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USDA Hands Out $310 Million For Rural Broadband
Projects extend broadband's reach across 14 new communities
The Agriculture Department this week handed out an additional $310 million in stimulus money to help bring broadband service to 14 rural communities. The funding is the latest round in an $7.2 billion effort to improve broadband coverage. According to the USDA, the funding round includes an $88.1 million grant aimed at connecting 65 towns and villages in southwestern Alaska to the Internet, a $19.1 million grant and loan to a Missouri electric cooperative that's building a 5,000 home FTTH network, $3.9 million grant to a unit of TDS Telecommunications to extend DSL service in Missouri, and a $376,000 grant and loan to an Iowa telco that's building a WiMax network to reach rural areas.
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monk
@rr.com

monk

Anon

more money

the USA is running out of money stop spending it
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: more money

said by monk :

the USA is running out of money stop spending it
Um the money was already allocated in the budget. They aren't spending any extra money. Please try to stay informed.

DeathK
Premium Member
join:2002-06-16
Cincinnati, OH

DeathK

Premium Member

Re: more money

I think he meant spending less, ie. reduce the budget.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

1 edit

1 recommendation

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: more money

said by DeathK:

I think he meant spending less, ie. reduce the budget.
The point is the money is already allocated thus his point is moot and has nothing to do with the topic. If he wants to rant about the deficit there are baords for that. This is not one of them. He needs to stay on topic.
jus10
join:2009-08-04
Gainesville, VA

jus10

Member

Re: more money

I certainly think that whether or not these funds are worth increasing the deficit is relevant to the topic at hand. Since the impact affects broadband afford-ability for everyone.

On the other hand, $310 million is kinda small potatoes in terms of the overall budget. I'm still a bit amused that USDA is the one handing out these funds but I guess they had to find someone.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Re: more money

said by jus10:

I certainly think that whether or not these funds are worth increasing the deficit is relevant to the topic at hand. Since the impact affects broadband afford-ability for everyone.
Since the money is ALREADY ALLOCATED there is no way to stop spending the money. What part of that is too hard to comprehend? So yes the point is moot. Now if you want to make an argument about FUTURE spending( meaning after the initial $7.2 billion runs out ) THEN it's on topic. Since this money is part of the $7.2 billion ALREDAY ALLOCATED no it's not on topic.
On the other hand, $310 million is kinda small potatoes in terms of the overall budget. I'm still a bit amused that USDA is the one handing out these funds but I guess they had to find someone.
Yes $310 million is like having $10,000 and giving a $1 to someone. That being said this money as I have aready stated, is part of the $7.2 billion already allocated in the budget for this year. This is not extra money we are spending.

Contents
Contents
join:2003-04-10
Circle Pines, MN

Contents

Member

Re: more money

Will I get a USDA approved sticker on my cable modem?

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

Premium Member

Re: more money

quick someone photoshop one up!
jus10
join:2009-08-04
Gainesville, VA

jus10 to 88615298

Member

to 88615298
Well, Congress has the ability to rescind appropriation authority at any time as far as I know. OMB can also yank the apportionment authority. Or USDA could elect not to spend the money (although I don't know why they would do that ... usually that only happens for some legal reason like them not having the statutory authority to spend and they could just ask Congress to fix that). There are numerous ways to stop spending. Just because money has approved for spending doesn't mean it has to be spent. Although I don't think that was your point.

If your argument is that we should be focused on the outyear spending, I agree that is much easier to change. And I think this and all of the other threads in response to this topic are really dancing around the issue of "should the US government support broadband deployment in this fashion"?

Since we're on this site, I would gather a large number of folks answering "yes" to the should, and then a massive debate about "in this fashion". Particularly strong "yes" responses from those presently without broadband, which frankly, I understand.

I think the worry of many is that this money will simply be squandered and not give any more folks broadband. People want results and well, that has been a challenge for the telecom industry.

And yes, I'd like a USDA certified Organic cable modem .

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5 to 88615298

Premium Member

to 88615298
said by 88615298:

Now if you want to make an argument about FUTURE spending( meaning after the initial $7.2 billion runs out ) THEN it's on topic.
I think there was a lot of discussion about how this initial money was only the beginning of many more expenditures to expand broadband. If Obama's pronouncement of 3 yrs of stand still and some cutbacks is true, the chances of future broadband spending becomes iffy at best.

flybye
@sbcglobal.net

1 recommendation

flybye to 88615298

Anon

to 88615298
said by 88615298:

said by monk :

the USA is running out of money stop spending it
Um the money was already allocated in the budget. They aren't spending any extra money. Please try to stay informed.
You sound like a government worker and not a business person. This is the problem with the government! NO MONEY, you stop spending, even if money is allocated.

