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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