Download or read book Rural Broadband Deployment written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-12-27 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: RURAL BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT: Improved Consistency with Leading Practices Could Enhance Management of Loan and Grant Programs

Download or read book Rural Broadband Deployment Improved Consistency With Leading Practices Could Enhance Management of Loan and Grant Programs written by United States. Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-07-25 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: " RUS provides loans and grants to help finance the construction of broadband infrastructure in rural America. GAO was asked to review RUS's management of its programs to fund broadband deployment, including consistency with leading practices for federal funding, program management, and broadband deployment. This report examines the extent to which RUS's procedures and activities are consistent with leading practices and how, if at all, its management practices could be improved. GAO synthesized, from federal guidance and relevant literature, a set of 10 leading practices that would be appropriate for the management of broadband loan and grant programs. GAO validated its set of practices with states that have programs similar to the RUS programs. GAO then reviewed RUS documentation and interviewed RUS officials and six program recipients, selected for having geographically dispersed projects currently under construction. Based on this information, GAO determined whether RUS's procedures and activities were consistent, partially consistent, or not consistent with each leading practice. "

Download or read book Rural Broadband Deployment Improved Consistency with Leading Practices Could Enhance Management of Loan and Grant Programs written by United States. Government Accountability Office and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Broadband Loan and Grant Programs in the USDA s Rural Utilities Service written by Congressional Research Service and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-12-30 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Given the large potential impact broadband access may have on the economic development of rural America, concern has been raised over a “digital divide” between rural and urban or suburban areas with respect to broadband deployment. While there are many examples of rural communities with state of the art telecommunications facilities, recent surveys and studies have indicated that, in general, rural areas tend to lag behind urban and suburban areas in broadband deployment. Citing the lagging deployment of broadband in many rural areas, Congress and the Administration acted in 2001 and 2002 to initiate pilot broadband loan and grant programs within the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Subsequently, Section 6103 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171) amended the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to authorize a loan and loan guarantee program to provide funds for the costs of the construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment for broadband service in eligible rural communities. The RUS/USDA houses two assistance programs exclusively dedicated to financing broadband deployment: the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program and the Community Connect Grant Program. The 110th Congress considered reauthorization and modification of the loan and loan guarantee program as part of the 2008 farm bill. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 became law on June 18, 2008 (P.L. 110-246). Title VI (Rural Development) contains authorizing language for the broadband loan program. In the 113th Congress, the 2014 farm bill (P.L. 113-79, the Agricultural Act of 2014) was signed by the President on February 7, 2014. P.L. 113-79 amends Section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb) to reauthorize the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program through FY2018. P.L. 113-79 also includes provisions to redefine project area eligibility with respect to existing broadband service, increase the program's transparency and reporting requirements, define a minimum level of broadband service, require a study on the gathering and use of address-level data, and establish a new Rural Gigabit Network Pilot Program. The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235) provided $4.5 million to the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program to subsidize a broadband loan level of $24.077 million, and $10.372 million to Community Connect broadband grants.

Download or read book Hearing to Review Rural Broadband Programs written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture. Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Recovery Act written by Mark L. Goldstein and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-08 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Access to broadband service is seen as vital to economic, social, and educational development, yet many areas of the country lack access to, or their residents do not use, broadband. To expand broadband deployment and adoption, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) provided $7.2 billion to the National Telecommunications and Information Admin. (NTIA) and the Dept. of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for grants or loans to a variety of program applicants. The agencies must award all funds by Sept. 30, 2010. This report addresses the challenges NTIA and RUS face; steps taken to address challenges; and remaining risks in: (1) evaluating applications and awarding funds; and (2) overseeing funded projects. Illus.

Download or read book Review of Rural Broadband Programs Operated by the U S Department of Agriculture s Rural Utilities Service written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture. Subcommittee on Specialty Crops, Rural Development, and Foreign Agriculture and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Telecommunications written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-10-04 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Access to affordable broadband telecommunications is increasingly viewed as vital to economic growth and improved quality of life. Broadband is particularly critical in rural areas, where advanced communications can reduce the isolation of remote communities and individuals. To extend access to broadband and therefore increase economic opportunity in rural America, RUS finances the construction of broadband through a loan program. GAO was asked to assess issues related to the loan program. This report addresses the (1) geographic distribution and financial performance of loans and (2) relationship between loans and broadband deployment and economic development, and how USDA evaluates progress towards these outcomes. To address these research questions, GAO interviewed broadband providers and stakeholders selected for their varying experiences, including those that have and have not received RUS loans. GAO also analyzed RUS and U.S. Census Bureau data from 2003-2013 as well as the most recent National Broadband Map data.

