Energy Solutions

First Round of Broadband Stimulus Program Officially Closed

Posted by: | April 30th, 2010 | No Comments »

When NTIA announced its latest broadband stimulus awards on April 26th, it signaled the end of funding for round one of the stimulus program. RUS announced its last round one funding awards at the end of March.

So here are the final numbers for round one:

  • 150 total awards announced
  • $1.767B in grant funding
  • $512M in loan funding
  • $388M in matching private investment
  • $2.67B in total actual dollars

Round Two is in full swing with all the applications already submitted. Announcements of Round Two winners are expected to begin this summer.

RUS Outlines Broadband Stimulus Round Two

Posted by: | April 21st, 2010 | No Comments »

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) said late last week that it received applications requesting $11.2 billion in funding for round two of the broadband stimulus program.   About 776 applications were received, compared with 1,230 from the first round. The RUS was authorized to distribute $2.5 billion in total from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

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RUS Closes the Books on Round One of the Broadband Stimulus Program

Posted by: | April 1st, 2010 | No Comments »

With its latest funding award announcement, the RUS says it’s closing round one funding for the broadband stimulus program.  The last award was a $10.95 million loan and a $10.95 million grant for Reservation Telephone Cooperative to provide service in remote areas in and around the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in parts of Montana and North Dakota.

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Latest RUS Broadband Stimulus Awards Exceeds All Other Previous Awards Combined

Posted by: | January 27th, 2010 | No Comments »

The January 25th  broadband stimulus awards announcement from the Rural Utilities Service, valued at nearly $310 million, exceeds all other awards announced to date under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act combined.

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Small ILECs are big winners in first broadband stimulus awards

Posted by: | January 4th, 2010 | No Comments »

Small incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) won a substantial share of the broadband infrastructure funding awards announced Dec. 17 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

A close look at the awards list reveals that of 12 awards made to support the construction of broadband infrastructure, five went to small ILECs and two went to consortia owned by groups of small ILECs. Other types of companies awarded funds to support broadband infrastructure construction included an electrical cooperative, a joint venture between two electrical cooperatives, two Internet service providers and a joint venture between two wireless operators.

Small ILECs made a particularly strong showing among last mile and middle mile awards made through the Rural Utilities Service, garnering five out of eight total awards. The four middle mile awards made through the National Telecommunications and Information Agency included two to ILEC consortia.

Quarterly Reports on Broadband Stimulus Program Released

Posted by: | November 23rd, 2009 | No Comments »

Quarterly reports from the government agencies responsible for awarding broadband stimulus funding, issued last week, recap previously reported information about broadband stimulus but also contain some new details.

According to the Rural Utilities Service, as of October 12, 2009, the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) had moved 18 applications to the second step of the agency’s two-step process and “expects to move additional qualified applications on a rolling basis in the coming weeks.” The agency also said it expects to issue awards in December, although a summary page still shows a November 2009 date for “initial funding awards.”

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