PCCA Journal|4
th
Quarter 2014
19
TELECOM NEWS
Continued on page 20
USDA Announces Rural Broadband Investment
A
griculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on October
22 announced $190.5 million in grants and
loans to make broadband and other advanced
communications infrastructure improvements
in rural areas. USDA is providing assistance through the
Community Connect Grant program ($13,685,608), the Public
Television Digital Transition Grant program ($2,402,588),
and the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan program
($174,419,000).
Community Connect grants establish broadband service in
rural areas to boost economic growth and offer educational,
health care, social, and public safety benefits. Public televi-
sion grants help public television stations serving rural areas
acquire the equipment they need to transition from analog to
digital broadcasts. Telecommunications infrastructure loans
help maintain, upgrade, or expand rural telecommunications
networks.
Through this announcement, USDA is providing $190.5
million for 25 projects in 19 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.
Virgin Islands. Funding is contingent upon the recipients
meeting the terms of their grant or loan agreements.
Following are the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loans
that were announced. (The Community Connects Grant and
Public Television Digital Transition Grant recipients can be
found at
www.rurdev.usda.gov.)
Arkansas
Arkwest Communications, Inc., $24,015,000, to establish a fiber-
to-the-home network and make other system improvements.
Georgia
Pineland Telephone Cooperative, Inc., $16,498,000 to establish
a fiber-to-the-premises network and make other system
improvements.
Iowa
South Slope Cooperative Telephone Company, $14,690,000 to
establish a fiber-to-the-premises network and make other system
improvements.
Kentucky
Thacker-Grigsby Telephone Company, Inc., $9,595,000 to
establish a fiber-to-the-premises network and retire its copper-
based fixtures.
Missouri
Miller Telephone Company, $8,425,000 to establish a fiber-to-the-
premises network and make other system improvements.
Oklahoma
Atlas Telephone Company, Inc., $5,064,000 to establish a fiber-
to-the-home network and make other system improvements.
South Carolina
Palmetto Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc., $23,898,000 to
establish a fiber-to-the-premises network and make other system
improvements.
Tennessee
Twin Lakes Telephone Cooperative Corporation, $29,753,000 to
establish a fiber-to-the-premises network and make other system
improvements.
Texas & Oklahoma
Santa Rosa Telephone Cooperative, $10,303,000 to complete the
co-op’s fiber-to-the-premises network in Texas and make other
system improvements.
Utah & Idaho
Direct Communications Cedar Valley, LLC, $7,695,000 to
establish a fiber-to-the-home network and make other system
improvements.
Washington
Mashell Telecom, Inc. (dba Rainier Connect), $24,483,000 to
establish a fiber-to-the-premises network and make other system
updates to improve broadband delivery.
Rural Broadband Experiments DrawWide Interest
I
n November, the Federal Commu-
nications Commission announced
that its experiment exploring how
to expand robust broadband in
rural America in the most cost-effective
way has attracted almost 600 project
bids from 181 applicants, representing
nearly $885 million worth of projects.
In total, the 181 applicants proposed
to serve more than 76,000 census blocks
in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. In the
coming weeks, FCC staff will identify the
provisionally winning bidders, who then
will be required to submit information
demonstrating their financial and techni-
cal ability to participate in the $100 mil-
lion experiment. Finalists that are able to
meet financial, technical, and other regu-
latory requirements could launch their
experiments as early as spring 2015.
The FCC’s rural broadband experi-
ments will inform the agency’s broader
effort to expand rural broadband through
its Connect America Fund. They will