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A few weeks ago RUS released the first batch of winners for the second round of the broadband stimulus program. While critical of how they handled the selection process and of how they chose primarily private closed networks in the...
So the FCC just released its first technical paper in support of the national broadband plan. It purports to be analyzing the "broadband availability gap" and solutions for closing it. Presumably this document is intended to make the data-driven case...
The foundation of American broadband policy to date has been that the best way to stimulate deployment is to leave it up to the market, to let private, profit-maximizing companies compete to lower prices, improve service, and expand networks. While...
One of the most notable things I observed at yesterday's Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing on the broadband stimulus was the precarious situation that RUS finds itself in. For starters, Sen. Rockefeller went out of his way multiple times to...
I'll have more commentary on the FCC's recently released rural broadband strategy report in the coming days but I wanted to start by pointing out one thing in there that really stood out to me. The most common refrain heard...
So the Senate just cut $2 billion for rural broadband from the stimulus over the weekend, reducing from nine to seven. In the long run this loss matters little given that the number was coming down eventually anyway since even...
To anyone in Congress trying to cut funding for rural broadband, ask yourself this: do you care about the future economic viability of the rural communities you represent? If so, how can you justify taking away money from the only...
First off let me get out of the way upfront my belief that there's a lot of good related to broadband in both the House and Senate versions of the stimulus package. Without grants and loans some areas of the...
Today there's a front-page article on NYTimes.com entitled: "Internet Money in Fiscal Plan: Wise or Waste?" While it attempts to present a balanced approach to the positive and negative reactions to the money put in the stimulus package for rural...
A few weeks ago I attended a New America Foundation event focused on the broadband portion of the economic stimulus bill. While many interesting things were said there was one point in particular that's stuck with me. It came from...
One of the more frustrating things I've had to deal with in advocating for the Rural Fiber Fund are the many misconceptions about what it'll take to crack the rural broadband nut. But by clarifying a few key points we...
In Vegas at CES last week I caught a policy session featuring FCC Commissioners Adelstein and McDowell. While most of the discussion focused on the DTV transition, they touched on broadband at the end and I had the opportunity to...
In creating the Rural Fiber Fund I've been reading a lot of articles about the economic stimulus package, in particular what the administration is looking for it to accomplish. Like this: "Most economists agree that an anti-recession program should achieve...
With the "why we need it" and "what should it be" arguments laid out, let's delve a bit into the how of what the actual policies should look like in order to accomplish the goal of universal fiber buildout to...
Now let's sketch out what some of the characteristics of the Rural Fiber Fund must be in order to give it the best chance to accomplish its goals effectively and efficiently. The Rural Fiber Fund has to... Be big. It's...
Now that I've tested the waters and found little initial resistance to the general concepts of the Rural Fiber Fund let's start getting into the specifics. First off let's lay out the case for WHY the Rural Fiber Fund is...
While on my last trip to Lafayette, LA for the inaugural CampFiber I took a couple of days to head up to Ruston at the invitation of the good people at NiFTy TV to tour their facilities. In so doing...
OK, this is starting to get a bit absurd. As I continue to explore our past, present, and future economic stimulus packages I can't help but mention reported plans to extend another $25 billion line of credit to the auto...
As I build my argument for the establishment of a Rural Fiber Fund I can't help but point out the many places we're spending billions with less efficacy and clarity of vision than what I've been proposing as the solution...
When talking about a Full Fiber Nation one counterpoint often made is how expensive rural areas are to wire and therefore how unattractive they are to private deployers. Yet a few weeks ago at the FTTH Conference I met three...
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