Bandwidth in rural areas is “important,” said Jonathan Adelstein, RUS...
Bandwidth in rural areas is “important,” said Jonathan Adelstein, RUS administrator. Businesses are using the Internet in new and innovative ways to expand and grow, he said Thursday at a Minority Media and Telecom Council event in Washington. The private…
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sector plays an important role in helping RUS and the FCC to meet the demand for bandwidth, he added. In terms of broadband, RUS has made a “major outreach push for diversity in both businesses that we fund as well as in the areas that are served by our awards,” he said. The agency awards about $8 billion a year in loans and grants, he said. “We provide affordable financing for capital-intensive projects … and engineering standards, careful scrutiny and oversight to make sure those funds go where they belong.” About 25 of the awards granted through the Recovery Act went to minority and tribal organizations, he said. NTIA is preparing to roll out the First Responder Network Authority, or FirstNet, said Anna Gomez, NTIA deputy administrator. She said she expects opportunities to arrive for network security and maintenance professionals, software developers and other professionals when the system is fully operational, she said. Applications development is going to be very exciting in the public safety field, she said. For FirstNet, NTIA will establish a 15-member board that consists of the Department of Homeland Security secretary, the director of the Office of Management and Budget and 12 members appointed by the Commerce Department secretary, and it will ensure geographical, regional, rural and urban representation on the board, she said: A public safety advisory committee will meet with tribal, regional, state and local jurisdictions to discuss provisions like the placement of towers and the assignment of priority to local users, she added.