Page 8 - PCCAJournal2ndQuarter2011

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PCCA Journal|2 nd Quarter 2011 8

T

hree-quarters of the broadband stimulus-fund-ed projects to create or expand all-fiber networks have now broken ground or are on the verge of doing so, accord-ing to a survey report issued in April by the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council. The report, prepared for the council by the market analyst firm RVA LLC, estimates that construction has begun on 38 percent of the FTTH projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvest-ment Act, while another 36 percent are actively preparing for construction to begin. Most of the remaining projects are in some stage of engineering or environ-mental impact evaluation.

The report also revealed that 7.1 mil-lion North American homes are now receiving Internet, video and/or voice services, and meter reading over end-to-end fiber networks—up from 5.8 million a year ago—as telecom providers contin-ue to upgrade their last-mile connections from copper to fiber. FTTH networks now pass nearly 21 million homes on the continent, up from 18 million a year ago. RVA President Michael Render said he expected that the recent increase in con-struction activity by the stimulus-funded projects would mean an overall uptick in FTTH deployments and connections in 2011, with the economic recovery and recent announcements of large FTTH projects in Canada also contributing to

the rise.

The increase would come after a moderation in the growth rate of FTTH network deployment over the past two years, with the increase in the annual number of new homes passed dropping to about 3 million in 2009 and 2010 after reaching more than 4 million in 2008. Render attributed that to the combined effects of the recession, a slowdown in FTTH network construction by the largest U.S. deployer Verizon as it ap-proached its project targets, and what he called the “unintended consequences of the stimulus legislation.”

“We have found in our surveys over the past two years that quite a number of FTTH builds were put on hold while

RDUP News

Continued from page 7 Florida

Talquin Electric Cooperative, Inc. - $45,360,000. Improvements will serve more than 4,000 consumers, build 150 miles of new distribution and four miles of new transmission line, and make system improvements.

Glades Electric Cooperative, Inc. - $30,382,000. Funding will be used to serve 1,500 consumers, build 688 miles of new distribution line and one mile of transmis-sion line, and make system improvements.

Georgia

Altamaha Electric Membership Corporation - $10,000,000. This project will serve over 2,000 consumers and build and improve 417 miles of distribution line.

Louisiana

South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Asso-ciation - $19,777,000. Funding will benefit over 1,800 consumers, build 16 miles of transmission line, improve 30 miles of distribution line, and make other system improvements.

Pointe Coupee Electric Membership Corpo-ration - $11,618,000 Serve 1,500 consum-

ers, build 33 miles of transmission line, and improve 24 miles of distribution line.

Concordia Electric Cooperative, Inc. - $13,182,000. USDA funding will ben-efit 4,000 consumers, build 111 miles of transmission line, and improve 40 miles of distribution line.

Minnesota

South Central Electric Association - $14,000,000. Serve 160 consumers, build and improve 219 miles of distribution line, and make other system improvements.

Missouri

Osage Valley Electric Cooperative Associa-tion - $17,150,000. This project will serve 1,240 consumers, build and improve 191 miles of distribution line, and make other system improvements.

Gascosage Electric Cooperative -

$6,500,000. Funding will be used to benefit 700 consumers, build and improve 73 miles of distribution line, and make other system improvements.

North Carolina

South River Electric Membership Corpora-

tion - $22,000,000. This project will benefit 3,100 consumers, build and improve 190 miles of distribution line and make other system improvements.

South Carolina

Edisto Electric Cooperative, Inc. - $25,000,000. Funds will be used to serve 3,400 consumers, build and improve 301 miles of distribution line, and make other system improvements.

Texas

Swisher Electric Cooperative, Inc. - $5,200,000. Funding will serve almost 1,000 consumers and build and improve 181 miles of distribution line.

Texas and Louisiana

Northeast Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc. - $91,000,000. This funding will be used to help acquire portion of ownership interest in Harrison County Power Plant.

East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc. - $131,000,000. This funding will be used to help acquire portion of ownership interest in Harrison County Power Plant.

Report Says FTTH Stimulus Projects Now Moving Forward

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