This is sort of like saying "we are filing bankruptcy anyway, what is it going to hurt to charge one more thing on the credit card honey"

asdfdfdfdfdf
@opera-mini.net

asdfdfdfdfdf

Anon

Re: more money

"You sound like a government worker and not a business person. This is the problem with the government!"

Do you have any idea how much business debt has grown over the last decades? Or how much of our economic growth has been a result of massive increases in consumer debt?

"NO MONEY, you stop spending."

The war machine doesn't run on good intentions. Should we live by the same principle of no money, no spendy here?

Z80A
Premium Member
join:2009-11-23

Z80A

Premium Member

Re: more money

Difference is I don't get to borrow in YOUR credit like Uncle Sam does. This Congress is a total disaster and this is a complete waste of money. And just because an idiotic Congress appropriates money we don't have doesn't mean it has to be spent. It just means that it is budgeted (budgeted, there's a laugh).

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

1 recommendation

fifty nine to monk

Member

to monk
said by monk :

the USA is running out of money stop spending it
You already have broadband. Let those who live in underserved areas get a chance.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

Re: more money

+1. Or people who have to pay $45 per month for 512/256 with a 25GB cap and big reliability issues.

Z80A
Premium Member
join:2009-11-23

1 edit

Z80A to fifty nine

Premium Member

to fifty nine
Broadband is not an entitlement. And where does it end? I don't have a water park in my area, perhaps Joe Taxpayer can build me one. My neighbor doesn't have a motocross track near him, perhaps Joe Taxpayer should build him one.

Enough of spending everyone else's money. If broadband is essential for someone they should have thought about that before they moved to the location they did.

To all the babies with their hands out. Adults when choosing a place to live consider many things; proximity to their job, school, crime...if broadband is essential it should have been on the list and it is not the job of Joe Taxpayer to give it to them. If they want BB so badly, let them go to their town council and get a local bond measure on the ballot.

Joe Taxpayer is not an ATM to be throttled for every luxury desired. Joe Taxpayer is not an ATM to backfill the irresponsible spending of local and State governments (like the disaster that is California).

People are going to have to start paying their own way for a change before the nation is insolvent. We have WAY biggest problems then getting someone in a rural area low latency broadband like this $1.3T yearly deficit.

Belinrahs
I have an ego the size of a small planet
Premium Member
join:2007-09-07
Nashville, MI

1 edit

2 recommendations

Belinrahs to monk

Premium Member

to monk
said by monk :

the USA is running out of money stop spending it
Clearly you live in a large area that is fortunate to have a cable provider, and you can't help but think for yourself rather than others. You already have broadband, now let's get it to the rural areas too.

I have to struggle to get internet. At my house, EVDO coverage (Millenicom) is spotty at best and I have to use a modified coffee can with a hole in the bottom for the USB stick to get a reasonable signal. What do you have to do, use a box plugged into a cable?

If I could get, at the very least, bottom-tier DSL, my life would be so much easier. No more nudging the cantenna a degree or two facing the window to get service back.

Z80A
Premium Member
join:2009-11-23

Z80A

Premium Member

Re: more money

People shouldn't move next to a freeway and then complain about the noise. If you have a problem with noise, you should have chosen better. It is not the job of Joe Taxpayer to fix your problems, particularly for non-essential services like low latency broadband.

Everyone has a want, everyone. We can't afford to fund the national make a wish program. There is no money, actually less then no money.
b10010011
Whats a Posting tag?
join:2004-09-07
united state

b10010011 to monk

Member

to monk
said by monk :

the USA is running out of money stop spending it
I got mine.

JohnNWPVNJMH
Premium Member
join:2007-03-26
Berkeley Heights, NJ

JohnNWPVNJMH to monk

Premium Member

to monk
said by monk :

the USA is running out of money stop spending it
How about the USA cut all foreign aid? Hmmm, now that's a thought.

Imagine what the USA could do with the billions they give to Israel each year? Egypt gets about 2 billion and so on. Sickening.

