As the broadband stimulus bill stumbles through Senate revisions, the New York Times reports that a number of changes have been made to the bill, not least of which is a reduction of spending on broadband -- from $9 billion to $7.5 billion. Tax credit stimulus language that could have given Verizon $1.6 billion in tax credits for doing nothing differently (deploying "next gen" service to already served areas). Tax credits for low income areas have also been cut (Verizon's deals with NYC, Philly & DC require even coverage anyway).The Times notes that the cable industry is trying to get the definition of "next generation" broadband reduced from 100Mbps to 50Mbps, since that's what many of them already planned to offer. Differences between the House (which offers $6 billion in funding but no tax credits) and the Senate version now need to be hashed over in committee. The Obama camp insists that this initial flood of cash is only the first step in what will be a significant effort to shore up this nation's broadband coverage and competitive shortcomings.