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) are intended to expand broadband access and adoption in America, advancing the goals of the Recovery Act by creating jobs and stimulating long-term economic growth and opportunity. The first round of these grant and loan programs produced about 2,200 applications requesting nearly $28 billion in funding - almost seven times the amount of funding available in that round - for proposed broadband projects reaching all 50 U.S. states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia. The agencies are currently reviewing these applications and expect to award up to $4 billion in loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations in this round. The agencies expect to begin announcing funding awards in December 2009...

Michael's Insight: Changes in store for federal broadband stimulus

Yesterday, the federal agencies responsible for the government's broadband stimulus dollars announced a change in the previously announced process for awarding those dollars to build broadband infrastructure in areas of the country that currently don't have access to broadband. Earlier this year, after Congress passed the economic stimulus bill, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Service planned three different award periods.

Both agencies are currently reviewing applications from providers for the first set of awards. Yesterday, the agencies put out a press release that indicates they are merging the second and third award periods into a final, single award period...

Stimulus ties spending on broadband to civic participation - Nextgov

A Federal Communications Commission initiative to create a nationwide plan for expanding high-speed Internet access also is expanding e-government, FCC officials said.

The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act set a February 2010 deadline to create a plan that would provide high-speed Internet access to all Americans. By law, the plan must include using broadband to increase civic participation in policymaking, also known as e-government. A cornerstone of the Obama administration's transparency agenda, announced the day the president took office, has been to increase public participation in government through the Web...

Want better NOFA rules? Here’s your chance. « Fighting the Next Good Fight

Yesterday NTIA and RUS announced the release of their Request for Information (RFI) to get feedback on the rules that will govern this last funding round(that’s right, only one funding round). This RFI is actually a straightforward, logical document. That’s good. If you’re short on time you can get to those points that concern you most.

Ok, here’s my first recommendation to overarch all the rest I have. The next NOFA should be as concise and clearly presented as this RFI. Seriously. That’s the one takeaway from most people’s complaints. Simplify! Do that and a lot of folks around the country might nominate Strickling (responsible for NTIA) and Adelstein (heads RUS) for sainthood...

Problems remain in broadband grant application process | The Gov Monitor

Responding to criticism that they aren’t spending quickly enough, officials at the Commerce and Agriculture Departments have streamlined the process for doling out stimulus funding for broadband, the Denver Business Journal reports. Broadband grants totaling $7 billion will be given out in two rounds, rather than the three that were originally called for.

The first round of grants—about $4 billion—drew 2,200 applications with nearly $28 billion in requests. The agencies are expected to start paying out the first round of grants next month. Despite this seemingly positive move, The Wall Street Journal reports that several problems remain in the broadband grant application process, including difficulties for suburban and semi-rural areas in qualifying for the grants...

Governor Schwarzenegger endorses Siskiyou County's $23 million federal ARRA rural broadband stimulus bid

SACRAMENTO, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/11/09 -- Western Blue, Northern and Central California's experienced desktop to datacenter IT solution integrator, announced that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has included all three Siskiyou County grant applications among the list of state approved projects for rural broadband funding submitted for federal stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

In a public-private partnership, the Siskiyou County Broadband Consortium led by the Siskiyou County Economic Development Council had submitted three applications in August which included requests for $12 million in "middle mile" funding, plus $10 million and $1 million for "last mile" and "a public computer center" respectively under the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP)...

Broadband stimulus cash going quickly—who's making a grab? - Ars Technica

Attention all broadband stimulus grant shoppers: the good news is that the Obama administration says it's fast-tracking the schedule to fork out over seven billion dollars in high speed Internet stimulus money. The other news is that if you haven't applied for this windfall yet, you've only got one more chance. Instead of handing out that dough in two additional rounds, as originally intended, the new plan is to do it in just one more—and it's probably coming soon.

"This will get the funds out the door faster to stimulate the economy and create jobs," declared Jonathan Adelstein, once with the Federal Communications Commission and now an administrator with the Rural Utilities Service. "It gives applicants and communities a greater opportunity to come together to form networks and find more creative ways to connect to the global economy through broadband..."

Broadband stimulus program to be streamlined | Wireless Week

The two agencies in charge of the Obama administration's broadband stimulus program have announced plans to streamline the process and the remaining funding in just one round, instead of two.

The USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) also released a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input on how to improve the second round of bidding, which will allocate about $3.2 billion in loans and grants...