Download or read book To Review the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service Broadband Program written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Hearing to Review Rural Broadband Programs Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture. Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Telecommunications written by Mark L. Goldstein and published by . This book was released on 2014-07-25 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Access to affordable broadband telecommunications is vital to economic growth and improved quality of life. Broadband is particularly critical in rural areas, where advanced communications can reduce the isolation of remote communities and individuals. To extend access to broadband and therefore increase economic opportunity in rural America, the the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) finances the construction of broadband through a loan program. This report assessed issues related to the loan program. It addresses the (1) geographic distribution and financial performance of loans; and (2) relationship between loans and broadband deployment and economic development, and how USDA evaluates progress towards these outcomes. Tables and figures. This is a print on demand report.

Download or read book Improving Broadband Deployment written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Small Business. Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy, and Trade and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Rural Broadband written by Clyde L. Horn and published by Nova Science Publishers. This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Access to affordable broadband is seen as vital to economic growth and improved quality of life, yet its deployment in rural areas can be costly. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) appropriated funding for BIP, a USDA RUS programme to fund broadband projects to provide service to end users in mostly rural areas. This book addresses how RUS ensures that projects are completed by the deadline and as approved and the extent to which RUS provides information to show BIPs impact.

Download or read book Broadband Loan and Grant Programs in the USDA s Rural Utilities Service written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Given the large potential impact broadband access to the Internet may have on the economic development of rural America, concern has been raised over a "digital divide" between rural and urban or suburban areas with respect to broadband deployment. While there are many examples of rural communities with state of the art telecommunications facilities, recent surveys and studies have indicated that, in general, rural areas tend to lag behind urban and suburban areas in broadband deployment. Citing the lagging deployment of broadband in many rural areas, Congress and the Administration acted in 2001 and 2002 to initiate pilot broadband loan and grant programs within the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Subsequently, Section 6103 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171) amended the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to authorize a loan and loan guarantee program to provide funds for the costs of the construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment for broadband service in eligible rural communities. Currently, RUS/USDA houses the only two federal assistance programs exclusively dedicated to financing broadband deployment: the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program and the Community Connect Grant Program. RUS broadband loan and grant programs have been awarding funds to entities serving rural communities since FY2001. A number of criticisms of the RUS broadband loan and grant programs have emerged, including criticisms related to loan approval and the application process, eligibility criteria, and loans to communities with existing providers. The current authorization for the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program expires on September 30, 2007. It is expected that the 110th Congress will consider reauthorization of the program as part of the farm bill. Some key issues pertinent to a consideration of the RUS broadband programs include restrictions on applicant eligibility, how "rural" is defined with respect to eligible rural communities, how to address assistance to areas with pre-existing broadband service, technological neutrality, funding levels and mechanisms, and the appropriateness of federal assistance. Ultimately, any modification of rules, regulations, or criteria associated with the RUS broadband program will likely result in "winners and losers" in terms of which companies, communities, regions of the country, and technologies are eligible or more likely to receive broadband loans and grants. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Download or read book Broadband Loan and Grant Programs in the USDA s Rural Utilities Service written by Lennard G. Kruger and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2015-01-03 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report discusses the broadband loan and grant programs at Rural Utilities Service (RUS) that is intended to accelerate the deployment of broadband services in rural America.

Download or read book Management of Broadband Technology and Innovation written by Jyoti Choudrie and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-11-12 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When one considers broadband, the Internet immediately springs to mind. However, broadband is impacting society in many ways. For instance, broadband networks can be used to deliver healthcare or community related services to individuals who don't have computers, have distance as an issue to contend with, or don't use the internet. Broadband can support better management of scarce energy resources with the advent of smart grids, enables improved teleworking capacity and opens up a world of new entertainment possibilities. Yet scholarly examinations of broadband technology have so far examined adoption, usage, or diffusion but missed exploring the capacity of broadband networks to enable new applications, the management aspects of funding and developing broadband-enabled services, or the policy environment in which such networks are developed. This book explores a wide range of issues associated with the deployment and use of broadband including its impacts on individuals, organizations, and society, and offers a generalist understanding of the technical aspects of broadband. Management of Broadband Technology and Innovation offers insights on broadband from the perspectives of Information Systems, Management, Strategy, and Communications Policy scholars, drawing on research from these disciplines to inform diverse aspects of broadband deployment, policy, and use. Issues associated with a subject technical in nature, but now researched in many ways, are emphasised. This book explains various softer aspects of broadband deployment and use, focusing on the benefits of broadband rather than on details of the technology.

Download or read book Recovery Act Preliminary Observations on the Implementation of Broadband Programs written by Mark L. Goldstein and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-03 with total page 21 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Access to broadband service is seen as vital to economic, social, and educational development, yet many areas of the country lack access to, or their residents do not use, broadband. To expand broadband deployment and adoption, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided $7.2 billion to the National Telecommunications and Information Admin. (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for grants or loans to a variety of program applicants. The agencies must award all funds by Sept. 30, 2010. This testimony provides preliminary information on the challenges NTIA and RUS face; the steps taken to address challenges; and the remaining risks in: (1) evaluating applications and awarding funds; and (2) overseeing funded projects. Illus.