Rural Broadband Loans Reason for Economic Improvement

RURAL BROADBAND LOAN PROGRAM REASON FOR ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENT AND COMMUNITY GROWTH
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications Cooperative Association press release]
On behalf of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), Larry Sevier, CEO of Rural Telephone Service Company and Nex-Tech (Lenora, Kan.) testified Wednesday before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee during its hearing on the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program. The broadband programs are administered by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS). In his testimony, Sevier told the committee that Rural Telephone -- which has used the traditional RUS Loan Program for more than 50 years -- received a loan in 2000 under the RUS Broadband Pilot Program which enabled it to bring broadband service to two communities in its service area. Nex-Tech has since received three additional loans totaling $15 million to bring broadband service to additional communities. Sevier also testified that Rural Telephone will be using the traditional RUS Program to fund a planned acquisition of 12 additional exchanges and an accompanying rebuild of fiber, to provide high-speed Internet service to communities in these areas that currently have limited or no Internet service at all. Sevier concluded his testimony by noting that while he is aware of some criticism of the program, the program operates at a relatively inexpensive cost and little risk to the taxpayer, and that the benefits of economic stability and community growth which result from the programs make the risk of providing service worthwhile.
http://www.ntca.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?content_item_id=4311&folder_id=644