Feds consolidate last two broadband stimulus funding windows into one

Agencies seeking broadband stimulus money now have only one more opportunity to apply because the two remaining funding windows have been consolidated into one, according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS), the two federal agencies tasked with distributing $7.2 billion set aside in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for broadband projects.

This may surprise some, given the U.S. Government Accountability Office said the two agencies were being overwhelmed by the application process in late October...

Government streamlines broadband grants process - Reviews by PC Magazine

Want some of that federal broadband stimulus money? Better make it snappy. The government agencies running the program announced Tuesday that they will consolidate the process and hold two funding rounds, instead of three.

The Commerce and Agriculture Departments also opened up a 14-day comment period for people to submit their thoughts on how the agencies should change the application process for the second round...

Simplified process to speed up broadband grants - WSJ.com

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration said Tuesday it will streamline the application process for $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus grants in response to criticism from applicants and lawmakers that the program isn't getting money out quickly enough.

Officials at the Commerce and Agriculture Departments outlined plans to consolidate into a single round a grant process originally projected to go for two more rounds. The first round of grants is scheduled to be made in December. The departments asked for comments on how the program could be changed to make it easier for companies to apply.

Administration moves to speed broadband grants - WSJ.com

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration said Tuesday it will speed up the process of handing out $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus grants in response to criticism from applicants and lawmakers that the program isn't getting money out quickly enough.

Officials at the Commerce and Agriculture Departments outlined plans to consolidate into a single round a grant process originally projected to go for two more rounds. The first round of grants is scheduled to be made in December. The departments asked for comments on how the program could be changed to make it easier for companies to apply...

Only 1 more broadband stimulus round

As expected, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service and the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration say they are streamlining the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s broadband grant and loan programs by awarding the remaining funding in just one more round, instead of two rounds.

The agencies expect to begin announcing funding awards for the first round in December 2009. The original plan had been for three rounds of funding, and observers noted that this would be valuable for applicants as they would have a chance to see what got funded, what did not, and then tweak their subsequent proposals accordingly...

NTIA/RUS announce streamlining of broadband stimulus program | Telecompetitor

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2009 – The USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced they are streamlining the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s broadband grant and loan programs by awarding the remaining funding in just one more round, instead of two rounds, to increase efficiency and better accommodate applicants.

RUS’s Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) are intended to expand broadband access and adoption in America, advancing the goals of the Recovery Act by creating jobs and stimulating long-term economic growth and opportunity. The first round of these grant and loan programs produced about 2,200 applications requesting nearly $28 billion in funding – almost seven times the amount of funding available in that round – for proposed broadband projects reaching all 50 U.S. states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia. The agencies are currently reviewing these applications and expect to award up to $4 billion in loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations in this round. The agencies expect to begin announcing funding awards in December 2009...

NTIA, RUS: Only one more round of broadband stimulus funding - 2009-11-10 12:54:06 EST | Broadcasting & Cable

There will be only one more round of broadband stimulus funding, the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announced Tuesday after signaling to Congress that they were planning to go from the planned three rounds to two.

In addition, the agencies put out a request for public comment on how to improve that second round of bidding for approximately $3.2 billion in funds to spur broadband deployment and create jobs...

Government moves to speed broadband stimulus

After a delay and criticism over the application process, the federal government said today it will consolidate its $7.2 billion in stimulus funding for broadband Internet into two rounds instead of three.

The first round of grants and loans for $4 billion is being considered now and will be awarded in December. The agencies overseeing the program didn't indicate when the remaining $3.2 billion in funds will be released. Administration of the funds are split between the National Telecommunications & Information Administration and the USDA...

Kodiak Kenai Cable Co. targets Alaska with broadband stimulus application

Kodiak Kenai Cable Co., an Alaskan-based middle-mile fiber provider, is seeking some funds from the federal government to expand its undersea fiber optic cable.

The carrier was one of 2,200 applicants seeking broadband stimulus funds from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. In all, applications submitted from various organizations, cities and states totaled $28 billion...

Kilmer Peak chipset to support WiMAX at 3 Frequencies ~ Revelations From An Unwashed Brain

Lots of stories have been written about the Sprint and Clearwire buildouts of WiMAX in spots around the country. A while back there was a story about the actual performance in a semi-random test in Chicago, with promising results.

The only thing that was not being talked about was the wait that was being experienced by those manufacturers who make the network cards, which would work with those nifty WiMAX towers...

