Breaking News Alert
[2010/3/17]
Listen as Gary Bolton, VP Global Marketing at ADTRAN, provides initial commentary on the FCC’s National Broadband Plan in an interview with Phil Harvey of Light Reading.
Please visit BroadbandUSA for more information from NTIA and RUS regarding the status of pending/announced Round 1 applications, Round 2 frequently asked questions, and program updates. The BroadbandUSA HelpDesk is also available to answer questions about BIP and BTOP at 1 (877) 508-8364 and BroadbandUSA@usda.gov.
UAE Expects to Offer All Fiber Network by 2011
[2010/8/27]
The United Arab Emirates plans to have a fully fiber network by the end of 2011. The Pyramid Research group is reporting that this new network is expected to provide the nation with a growth of $1.01 billion by 2015 .....
$30M in stimulus money targets area broadband service
[2010/8/27]
Com Net Inc. hopes to begin construction early in 2011 on a federally funded project to extend broadband service to rural and underserved communities in 28 western Ohio counties .....
$24 million grant brings broadband to Panhandle
[2010/8/27]
Gulf County welcomed the 21st century with open arms last week. At a press conference last Friday in Bristol, regional economic development and elected officials announced that the Florida Rural Broadband Alliance (FRBA) had been awarded nearly $24 million to install a network to provide high speed internet .....
Uganda Thinks Big on Broadband
[2010/8/27]
Telecom markets worldwide are getting ready for the data deluge, but special factors at work in Uganda mean that the transformation in its market will be more marked than in most .....
$66 million dollars awarded to bring broadband to rural counties
[2010/8/26]
Three of our area's most rural counties will soon have a state-of- the-art connection to the rest of the world .....
Broadband $ Not Redundant, Says Advisor
[2010/8/23]
Obama Administration telecom policy advisor and NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling says his agency will meet an Oct. 1 deadline for a report on how it will team with the FCC to help find 500 MHz of spectrum for wireless broadband .....
MBC, Old Dominion University win $10 million broadband stimulus grant
[2010/8/23]
Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative and Old Dominion University's partnership is paying off as the duo won a $10 million broadband stimulus grant to build out an open access fiber network in southeastern Virginia .....
NoaNet Expands Its High-Speed Broadband Stimulus Service
[2010/8/23]
Recently, Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) announced that it has received a second federal grant to enlarge its high-speed broadband stimulus service to almost all areas of the state where services are currently not available .....
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Net Neutrality Gets the Hook
September 2, 2010
By Paula Bernier
When in doubt, hit the brakes. That seems to be the motto of the Federal Communications Commission when it comes to the thorny issue of network neutrality.
The FCC this week indicated it is not prepared to move forward on network neutrality, and addressing if or how it might be applied to wireless service providers. It says it wants more time to gather input from interested parties on the matter.
Of course, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has been talking a lot about the importance of network neutrality in the last few months. But deciding how to tackle the issue is a huge challenge; even the term network neutrality itself is a matter of debate.
For a second there, it appeared as if things might be moving forward on network neutrality when Google and Verizon came out with a proposed framework on how the issue might be addressed. But the framework only seemed to stir the pot, and it put a spotlight on the question as to whether wireless services should be subject to any net neutrality regulations that might be enacted. (The Google/Verizon framework suggested wireless services should be exempt from net neutrality requirements, indicating wireless is a different and still maturing animal. However, opponents of that view note that the U.S. wireless market has been saturated, and thus it is not a nascent beast.)
In any case, this thing we call net neutrality is such a sensitive one that it should come as no surprise that Genachowski and the FCC are cautious about making any rulings around it – particularly before the elections. While the FCC chairman says the industry has made progress on the subject, some analysts say we shouldn’t hold our collective breath waiting for any movement on this before November.
Comments: To comment on this blog or on other issues related to the broadband stimulus or The National Broadband Plan, email Paula Bernier at paulabernier@mac.com.
Paula Bernier is executive editor for the IP Communications Group at TMC where she manages editorial content for the print versions of Internet Telephony Magazine, Next Generation Networks Magazine and Unified Communications Magazine. An 18-year communications industry reporting veteran, Bernier was formerly editor in chief of xchange magazine. She’s also worked as a senior writer for Inter@ctive Week. Bernier got her start in telecom at Telephony magazine, where she spent nearly five years, leaving as the news director. Bernier also has been on the reporting staffs of various mainstream daily and weekly newspapers in Iowa, Minnesota and South Carolina.
The contents of this blog represent solely the opinions of the author and are not the opinions of, or approved by, ADTRAN, Inc. |
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Broadband Stimulus: What is it?
The Broadband Stimulus program is the initiative defined by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that was signed into law February 17, 2009. This law formed the basis for two federal government programs—the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) administered by the NTIA and RUS, respectively. The BTOP and BIP program provides $4.7 billion to be distributed by NTIA and $2.5 billion to be administered by RUS.
Who qualifies? - A state or political division thereof
- Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian Organization
- NonProfit
- Any other entity, including a Broadband Service or Infrastructure Provider, whose participation is found by NTIA to be in the "public interest"
Grant / Loan Application Tools
Interesting Highlights: - The two agencies have until Sept. 30, 2010 to "disperse" the funds
- Funded projects have 2 years to complete
- FCC required to develop the "comprehensive national broadband plan to provide universal coverage and encourage people to use the network"
Key Association Links and Resources:
Please send any comments or questions to:
Comments@adtran.com
or
Request a meeting with our Broadband Stimulus team via:
BroadbandStimulusMeetingRequest
@adtran.com
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