What the broadband stimulus package means to rural telcos

Less than a week after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law, some additional details about the program to award $7.2 billion for broadband have emerged, underscoring the widely held belief that small rural telephone companies--initially at least—may have the most to gain. A bit more than a third of the money will be administered through the Rural Utilities Service, which, like other divisions of the Department of Agriculture, has until Sept. 30 of this year to award that money, a close reading of the act reveals. Although rural telcos are not the only companies eligible to receive RUS money, they may be best positioned to receive it because many of them are already familiar with the process. The $2.5 billion that the RUS will administer—which may be in the form of grants, loans or loan guarantees--is essentially being added to an existing program, with a few additional stipulations.