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PCCA Journal|1

st

Quarter 2010

29

A

griculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in January

announced the selection of 14 broadband

infrastructure projects that will receive more

than $309 million through funding made

available by the American Recovery and Re-

investment Act. An additional $3.5 million in

private investment brings the total to more than $313

million. Altogether, Congress awarded USDA $2.5 bil-

lion in Recovery Act funding to help bring broadband

services to rural unserved and underserved communi-

ties.

Below is a complete list of recent Recovery Act

Broadband award recipients by state.

Alaska

Southwestern Alaska, United Utilities, $43,982,240

grant and $44,158,522 loan. The funding will provide

middle-mile connectivity to 65 communities.

Alabama

Butler, Butler Telephone Co., Inc., $3,892,920 grant.

The funding will provide high-speed DSL broadband

service to remote, unserved households within its

rural service territory. The system is being built so

that it can be easily upgraded to accommodate future

services.

California

San Joaquin, Tranquillity, and Fresno, Audeamus,

$2,741,505 grant and $2,741,505 loan. The proposed

project is a fiber-based broadband infrastructure

for the unserved and underserved communities in

this service area. A last-mile project, it will provide

access to approximately 1,500 households, local busi-

nesses, and anchor institutions in the communities.

Iowa

Meriden and Archer, C-M-L Telephone Cooperative

Association, $1,519,225 grant and $1,519,225 loan,

$1,525,315 in matching funds. Funding will provide

services via a fiber optic network to rural communi-

ties with high-speed internet exceeding 20 Mbps.

Bennett, Delmar, and Lowden, F & B Communica-

tions, Inc., $1,609,162 grant and $1,628,588 loan.

Funding will provide services via high-speed fiber

optic network with speeds exceeding 20Mbps. Sys-

tem will allow for expansion at a future date.

Springbrook, LaMotte Telephone Company, $187,815

grant and $187,815 loan. The funding will provide

services from a 300-foot tower and Wi-Max installa-

tion for wireless broadband service in the surround-

ing area.

Kansas

Western Kansas, Rural Telephone Service Co., Inc.,

$49,588,807 grant and $51,612,842 loan. Funding will

provide service in an area 99.5 percent unserved/un-

derserved and provide a rural infrastructure required

for economic stability, education, and healthcare.

The company is a cooperative and RUS partner on

32 other projects. It leads a team of seven companies

with this shovel-ready project.

Tennessee

Northern Tennessee, North Central Telephone Coop-

erative, Inc., $24,715,709 grant and $24,964,000 loan.

The funding will provide the necessary infrastructure

to provide advanced voice, video, and data services

that exceed 20Mbps to remote and rural communities

in the service area.

Louisiana

Morehouse Parish, Northeast Louisiana Telephone

Company, Inc., $4,359,000 grant and $8,124,600

loan. Funding will provide an active Ethernet system

with symmetrical speeds of 20 Mbps. The system will

be using buried fiber to the premise.

Missouri

Ralls County, Ralls County Electric Cooperative,

$9,548,908 grant and $9,548,909 loan. Funding for

this project will provide a fiber optic network to

residential and commercial members and the un-

derserved safety and anchor agencies in the service

area. This is a State of Missouri demonstration proj-

ect, and non-proprietary data will be shared.

News Briefs

News Briefs continued on page 30

New USDA Broadband Funds Focus

on Middle- and Last-Mile Projects