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PCCA Journal|1

st

Quarter 2011

11

Alaska -

Cordova Telephone Cooperative,

Inc.; $10,750,000 loan

Arkansas -

Southwest Arkansas Tel. Coop.,

Inc. $22,418,000 loan

Iowa -

Interstate 35 Telephone Company

$7,090,000 loan

Kansas -

South Central Telephone Assoc.,

Inc. $10,215,000 loan

Minnesota -

Garden Valley Telephone Com-

pany $34,177,000 loan

Montana -

Central Montana Communica-

tions, Inc.; $38,793,000 loan

Southern Montana Telephone Company;

$5,544,000 loan

Montana & Wyoming -

Range Telephone

Cooperative, Inc.; $18,000,000 loan

North Dakota -

Reservation Telephone Co-

operative $32,322,000 loan

NewMexico -

Tularosa Basin Telephone Co.,

Inc.; $8,572,000 loan

South Dakota -

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

Telephone Authority; $37,870,000 loan

Wisconsin -

Nelson Telephone Cooperative;

$22,132,000 loan

T

he U.S. Agriculture Department announced on

November 11 nearly $247.9 million in funding for

telecommunications projects that will improve

broadband service to rural residents and busi-

nesses in 11 states. This funding, which is part of the $690

million investment from USDA’s Telecommunications Infra-

structure Loan Program during fiscal year 2010, will finance

more than 16,000 miles of fiber to the home (FTTH), bring-

ing high-speed internet service to rural areas.

Administered by USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS), this

infrastructure financing is in addition to the $3.5 billion in

broadband funding RUS awarded for rural broadband projects

under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The telecommunications infrastructure program funds facili-

ties and equipment for upgrades, expansion, maintenance,

and replacement of rural networks. RUS funded approximate-

ly $537 million in FTTH projects during fiscal year 2010.

For example, in Kansas, a $10.2 million loan for South Cen-

tral Telephone Association, Inc. will be used to deploy 192

new route miles of fiber and copper cable. These upgrades

will improve service for rural residents and businesses and

help the systems meet current and future telecommunications

requirements.

In South Dakota, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Telephone

Authority, a telephone company wholly owned by Native

Americans, received a $37.9 million loan. The financing will

enable them to complete a total fiber-to-the-premises build-

out, which will bring broadband to homes and businesses in

their service area.

Funding of each recipient is contingent upon their meeting

the conditions of the loan agreement. A complete list of the

rural utilities that were selected for funding is below:

Rural Telecom Projects Get a $247.9 Million Boost

USDA Submits Comments to Support

Development of the National Broadband Plan

T

he USDA submitted com-

ments to the Federal

Communications Commis-

sion (FCC) in November to

support development of the National

Broadband Plan based on what it called

“the department’s considerable experi-

ence in financing broadband projects in

rural areas.” The FCC is implementing

the plan to guide broadband deployment

nationwide.

Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Admin-

istrator Jonathan Adelstein submitted a

letter in which he offered to make RUS

data available to the FCC as the indepen-

dent regulatory agency evaluates policy

options to advance broadband deploy-

ment. He noted that RUS loan financing

to rural telecommunications providers is

“dependent on sufficient, specific, and

predictable revenues to ensure that all

Americans enjoy the benefits of modern

telecommunications technology.” Only

four out of the current 480 RUS telecom-

munications program borrowers do not

receive federal universal service support

for high-cost areas. Adelstein said that

the two agencies can work together to

ensure that the “right mix of incentives

are available to attract private sector

investment into otherwise uneconomic

areas.”

RUS is a policy, planning, and lending

agency within the USDA and currently

manages a $56 billion portfolio consist-

ing of loans that support the construc-

tion of water and waste treatment

systems, electric systems, and broadband

networks in rural communities.

The RUS telecommunications program

currently has more than $4.2 billion

in outstanding principal, which will

increase substantially with awards this

year under the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act. The current rural loan

portfolio consists of approximately 2,337

active loans to borrowers committed

to building and upgrading broadband

capable networks across rural America.