Small Cable Operators Balk at Special Conditions In Broadband Stimulus Money

What if the government held a $7.2 billion cash giveaway and nobody came? The deadline for the initial round of funding for the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program is Aug. 14 and early indications are that small cable operators may sit out the program in fairly large numbers. As one long-time small cable-system operator who requested anonymity put it: "There are a lot of strings on that money." Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, has been advising some potential bidders and has heard her share of grousing over the ground rules. "I think it is a little too soon to tell whether the stimulus package is stimulating because they haven't given out any money yet," Sohn said. "That being said, there is an awful lot of concern, and not just among cable operators, but among institutional providers like libraries and schools, among small municipal Wi-Fi providers and smaller network providers, there is a lot of concern that the guidelines are not helpful for the little guys."