Monday Evening Links > Groups Recommend Rules for Broadband Grants

Government agencies tasked with handing out about US$7 billion in broadband deployment grants over the next couple of years should provide competition in areas where existing services are lacking and should give priority to local broadband providers over national ones, some broadband advocates said Monday.

Scott also called on the government to fund high-speed networks, not just basic broadband. A carrier being local should be "a factor to their advantage," Pickering added.

"Funds should be targeted predominantly to unserved areas presently lacking any broadband service," he wrote in an e-mail. "This approach is minimalist in the sense that trying to do more is likely to be less impactful and more wasteful. Figuring out which areas meet an 'underserved' criterion and how to disburse funds in a way that efficiently addresses such 'underservedness' is a much more difficult task than identifying areas without service and directing funds to a provider to serve those areas."

said by fAcEtIOUs:

Government agencies tasked with handing out about US$7 billion in broadband deployment grants over the next couple of years should provide competition in areas where existing services are lacking and should give priority to local broadband providers over national ones, some broadband advocates said Monday.