Fed funds rural broadband networks

WASHINGTON — The federal government will soon start handing out the first $4 billion from a pot of stimulus funds intended to spread high-speed Internet connections to more rural communities, poor neighborhoods and other pockets of the country clamoring for better access. The challenge is that the government has received $28 billion in requests.
So the reviewers at the Commerce and Agriculture Departments who will award the broadband money must make hard choices.

The 2,200 applications each envision something different — more fiber-optic lines, for example, or computer labs or municipal wireless networks. But they all promise that their proposals will create jobs and bring new economic opportunities...

Hughes’ novel solution: make carriers compete for subsidies | CommsDay

Hughes Network Systems corporate marketing vice president Arunas Slekys has solved the US broadband rollout dilemma. “Cash for Clunkers,” he told CommsDay, referencing the notorious auto industry stimulus, in which consumers received cash rebates for trading their old cars for newer models.

“Let people make the choice. The government didn’t decide what car you had to buy. They just offered a rebate program and they actually entrusted the dissemination of the funds through the dealerships, which is very wise, because that’s where the transaction closes...”

Subsea middle-mile provider seeks to stimulate Alaska :: Communications Technology

On the west coast of Alaska a satellite-based T-1 line can cost as much as $15,000 per month. And during April when solar flare activity affects the Arctic Circle, communication service will be spotty at best. With its remote location and sky-high connection costs, it could be argued that the area is "unserved" by broadband or certainly "underserved."

An Alaskan-based middle-mile fiber provider, Kodiak Kenai Cable Co., is arguing just that and has filed applications for government broadband stimulus funds to expand its undersea fiber optic cable to serve the area...

NTIA And RUS broadband stimulus programs under Congressional fire

Officials at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) took a beating recently before two congressional committees assessing the status of the broadband stimulus grant and loan programs funded last February as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Both the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business subjected the agency heads to sharp scrutiny and prompted testimony that led some members of both committees to conclude that the grant and loan programs may be in disarray...

Bridging the divide and increasing the intensity of broadband use across all sectors of the economy « Blandin on Broadband

Members of the US Broadband Coalition, Members of the Baller Herbst List, and Other Colleagues and Interested Parties:

Please join us on November 13, 2009, for our event to announce the release of the Adoption and Use Working Group’s report entitled “Bridging the Divide and Increasing the Intensity of Broadband Use Across All Sectors of the Economy.”

The event will be held from 1:00-3:00 pm Eastern in the Federal Communications Commission’s main hearing room, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554

The program will include introductions, statements by the co-chairs of the Adoption and Use Group, a panel of experts on the key various components of the report, and a session for interaction among members of the Group, FCC staff, the media, and other attendees.

The event will be webcast live nationwide. More on this next week...

US lawmakers propose changes in telecom subsidies - Business Center - PC World

Two U.S. lawmakers have proposed legislation that would allow money from a huge fund that subsidizes telephone and mobile service to parts of the U.S. to also go for broadband deployment.

The discussion draft of the Universal Service Reform Act, released Friday, also attempts to deal with a long-time complaint from some telecom carriers that rural providers are charging huge fees for other carriers to send traffic to their networks...

Anoka Co. (MN) posts RFP for broadband partner « Blandin on Broadband

[Anoka County] is seeking to enter into a Public Private Partnership with one or more qualified network services providers to support our efforts to obtain funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), or other funding sources, for the provision of broadband services in Anoka County...

Broadband adoption is about value more than price

Yesterday I had the great fortune to tag along with Gary Evans and his team from Hiawatha Broadband Communications (HBC) as they embarked on a series of meetings in DC to discuss broadband policy.

While lots of interesting issues were touched on, the one that kept drawing my attention was HBC's assertion that while they're not the low price provider in any market they serve, they're the dominant provider in every community they're in...

Broadband collaboration -- Key to expediting smart grid rollouts?

For quicker and smarter implementation of smart grid broadband communications, we believe that a prudent approach is for public utilities, Co-Ops, municipalities and vendors to collaborate and share broadband communications in order to advance important grid initiatives.

As Craig Settles, an analyst and president of consulting firm Successful.com states in his blog about broadband stimulus recipients, “The end goal for Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) applicants would be to strengthen the business case or the technology strategy of the broadband proposal. For the smart grid grant winners, this collaboration can lead to a better overall infrastructure that moves their data more efficiently...”