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fi ··· rael.gif

If America focused on America, they could fund huge R&D to the tune of the Manhattan Project to cure cancer, develop Fusion, have health care, state paid college, fiber to farmers silos and much more and that is no joke.

It's time to collect on the "loans" the US has issued to all of these welfare nations for decades!

RANT complete!

Z80A
Premium Member
join:2009-11-23

Z80A

Premium Member

Re: more money

Okay, you got back the $24B we spend in foreign aid. The deficit this year is $1,300B. And after raising discretionary spending 20%+ in the first year, Obama wants to lock in that new high rate as the new baseline with this so-called spending freeze.

Good luck. Congress has zero intention of getting the deficits back to where they were in 2006 ($161B) when the politburo took over, forget about an actual surplus that could be used for projects such as this.
decifal7
join:2007-03-10
Bon Aqua, TN

decifal7

Member

well

Well I dont', and many others here don't. Deployment isn't as spread out as they have you believe.. And were not the only country thats aware of an issue. Only thing is, other countries are actually going to do something about it.. I feel that we are just throwing green backs at dead horse's... My teleco provider and only option for provider is ATT. And from what i've gathered, they nor comcast has asked for any stimulas buildout funds in my area.... So, being my providers just simply refuse to upgrade my area and will FIGHT anybody else that tries to provide service in my area i'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

This builds anger towards these companies...
TylerCobb
Premium Member
join:2010-01-14
Bartow, GA

1 edit

TylerCobb

Premium Member

Re: well

I'm with ya... AT&T looks at us and say be quite you don't deserve that, we will just keep putting our services in cities that already have 400 high speed isp ... I wish i had my Cable internet that i had at my business ran to my house..

Swallx
@doverchem.com

Swallx to decifal7

Anon

to decifal7
I'm with ya as well. Id pay any price for bottom tier service, stuck on Wildblue because verizon cant even keep my phone line working for 24 hours at a time. Sad part is I live less than a mile from cable and DSL. I keep getting Quotes on t1's, and if the price ever drops below 350 a month, I will buy it.

jb50
@exxonmobil.com

jb50

Anon

T1 != reliability

Don't let the T1 hype fool you. I've had a T1 line for 3 years now and it's been down more times than my DSL did where I used to live. If you think about it it makes sense, since the last mile is the problem and it runs both DSL and T1 service.
heimdm
join:2008-06-22
Martinsville, IN

heimdm

Member

Re: T1 != reliability

I second that. I have a T1 for about $340 after taxes. It has gone down 3-4 times, and when it goes down it is for usually a day or two.
TylerCobb
Premium Member
join:2010-01-14
Bartow, GA

TylerCobb

Premium Member

Just give me some of the Money

I wish the USDA would give me the money because i would dig a hole and run dsl to my house....lol
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

Re: Just give me some of the Money

Fixed wireless...

dslwanter
20 years on this site
Premium Member
join:2002-12-16
Mineral Ridge, OH
·Armstrong
Ubiquiti UniFi AP-LR
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X SFP

dslwanter

Premium Member

DSL service

"$3.9 million grant to a unit of TDS Telecommunications to extend DSL service in Missouri"

Why in the hell are you going to pump money into DSL for a rural area? DSL is a distance factored technology. In a rural location, you're likely to have 10 houses on the 3 mile stretch of an ADSL signal. Let alone the fact that some farm houses are a good .25-.5 of a mile (if not more) off the road anyway. FTTH or WiMax is the way to go.

Duramax08
To The Moon
Premium Member
join:2008-08-03
San Antonio, TX

Duramax08

Premium Member

Re: DSL service

FTTH going to cost a arm and a leg and wimax only goes like 3-4 miles top. Copper is almost everywhere and they just need to put extends that can extend the signal further which is pretty cheap. let the milking begin.
Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA

Sammer

Member

Re: DSL service

said by Duramax08:

FTTH going to cost a arm and a leg and wimax only goes like 3-4 miles top. Copper is almost everywhere and they just need to put extends that can extend the signal further which is pretty cheap.
POTS copper is nearly obsolete and loses capacity quickly beyond a half mile. In rural areas things like remote central offices or terminals and pair bonding aren't cheap. A single fiber optic line can extend 12 miles at full capacity before it needs an active repeater. As for WiMax if you don't mind disappointing speeds it can work up to 30 miles or with an outdoor directional antenna with a clear line of sight to a tower that 3-4 miles you speak of can be doubled.

dslwanter
20 years on this site
Premium Member
join:2002-12-16
Mineral Ridge, OH
·Armstrong
Ubiquiti UniFi AP-LR
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X SFP

1 edit

dslwanter

Premium Member

Re: DSL service

I'm speaking from experience here. I live in a rural community and we had a cable company purchase our old out-dated cable system. In order to upgrade our system, it was cheaper for them to provide FTTH rather than trying to build a HFC network and have to use so many amps. If you're going to build a new infrastructure, I don't think they're looking for a "mid-term" investment.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to Sammer

Member

to Sammer
Duramax08 uses WiMAX and is disappointed with it. Better than the alternatives but...

