by Pivot
Tag: RUS
O’Rielly Suggests Reverse Auction for $600 Million USDA E-Connectivity Pilot
The USDA E-connectivity pilot should target unserved areas — and how “area” is defined will be critical, said FCC Commissioner O’Rielly. A USDA official recently hinted that the agency will look beyond need but also at . . .
Electric Cooperative Gigabit Gains Traction
Four electric cooperative gigabit projects join a fifth announced yesterday. The four latest projects include two in Tennessee, where legislators voted to allow electric co-ops to offer . . .
Official: USDA $600 Million Rural Broadband Pilot Will Include Loan/ Grant Combinations
Decisions about project funding in the USDA rural broadband pilot may not be based simply on need. A USDA official referenced telehealth, precision agriculture, smart forestry and . . .
Latest USDA Rural Broadband Funding Round Provides $97 Million for Projects in 11 States
The largest loan in the latest round of USDA Rural Broadband Funding is for $21.4 million, for Chibardun Telephone Cooperative in Wisconsin. The company will build a FTTP network that will . . .
USDA Seeks Input on $600 Million E-Connectivity Pilot for Rural Broadband Funding
The USDA E-connectivity pilot targets rural areas with populations less than 20,000 in which no more than 10% of the area served can get broadband at speeds of 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. The USDA is considering . . .
Economists Put the Tab at $61 Billion to Bring Fiber Broadband to Rural U.S.
Economists from CostQuest and Parsons Applied Economics estimated the cost to deploy fiber to unserved U.S. rural areas, assuming carriers deploy GPON. Telecom is one of three subsidized industries that the economists . . .
Senate Farm Bill Would Put New Limits on RUS Broadband Loan Program
Senate Farm Bill RUS broadband loan limitations would allow loans only for broadband deployments focused on areas where most people currently do not have broadband available to them. The bill passed the Senate but must be reconciled with . . .
Broadband Service Provider Associations Seek Changes to RUS Broadband Loan Rules
ITTA, NCTA, USTelecom and ACA wrote a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the senate agriculture committee asking them…
O’Rielly: RUS Should Consult with the FCC on $600 Million Rural Broadband Pilot
The RUS rural broadband pilot should not overbuild areas funded by the FCC through the Universal Service program, argued FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly. Recipients of RUS funding also should not be allowed to . . .
RUS Takes a New Approach to Broadband Loan Applications
RUS broadband loan applications are now being accepted, but with some significant changes for the program. Among other changes, RUS revised its definition of minimum broadband speed in determining unserved areas and changed the…
Congressional Spending Bill Allocates $600 Million in New Rural Broadband Funding
The $600 million in new rural broadband funding would be administered through the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS). It’s the latest…
Co-Mo Electric Cooperative CEO Named RUS Administrator
The new RUS administrator comes from an electric co-op that found a unique way to deploy broadband after being rejected for broadband stimulus funding earlier this decade.
Cooperatives Embrace Fiber Broadband: ILSR Finds 87 Cooperative Gigabit Deployments Nationwide
Telecom and electric cooperative gigabit deployments are one of the best ways of bringing broadband to rural America, says the Institute for Local Self
USDA Announces $207 Million in Loans and Grants for Rural Broadband Funding
USDA rural broadband funding went mostly to incumbent telcos, but a rural wireless internet service provider also received money. That company, iGo . . .
B-CROP Act Aims to Add $50M to RUS Rural Broadband Funding
B-CROP Act would provide grants in conjunction with loans for rural broadband, covering up to 75% of costs. Previously the RUS only issued low-interest . . .
Lake Connections Sale Highlights Municipal Decision to Get Out of the Broadband Business
Despite the rural Minnesota municipal network Lake Connections sale to the private sector, backers say they would do it all over again.
$43.6 Million in New USDA Broadband Loans Targets Rural Fiber Broadband Projects
USDA broadband loans awarded will go toward projects in California, Iowa, Illinois, and Texas. The largest loan was $24.8 million to Central Texas Telephone
ECI’s Products Selected to Upgrade Rainier Connect’s Optical Transport Network to 100G
Latest USDA Rural Broadband Loans Announced, Nearly $20 Million Will Fund Fiber Upgrades
USDA rural broadband loans were awarded to two companies to deploy service in parts of Illinois and Oklahoma. Recipients include Southern Plains Cable and
New USDA Funding for Telemedicine and Distance Learning Announced
USDA funding for telemedicine will be used, in part, to address the rural opioid epidemic. New methods of addressing the issue have been determined to be . . .
USDA Funds 81 Rural Distance Learning and Telemedicine Projects
USDA-funded distance learning and telemedicine projects will address rural opiod abuse issues and enable rural students to . . .
VTEL Broadband Dispute: Is Vermont Funding an Overbuilder?
VTEL’s experiences with its mobile broadband stimulus project could be a cautionary tale for other service providers about consumer expectations.
Senators Want USDA’s Community Connect Broadband Speed Definition Raised
The Community Connect broadband speed definition should be 10 Mbps downstream to match the USDA broadband loan program, senators say.
Broadband Economic Impact Report: Rural Broadband Supports 70K Jobs, $100B in E-Commerce
A Hudson Institute report measures rural broadband economic impact at $24.2 billion in 2015. Two thirds of this amount went to urban areas.