Rockefeller warns FCC over direction of broadband plan - Nextgov

Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller has a blunt message for the Democratic-led FCC: Don't submit a national broadband plan to Congress early next year that's complicated, esoteric, filled with grandiose ideas and dependent on protracted rulemaking to implement.

"I want to see concrete action on the day the plan is delivered," Rockefeller said recently, referring to the blueprint ordered by Congress to extend broadband service to underserved and unserved areas, boost adoption among the 33 percent of citizens who choose not to subscribe and dramatically increase the speed and capacity of broadband networks...

Broadband expansion in Minnesota would help economy

There are many states and cities within the United States that are hoping to reap the benefits and receive some of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus funding, which has recently caused for much turmoil.

One specific state – Minnesota – released a report stating that the expansion and improvement of broadband speed and access will not only unify the entire state, but also jumpstart the economic growth of the specific area, while simultaneously increase the quality-of-life...

Arizona State Library seeks $1.2 million in broadband stimulus funds

The Arizona State Library is along the list of some 2,200 applicants on the waiting list to see if they will receive federal broadband stimulus money.

State officials submitted an application for $1.28 million to enhance an existing computer center and to better meet the growing demands of the state’s 84 public libraries statewide by providing public access computers. The computers would used to help users access e-resources, allowing libraries to offer training in 21st century skills while promoting broadband awareness...

NCTA offers insight on how FCC can save $2B

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association offered up its advice yesterday on how the Federal Communications Commission can redirect $2 billion from subsidizing telephone companies in rural areas, where it said competition already exists to fund programs that actually promote broadband deployment and adoption.

The NCTA’s petition for rulemaking said it was critical that the FCC update its Universal Service Fund (USF) program. The NCTA said the existing USF program no longer reflects the current marketplace in which consumers have the choice of unsubsidized voice providers, including cable’s voice service, throughout much of the country. The petition included a study showing that the Commission was providing billions of dollars to incumbent phone companies (ILECs) that are serving areas where competitors have entered without any subsidy...

Lawmakers float bill to boost rural broadband - InternetNews.com

Lawmakers are set to consider a measure next week to reform the federal subsidy paid to telephone companies to provide service to low-income and rural households to include broadband service.

Reps. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.) this morning released draft language of a bill that aims to curb waste in the Universal Service Fund (USF) and shift money from phone to Internet service in areas on the wrong side of the digital divide...

NTIA awards more broadband mapping funds - 2009-11-06 14:28:17 EST | Broadcasting & Cable

The National Telecommunications & Information Administration has awarded another approximately $13.5 million in broadand mapping funds to seven more states.

That brings the total to 15 states that have gotten broadband stimulus mapping money...

KeyOn: Why an obscure Net provider's stock soared - BusinessWeek

Although the U.S. stock market has soared since spring, few companies can match the meteoric rise of a small Internet company based in Omaha.

Since May 1, the stock of KeyOn Communications Holdings, which provides Internet connections to companies and individuals, has climbed to $2.10 from 4¢, an increase of more than 5,000%. No company in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index or the Russell 20javascript:void(0)00 Small Cap Index came close to that over the same period...

The Real Cha-Ching: Expanding broadband

It is almost a travesty that there's a giant portion of our state without broadband or cable internet access. This is costing those regions jobs, keeping the kids in those schools in the digital stone age (dial-up). From Governor Patrick's daily briefing...

NCTA chief urges feds to rethink stimulus plans - InternetNews.com

WASHINGTON -- The head of the leading cable industry association today took aim at the government's efforts to spur broadband deployment, arguing that rather than funneling billions of stimulus dollars into new networks, the money would be better spent on programs to drive adoption of the technology.

Kyle McSlarrow, the president and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), made his pitch here at a conference hosted by the Family Online Safety Institute...

In support of Ohio applicants, Brown urges USDA Sec. Vilsack, Commerce Sec. Locke to invest in Ohio communities through recovery

Washington, D.C. –U.S Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today wrote to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke urging their support for Ohio applicants to the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and the Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program (BTOP), which will invest more than $7 billion to provide un served and underserved communities with broadband access. Brown led the fight in Congress alongside Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to include funding to expand broadband access.

“Broadband access is a matter of equal opportunity,” Brown wrote in his letter to Sec. Vilsack and Sec. Locke. “In terms of the future economic prosperity of Ohio’s communities, broadband infrastructure is currently a limiting factor when it could be an engine of development and job creation.” The full contents of Brown’s letter can be found HERE.

