Broadband Stimulus Notes
The NTIA and the Rural Utilities Service have awarded 53 percent of the first-round money in the broadband stimulus program, said a Congressional Research Service report released Sunday. Of the infrastructure money awarded, 55 percent is for middle-mile projects and…
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45 percent for last-mile work, CRS said. Almost 70 percent of the money is for projects serving mostly rural areas, it said. All winning last-mile projects have been rural, but most middle-mile projects aren’t, the service said. And last-mile rural projects for areas that are remote got more money than projects for areas that aren’t, it said. Incumbent service providers filed public-notice responses for 71 percent of funded first-round infrastructure projects, 91 percent of middle-mile projects and 69 percent of last-mile projects that aren’t remote. But incumbents filed responses to only 8 percent of last-mile applications for remote areas, the service said. “To the extent that Congress may consider whether certain broadband grant and loan programs should be expanded, the funding patterns and trends that emerge during rounds one and two could provide insights into whether such programs should be expanded, and if so, how these or similar programs might be fashioned within the context of a national broadband policy."