Rural Broadband Takes on Washington
Supporters of rural broadband services have descended on Washington, D.C. in recent weeks to lobby the federal government for their piece of the so-called broadband stimulus funding.
For starters, the Fiber-to-the-Home Council (FTTH) last week filed a comment with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service urging the agency to use the authority over part of the $2.5 billion in broadband funding to "bring urban bandwidth to rural America." According to the group, deploying end-to-end fiber networks far and wide would be the best way to achieve job growth and ensure long-term infrastructure investments.
The American Cable Association, on the other hand, is urging the FCC to consider its network of experienced providers, calling small and mid-sized cable operators the key to a rural broadband strategy. "Federal agencies should give weight to existing broadband providers that already serve smaller markets and rural areas during the application process for broadband grants and loans," said ACA President Matthew Polka. "This is the best way to maximize the investment return on taxpayer dollars."
The ACA is aiming at the NTIA, which is controlling the disbursement of $7.2 million in broadband loans and grants. In its filing, the ACA said the grant and loan program should give extra consideration to operators that have experience running rural and small market broadband networks (i.e. ACA members), highlighting their ability to "leverage existing networks and resources to maximize the benefits of any broadband grant."
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