Barack Backs Broadband with MegaBucks

11 Feb 2009 | 08.03 Europe/London

The US Senate has passed President Obama's $827bn "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" which includes several billion dollars in measures to map and increase broadband coverage.

Congress's version of the bill, passed last month, includes $350 million for a broadband data collection effort to allow states to track – and, specifically, map – the availability of broadband access, and $2.85 billion to implement a wireless and broadband deployment grants program, with $1 billion of that set going to wireless. The grants come with open-access stipulations.

Senators were more generous in legislating for a total of $7 billion:

$100 million for distant learning and telemedicine loans and grants

$200 million (3% of the $7 billion) for public computer center capacity at community colleges and public libraries

$250 million (3.6%) for grants for innovative programs to “encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service”

$10 million for the Department of Commerce audit and oversight of the program

$3.325 billion (50%) for USDA RUS rural grants and loans

$350 million (5%) for the creation of a “broadband inventory map”

$210 million (3%) for administrative costs (subtract 10% of each of the amounts above)

Further measures in the Senate bill provide for ten per cent tax credits to builders of current-generation broadband networks, rising to 20% for next-generation networks and for bringing current-generation services to "unserved subscribers". The 20 per cent tax credit could be worth over $1 billion to Verizon who are rolling out their FiOS next-generation fibre to the home (FTTH) service.

The next step is for Congress and the Senate to merge their bills into a single legislation for the President to sign, with the intention that this will happen next week. Some of the measures may be adjusted to reach a consensus.

Further details at [TMCnet]