Updated: ARRA Broadband Initiatives (March 19)

Debate about the broadband divide in America resurfaced at a Thursday afternoon public roundtable about how the federal government should spend $7.2 billion in broadband. Thursday was the fourth of six days of public hearings by the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service, and the afternoon discussion, about rural and unserved areas, was the final panel focus on the broadband "have-nots." Other topics - including interconnection obligations, the role of the states, and broadband mapping - will be considered in a public forum in Washington on Monday.

Experts and citizens split words at the NTIA/RUS Thursday morning public roundtable seeking to define broadband - an essential element to determine what projects receive federal funding under stimulus spending.

The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association is fine with stimulus dollars targeting rural areas first. But the bigger question to them is: Who will do the targeting? While speaking at a Thursday roundtable on broadband stimulus funding, NTCA vice president Dan Mitchell highlighted NTCA members' records on bringing broadband service to rural customers - 91 percent according to a 2008 survey, and said the money should be sent their way to let them continue their work.

The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications & Information Administration and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service are holding a series of hearings to gain public input on how best to get over $7 billion in stimulus dollars flowing to increase the reach and use of broadband.

Telecom companies vying for $7.2 billion in broadband funds included in the economic stimulus plan urged regulators not to mandate a super-fast Internet speed as a criterion for winning the money.

In a joint proceeding, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (Department of Commerce) and the Rural Utilities Service (Department of Agriculture) are requesting comment on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Broadband Initiatives.