Study calls for U.S. programs to address broadband demand - PC World

The U.S. government should consider paying broadband providers for signing up subscribers in poor areas in an effort to increase demand for broadband, a new study from a tech-focused think tank recommended.

The government should create several programs to address demand for broadband, in addition to spending billions of dollars on deployment, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) said in the study, released Thursday. More than 90 percent of U.S. households have broadband available, but less than 65 percent subscribe, the ITIF said...

The overlooked underserved: reversing the trend - FierceTelecom

The Federal Communications Commission recently held a field hearing to further explore broadband adoption issues, specifically among members of rural and minority communities. The official hearing took place in Charleston, S.C., but a less formal "roundtable" discussion was held the previous night in the small town of Ravanel, S.C., population of about 1,300.

I make a distinction between the two events, because the challenges to broadband adoption and deployment for each town are different, though the bottom line is the same: people who want and should have broadband access do not...

Utah broadband stimulus: Gov. Herbert recommends UTOPIA & 9 other applicants for federal broadband funds

StimulatingBroadband.com 11/04/09 Boston - The Office of Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert (R-UT) has recommended 19 projects to Washington for funding under the first round of the federal broadband stimulus program, a part of President Obama's Recovery Act of 2009. The 19 recommendations for networking projects were awarded to 10 separate organizations.

If funded by one of the two federal agencies managing the $7.2 billion "broadband stim" program, Utah will see a total of about $208 million in new telecommunications infrastructure invested in one of the most rural states in the nation. These estimates are based on an analysis of the state's filing conducted by a Boston-based telecommunications consulting firm affiliated with StimulatingBroadband.com...

Mass. chases stimulus cash for broadband - The Boston Globe

Hoping to win a new chunk of federal stimulus money, Governor Deval Patrick pitched the Obama administration yesterday on three proposals that would expand broadband access in areas of Massachusetts that lack adequate high-speed connections...

McSlarrow wants funding for digital-media literacy - 2009-11-05 10:41:34 EST | Broadcasting & Cable

National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow told an online safety conference audience Nov. 5 that digital media literacy should be a focus of broadband stimulus funding--to the tune of $500 million.

"Congress should direct that the agencies managing distribution of broadband stimulus funding allocate $500 million during the next two years for the development of digital media education tools," McSlarrow said in a speech to the 2009 Annual Conference of the Family Online Safety Institute. "With a substantial portion of stimulus funding yet to be allocated, and with the broadband adoption rate continuing to increase from coast to coast, we must vigorously renew this call to acknowledge as a national priority digital literacy for children and families..."

Skycasters' Landefeld suggests satellite plan for broadband stimulus movement

With broadband stimulus funding still in limbo, other industry sectors are seeking out ways to improve telecommunications by divulging into other venues, as well as broadband. And, in the current economic recession, every new project idea or suggestion helps.

Skycasters’ American Recovery and Reinvestment Act expert Gordon Landefeld said recently that there is a new road that the telecom industry could travel on as a way to list the U.S. economy out of the recession...

Broadband stimulus awards delayed - Urgent Communications article

Winners of federal broadband stimulus awards won't be announced until December, a month later than originally planned. Larry Strickling, chief of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) cited the complexity of sorting through the vast number of applications that were received. He said the agency wants to take more time with the first round.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, NTIA, along with the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) program, is granting and loaning some $7.2 billion in stimulus money that is to be used to bring broadband to unserved and underserved areas. The first round will see entities receive some $4 billion, but the government will release the remaining funds in 2010...

U.S. government cuts off funding to ACORN

As the clock continues to tick as broadband stimulus hopefuls await the outcome of their fate, it is clear that out of the nearly 2,200 applicants, one group has definitely not made the cut.

Applications from the controversial ACORN Institute, which describes itself as a group that uses “research and training to address the problems in low-income communities identified through years of community organizing,” have been deemed “ineligible for funding” by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration...

Cisco's myPlanNet simulation game touches on broadband growth and other hot communications topics

Like The Sims? Then you just might love myPlanNet, a new simulation computer game from Cisco Systems Inc. that transforms its players into service provider CEOs that have to make tough decisions – and have a chance to become superheroes by bringing broadband to the masses.

