Universal Service
Boucher Wants Cable To Play The NTIA/RUS Grant Game
WASHINGTON, April 3, 2009 – The NTIA/RUS broadband grant program is “a landmark opportunity” for the cable industry, House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., said Thursday during a speech at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association’s annual convention here.
WASHINGTON, April 3, 2009 – The NTIA/RUS broadband grant program is “a landmark opportunity” for the cable industry, House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., said Thursday during a speech at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association’s annual convention here.
Boucher praised the industry for its investment in infrastructure which now passes 92 percent of American homes. He said that the broadband stimulus grant program of the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service was an opportunity to bring broadband to Americans who lack the ability to receive it.
Boucher said he was optimistic that with coming improvements in content delivery and bandwidth capacity, the U.S. will soon pass countries like Japan and South Korea in broadband speeds available to the home.
“You’re the leader in providing broadband across our country,” Boucher said, referring to the cable industry.
Boucher said he was disappointed by the nation’s 16th place ranking in broadband availability.
Broadband is as necessary for economic performance in today’s world as electricity and the telephone service were in times past, he said.
Communities need broadband to compete in the 21st century economy, Boucher said. He called for the cable industry to make full use of grant programs provided by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act: “For the sake of our national economy, we can and we must do a lot better than 16th in the world.”
Previous RUS grant programs have been “a genuine benefit” to rural districts by allowing them to upgrade networks to provide broadband service using federal grants, Boucher said.
In some instances, the grants have allowed broadband to reach districts like Boucher’s for the very first time, he said.
Boucher implored the industry to be “very aggressive” in applying for stimulus grants. The cable industry’s participation is essential for grant money to be spent in a way to properly stimulate the economy, he said.
“I would like to see the example [of local Virginia congressional district spending] repeated hundreds of times over.”
Education
Sen. Ed Markey Celebrates Telecom Act as Telecom Lawyers Tell Congress to Be Specific

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2009 – The NTIA/RUS broadband grant program is “a landmark opportunity” for the cable industry, House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., said Thursday during a speech at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association’s annual convention here.
Boucher praised the industry for its investment in infrastructure which now passes 92 percent of American homes. He said that the broadband stimulus grant program of the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service was an opportunity to bring broadband to Americans who lack the ability to receive it.
Boucher said he was optimistic that with coming improvements in content delivery and bandwidth capacity, the U.S. will soon pass countries like Japan and South Korea in broadband speeds available to the home.
“You’re the leader in providing broadband across our country,” Boucher said, referring to the cable industry.
Boucher said he was disappointed by the nation’s 16th place ranking in broadband availability.
Broadband is as necessary for economic performance in today’s world as electricity and the telephone service were in times past, he said.
Communities need broadband to compete in the 21st century economy, Boucher said. He called for the cable industry to make full use of grant programs provided by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act: “For the sake of our national economy, we can and we must do a lot better than 16th in the world.”
Previous RUS grant programs have been “a genuine benefit” to rural districts by allowing them to upgrade networks to provide broadband service using federal grants, Boucher said.
In some instances, the grants have allowed broadband to reach districts like Boucher’s for the very first time, he said.
Boucher implored the industry to be “very aggressive” in applying for stimulus grants. The cable industry’s participation is essential for grant money to be spent in a way to properly stimulate the economy, he said.
“I would like to see the example [of local Virginia congressional district spending] repeated hundreds of times over.”
Universal Service
With Universal Service Fund Contributions at 32 Percent, Experts Debate Its Sustainability

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2009 – The NTIA/RUS broadband grant program is “a landmark opportunity” for the cable industry, House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., said Thursday during a speech at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association’s annual convention here.
Boucher praised the industry for its investment in infrastructure which now passes 92 percent of American homes. He said that the broadband stimulus grant program of the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service was an opportunity to bring broadband to Americans who lack the ability to receive it.
Boucher said he was optimistic that with coming improvements in content delivery and bandwidth capacity, the U.S. will soon pass countries like Japan and South Korea in broadband speeds available to the home.
“You’re the leader in providing broadband across our country,” Boucher said, referring to the cable industry.
Boucher said he was disappointed by the nation’s 16th place ranking in broadband availability.
Broadband is as necessary for economic performance in today’s world as electricity and the telephone service were in times past, he said.
Communities need broadband to compete in the 21st century economy, Boucher said. He called for the cable industry to make full use of grant programs provided by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act: “For the sake of our national economy, we can and we must do a lot better than 16th in the world.”
Previous RUS grant programs have been “a genuine benefit” to rural districts by allowing them to upgrade networks to provide broadband service using federal grants, Boucher said.
In some instances, the grants have allowed broadband to reach districts like Boucher’s for the very first time, he said.
Boucher implored the industry to be “very aggressive” in applying for stimulus grants. The cable industry’s participation is essential for grant money to be spent in a way to properly stimulate the economy, he said.
“I would like to see the example [of local Virginia congressional district spending] repeated hundreds of times over.”
Expert Opinion
Brent Skorup and Michael Kotrous: Modernize High-Cost Support with Rural Broadband Vouchers

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2009 – The NTIA/RUS broadband grant program is “a landmark opportunity” for the cable industry, House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., said Thursday during a speech at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association’s annual convention here.
Boucher praised the industry for its investment in infrastructure which now passes 92 percent of American homes. He said that the broadband stimulus grant program of the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service was an opportunity to bring broadband to Americans who lack the ability to receive it.
Boucher said he was optimistic that with coming improvements in content delivery and bandwidth capacity, the U.S. will soon pass countries like Japan and South Korea in broadband speeds available to the home.
“You’re the leader in providing broadband across our country,” Boucher said, referring to the cable industry.
Boucher said he was disappointed by the nation’s 16th place ranking in broadband availability.
Broadband is as necessary for economic performance in today’s world as electricity and the telephone service were in times past, he said.
Communities need broadband to compete in the 21st century economy, Boucher said. He called for the cable industry to make full use of grant programs provided by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act: “For the sake of our national economy, we can and we must do a lot better than 16th in the world.”
Previous RUS grant programs have been “a genuine benefit” to rural districts by allowing them to upgrade networks to provide broadband service using federal grants, Boucher said.
In some instances, the grants have allowed broadband to reach districts like Boucher’s for the very first time, he said.
Boucher implored the industry to be “very aggressive” in applying for stimulus grants. The cable industry’s participation is essential for grant money to be spent in a way to properly stimulate the economy, he said.
“I would like to see the example [of local Virginia congressional district spending] repeated hundreds of times over.”
-
Artificial Intelligence3 months ago
U.S. Special Operations Command Employs AI and Machine Learning to Improve Operations
-
Broadband Roundup3 months ago
Benton on Middle Mile Open Access Networks, CENIC Fiber Route in California, Investors Buying Bitcoin
-
Section 2304 months ago
President Trump’s FCC Nominee Grilled on Section 230 During Senate Confirmation Hearing
-
Artificial Intelligence2 months ago
Artificial Intelligence Aims to Enhance Human Capabilities, But Only With Caution and Safeguards
-
Broadband Roundup3 months ago
Trump Signs Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence, How Not to Wreck the FCC, Broadband Performance in Europe
-
5G4 months ago
5G Stands to Impact Industry Before Consumers, Says Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg
-
Fiber2 months ago
Smaller Internet Providers Were Instrumental to Fiber Deployment in 2020, Says Fiber Broadband Association
-
#broadbandlive3 months ago
Broadband Breakfast Live Online Event Series on ‘Tools for Broadband Deployment’ on Enhancing Rural America
1 Comment