A Perspective on the Broadband Stimulus

The Broadband Stimulus was a major topic of conversation at the Summer 2009 OPASTCO Convention and was the subject of a panel. ViodiTV caught up with one of the panelists David Villano, Assistant Administrator for Telecommunications Program – U.S. Department of Agriculture – Rural Development, who elaborated on the application process and how the process may continue to be somewhat dynamic. He emphasized that the focus of the first NOFA will be funding the middle-mile broadband projects, particularly those that are “shovel-ready”.

4 responses to “A Perspective on the Broadband Stimulus”

Ken Pyle

August 14, 2009

In the conversation prior to our interview, I found Villano to be sincere in his efforts to improve rural infrastructure and that he and his colleagues are working hard to make the NOFA process meet stringent deadlines along with its goals. I was also impressed with his pragmatism when he suggested that mid-course objectives would be necessary in the NOFA process.
Still, there are a number of questions regarding the NOFA, which I have added in the comment section of the above post. These are just a few that I have heard from Telcos.
1. Given the definition of unserved and underserved, those communication service providers that are already doing an excellent job of providing broadband may be penalized because they don’t have the qualifying projects in their territories.
2. The Broadband.gov web site is one of the best Federal web sites I have ever seen. Still, the impression I have from reading the documents is that those entities who hire the best application writers will win the awards, which won’t necessarily equate to the most deserving projects being funded.
3. Given the rush to complete projects, errors in the application process will be inevitable. What are the implications if an applicant makes an honest mistake? Are the audit procedures going to be similar to the USAC audits that have been an expensive and painful for telcos, but have not revealed any significant discrepancies?

Viodi View – 08/14/09 | The Viodi View

August 14, 2009

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Emmett Smith

August 14, 2009

Can a business case be made to pay for maintenance and operation in these under-served areas? What about ten years from now with an administration that’s less willing to hand out taxpayer money and its time to upgrade or the equipment is no longer supported? This is just creating a problem for the future. TelCos are going to find themselves trapped into serving areas with decreasing revenue that eat into their ability to provide service to areas that deserve it.

Ken Pyle

August 18, 2009

Emmett has a very insightful post on this article on his web site at:

http://ewebsmith.com/Com/telecomsocialization.html

Thanks Emmett