[RTC List] Stimulus Money Details

[William Van Hefner]

All,

I ran across a couple of very interesting blogs on stimulus money for
broadband today. Below are some excerpts, along with links to the full
articles. Interesting, that so much plans to be spent on WiFi.


ABI: Stimulus Means Big Bucks for Wireless

ABI Research says the government will spend $6.8 billion for “wireless
communications upgrades and new deployments” over the next two years,
providing “a significant one-off opportunity for wireless equipment
vendors.”

ABI analyst Stan Schatt estimates that roughly $1.07 billion of the money
will be spent on upgrades or deployments of Wi-Fi services. Tech
companies, telecom companies and ISPs will compete for broadband grants
that will be administered by both the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Schatt says Wi-Fi will be the technology of choice for several government
projects that are part of the stimulus package, including transport of
customer data for smart grid projects dedicated to upgrade the U.S.
electricity system. Schatt also says Wi-Fi will be used to deploy wireless
security cameras for port security upgrades and for deploying wireless
Internet services to schools as part of modernization projects.

Full article at:
http://www.dailywireless.org/2009/05/27/abi-stimulus-means-big-bucks-for-wireless/

FCC Releases Rural Broadband Strategy Report

The FCC has released its Congressional mandated Rural Broadband Strategy
report. The 2008 Farm Bill required the FCC Chair, in coordination with
the Secretary of Agriculture to submit a report “describing a
comprehensive rural broadband strategy” for the nation. According to the
statute, the report must include recommendations for:

Read More ...

    * improving interagency coordination of broadband policies and
initiatives;
    * assessing broadband needs in rural areas;
    * how specific federal agency programs and resources can overcome the
obstacles that currently impede rural broadband deployment

Quite a tall order. This action was mandated prior to the arrival of the
broadband stimulus program and its respective mandates, which also directs
the FCC to develop a National Broadband Plan. Confused? Unfortunately, the
very nature of the federal government combined with the enormous task of
bringing broadband to all parts of the country brings about a somewhat
convoluted process.

The report was just issued today and is eighty-three pages long, so there
is a lot to digest.

Full article at: http://telecompetitor.com/node/1270


-- 
William Van Hefner - President

Vantek Communications, Inc.
e-mail: editor at humboldtonline.com
http://www.humboldtonline.com