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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What’s Cooking Next Week in D.C.
September 9, 2010
By Paula Bernier
The economy remains the big story in Washington, D.C., and the nation as the November elections approach. At the same time, the debate over all things broadband continues to generate heat in the hallowed halls of our capital.
According to a report in Multichannel News, about 15 CEOs of manufacturers and providers of telecom equipment that are Telecommunications Industry Association board members will fly to Washington next week to ask the Federal Communications Commission not to reclassify broadband as a Title II service.
While they’re there they also plan to urge House Telecommunications Subcommittee chairman Rick Boucher (D-Va.), House Energy & Commerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), ranking House Telecom committee member Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), Senate Commerce Committee chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), and senior Republican Robert McDowell, to get Congress to assist in clarifying the FCC's broadband authority.
"It absolutely slaughtered our industry in the past when certain Title II provisions have been imposed on our customers," TIA Vice President of Government Affairs Danielle Coffey told the publication. "We have lived through it and they are coming back to say: 'Don't do it again,' and we are pleading with them not to."
Meanwhile, the house Telecommunications Subcommittee reportedly has scheduled a Sept. 16 hearing on Boucher's Universal Service Reform bill. Supported by NCTA, the bill defines broadband as a universal service that should fall under the USF.
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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