RUS – Page 3 – Steve Blum's Blog

Federal broadband grants would help level the playing field for California projects

16 June 2013 by Steve Blum
broadband, farm bill, public policy, RUS

Big state, big farms.

The version of the federal omnibus farm bill that was approved by the U.S. Senate last week improves the chances of actually building broadband infrastructure in areas of California where no service currently exists. That’s assuming the lack of service can be documented and withstand challenges from competing providers who might claim otherwise, which is a separate can of worms.

The legislation, which still has to be approved by the House, allows the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to give outright grants to pay for broadband projects, in addition to its existing loan program.… More

Cable lobby blocking competition from broadband subsidies in federal farm bill

5 June 2013 by Steve Blum
broadband, ncta, public policy, RUS

Don’t you dare overbuild modern telecoms systems.

Federal broadband subsidies for rural areas are up for a vote in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, and cable lobbyists are pressing hard for restrictions on construction funding. Broadband is but one tiny piece of a huge, five year farm program that costs nearly a trillion dollars and includes everything from crop insurance to food stamps.

The bill has been stalled in the senate for some time. Given the rules there, it needs 60 out of 100 votes to move forward.… More

The broadband stimulus pool is nearly dry

14 September 2010 by Steve Blum
ARRA, BIP, broadband stimulus, BTOP, ccbc, NTIA, public policy, rural broadband, RUS

BTOP might have $442 million in the kitty, although almost certainly not. Or $257 million or $15 million or zilch. For BIP, I can’t even estimate what’s left, but my best guess is that money is already gone.

First, I want to give credit where credit is due. Fred Dyste, via his Digital West blog, has been the gold standard for tracking BTOP (Broadband Technology Opportunities Program) and BIP (Broadband Initiatives Program) stimulus grant applications and awards.… More

Policies, partnerships and common goals attract broadband investment to communities

7 June 2010 by Steve Blum
business, capital cost, casf, community networks, operating cost, private capital, public policy, public private partnership, revenue, RUS

Capital expense, operating expense and revenue are the basic parameters of a business plan. With broadband-specific incentives that improve those metrics – even marginally – local governments and economic development agencies can attract private broadband investment into underserved areas.

Public policies can be tailored to significantly reduce construction costs. Uniform, broadband-friendly right of way and permit procedures eliminate a huge source of uncertainty for business planners. The more certain they are of their estimates, the more likely they are to invest.… More

Getting back to business with broadband investment

6 June 2010 by Steve Blum
business, casf, community networks, demand, microeconomic, need, NTIA, private capital, public policy, rural utilities service, RUS

The federal stimulus program overshadowed private sector funding for new broadband infrastructure for more than a year. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) threatened to wash out broadband venture opportunities with billions of dollars of grants and loans. Some projects will absorb federal money instead of private risk capital. Most won’t and the surviving opportunities will become evident over the next few months.

Price points, service benchmarks and likelihood
to buy are key data for revenue projectionsLocal agencies and economic development organizations still have the job of attracting that investment.… More

The stimulus was fun while it lasted, now back to work

14 May 2010 by Steve Blum
ARRA, BIP, broadband stimulus, BTOP, casf, ccbc, cetf, Jonathan Adelstein, NTIA, public policy, rural broadband, RUS

It’s time to look past the stimulus program, and re-adjust community broadband planning assumptions. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and the Rural Utilities Service’s (RUS) Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) encouraged local groups to roll themselves up into regional alliances and propose magnificent projects that would meet any conceivable need and serve every user imaginable.

It made sense, because that’s where the money was. NTIA and RUS made some dreams real in the first round last year, and are on track to fulfill a few more fantasies in the second round.… More

Follow the money, from the first to the second round of broadband stimulus grants

18 January 2010 by Steve Blum
ARRA, BIP, broadband stimulus, BTOP, casf, ccbc, cetf, NTIA, public policy, rural broadband, RUS

More than a thousand first round hopefuls are still staring into the black hole that swallowed their applications. The second round notifications of funding availability (NOFAs) issued by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for the broadband stimulus program do not explicitly address the status of first round applications.

The stimulus bill gave RUS $2.5 billion and NTIA $4.7 billion for broadband project funding. In the first round, RUS said it would give out up to $2.4 billion.… More

Broadband stimulus grant update: first round still under review, second round likely to slip a bit

7 January 2010 by Steve Blum
ARRA, BIP, broadband stimulus, BTOP, casf, ccbc, CES2019, cetf, NTIA, public policy, rural broadband, RUS

Anna Gomez, deputy assistant secretary for communications and information at NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration), spoke at today’s Tech Policy Summit at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Secretary Gomez speaks to reporters
at 2010 Consumer Electronics ShowShe repeated previous agency comments about wanting to “get it done fast, get it done right and with the greatest effect possible.”

She described the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) as “unprecedented” at the NTIA.

Lessons learned in a difficult first round would be applied in the second round.… More

First dribble of broadband stimulus funding announced

17 December 2009 by Steve Blum
ARRA, BIP, broadband stimulus, BTOP, NTIA, public policy, rural broadband, RUS

The feds today announced they were giving $182.7 million of broadband stimulus money to 18 projects scattered across the U.S. (but nothing so far for California). 18 projects funded out of 2,200 applications, representing less than 3% of the $7.2 billion allocated.

Not much detail but a few worrisome hints.

The infrastructure grants announced today all appear to be for RUS/BIP-type projects. Even the ones that were funded through NTIA/BTOP. That’s consistent with what we heard back in September: a select few RUS projects were fastracked into the second stage of review.… More

CPUC Approves $5 Million for central California coast broadband project

23 November 2009 by Steve Blum
ARRA, BIP, broadband stimulus, BTOP, casf, ccbc, cpuc, NTIA, RUS

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.

CCBC system map
CCBC’s CASF and associated federal stimulus grant applications are managed by Tellus Venture Associates, which also does the financial planning and budgeting for the project.… More