The game, Cisco’s “myPlanNet 1.0,” unveiled earlier this week as NTIA and RUS officials are in the midst of deciding who will get the first round of broadband stimulus funds, attempts to make broadband deployment easy to understand by putting you into the shoes of a communications CEO. Players start as wireline, mobile or cable providers. Then, they manage their businesses stone age of dial-up through the broadband- and mobile-connected eras, and into the dawning of the “medianet” age...

"Last mile" frustration

NORRIDGEWOCK -- The last mile. It's a term the telecom industry uses to define the distance from the edge of a service provider's network to a customer.

Barry Norling Weathervanes exists in that last mile. Where Beech Hill Road turns to dirt, past grazing cows and autumn-blazed woodland, Barry Norling turns copper sheets into whimsical weathervanes and sells them on the Web. At least, when his customers can reach him...

Stimulus money unlikely for city Internet plans | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/03/2009

Congress last winter voted $7 billion in federal recovery money to build broadband Internet for people who aren't online and for places where service is patchy. Philadelphia rushed to grab a chunk.

"We reached out," formed a coalition of city agencies, nonprofit groups and "universal Internet" activists, and wrote proposals, the city's chief technology officer, Allan Frank, told me last week...

States hustling to keep track of federal stimulus money

While applicants eagerly continue to wait for the first-round winners of broadband stimulusfunding, state officials are scrambling to devise rules on how to best comply with federal reporting requirements - one of the strict conditions placed on the funding.

According to a ComputerWorld report, the rules that help define the process to report spending of the broadband stimulus funds have changed or been updated several times since the government announced the stimulus package in February. States are required to file quarterly that account for every tax dollar spent, the report said...

My problem with the modern network neutrality debate- Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins

Generally I find the topic of Network Neutrality to be cumbersome and energy draining, but two weeks in a row, I’ve listened to TWiT give the other side of the argument a half-hearted treatment, and Jason Calacanis this week simply pleaded with the listeners for 15 minutes to go write their congressman to vote for Network Neutrality. I tuned out at about the time Jason started invoking John McCain’s imprisonment in POW camps as evidence as to why we need a network neutral internet.

It was just too much...

Schweitzer criticized for backing single firm on $70M Internet stimulus project

HELENA - Gov. Brian Schweitzer's recommendation that one firm get $70 million in federal stimulus funds to expand high-speed Internet service is being blasted by Montana telephone companies and regulators, who say the project won't extend new service to under-served areas.

They also say the recommendation to fund construction of a fiber-optic network by Bresnan Communications, a cable Internet and TV firm, is based on false information...

Cook County(MN) Broadband Initiative

Cook County , Arrowhead Electric , Boreal Access , City of Grand Marais , Grand Portage , Cook County Schools (ISD 166) , Gunflint Trail Association and the Lutsen Tofte Tourism Association joined forces with the Blandin Foundation to to explore the feasibility of creating a next generation communications network using fiber optic cables to reach virtually all citizens and businesses in Cook County.

The feasibility process led to the submission of a federal ARRA Broadband Stimulus Grant application to seek assistance with paying for the capital costs of building a locally owned and operated network...

Projects could expand broadband access in region | greenbaypressgazette.com | Green Bay Press-Gazette

Stimulus dollars could help local companies expand the reach of broadband high-speed Internet service in Northeastern Wisconsin, a service that rural residents say still is out of reach.

Broadband or high-speed Internet uses cables, fiber optics, telephone lines, power lines, satellite or wireless to transmit data digitally, resulting in quicker upload and download speeds...

Delay in naming bid winners - 2009-10-31 02:00:00 EDT | Multichannel News

Washington — Announcement of the winning bidders in the broadband-stimulus grant and loan program will be delayed by a month or so, according to heads of the relevant government agencies, with the first funding round pushed from year-end to February 2010.

That should be just fine with cable and telco operators, who have registered complaints about their ability to determine whether the unserved and underserved areas for which the government will underwrite broadband build-outs actually do lack broadband service...

If Verizon stops deploying FiOS, then what?

As Verizon nears the end of its initial $23 billion rollout of FiOS, it's seeming likely that they're going to focus more on marketing what they've already built rather than expanding their fiber footprint further.

While I'm admittedly disappointed that they're not going to continue investing in extending FiOS to all their customers, I can understand the business rationale behind this decision. Also I realize that just because they're slowing now doesn't mean they won't pick back up at a later date. But even still, this shift away from deployment raises some important questions related to America's national broadband policy...