The problem with fiber is construction costs. If your area has a rural telco they likely have enough copper in the area to do pair bonding. Use two pairs and, if you've got decent-quality lines you can get 3M down and 768k up without issue on a 21 kft loop.

Sure, it's not super fast VDSL but a reliable 1.5/512 or 3/768 connection is a godsend compared to the alternatives.
Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA

1 edit

Sammer to dslwanter

Member

to dslwanter
Duramax08, it's probably for a small town(s) that doesn't have DSL and / or for remote terminals. Sounds like a mid-term investment so I do agree with you that fiber would be better long term.

Duramax08
To The Moon
Premium Member
join:2008-08-03
San Antonio, TX

Duramax08 to dslwanter

Premium Member

to dslwanter
FTTH would be great but not that many people do offer it but if they want to invest into FTTH, go ahead, that would be awesome. DSL is a dying technology but you can think of it as a upgrade from dial up but within 5 years its going to be out of date (which it already is). Wimax is awesome but with the modems they offer with clear (the only wimax provider that I know of), You have to be within a 3 mile radius for a decent signal. If they offered a modem with a external antenna port, that would help out alot. being 3.47 miles from the tower with the modem point towards it direction, I get one bar with some drop outs.

So these are the options:

DSL if you want to be cheap but keeping a out of date technology alive.

FTTH if you want to have a longterm investment but paying a good amount of money upfront.

Wimax if you want to cover a decent size population with current modems.

just my opinion
ducky31
join:2009-11-10
Philadelphia, PA

ducky31

Member

Gifts of Jobs & Money From Insider "Haves" To Fellow "Haves"

This is basically the story of the Broadband Stimulus program. To the best of my knowledge, virtually every proposal that has gotten a green light (either through BTOP/RUS or the Broadband Mapping program) has been submitted by an established entity of some standing. Examples include: State governments that plan to use current staff to do the work, well-funded entities like Connected Nation, and public-private partnerships between well-known organizations.

Where are the small businesses, the organizations that are not part of that cozy inner circle consisting of the 'usual suspects'? Where are those that lack the resources to pay DC lobbyists to argue their cause(s)? Where are those the decision makers hadn't ever heard of?

Among the primary goals of the BTOP/BIP programs, per the Federal Register, is the creation of jobs. Where are they? I'm not seeing them. Thus, the whole thing is striking me as a not-at-all funny joke. Once again, I might add, the joke is on us.

•••••

cableties
Premium Member
join:2005-01-27

cableties

Premium Member

Wire up those fields, boys!

Cuz we gotta control those robot-farming-machinery remotely!

Robots...the future of development and food production!
Sign here_____

monk
@rr.com

monk

Anon

got you talking

give to all but what do we do when there is no more

mbaha
join:2009-03-01

mbaha

Member

Twitering corn!!

Now the corn can twit too

SimbaSeven
I Void Warranties
join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT

1 edit

SimbaSeven

Member

Montana left in the Dark.. Again..

Like I said.. We're the LAST to see anything updated.

..not to mention, do most of these places already have broadband available in most of the state (except for Alaska)?
bobb4jesus
join:2008-12-09

bobb4jesus

Member

Re: Montana left in the Dark.. Again..

No worries friend. You're not alone. Here in southeast Ohio, less than five miles from Cable, DSL, Fiber, 3G and nearly every other form of broadband (oh yeah, and on a main highway). Connect Ohio is a joke and we're probably never gonna get broadband aside from moving. Hughesnet is the best we can get for now.

Alltel
@alltel.net

Alltel

Anon

DSL is dead

DSL is such outdated technology, it should not even be considered because you can't get any range. It is like someone else said on here either LTE technology or some form of evdo is the only way to go just don't let verizon do it. They will try to put a 5 gig limit on it and it wont help nobody