The House Energy and Commerce Committee will get an update by Obama administration officials next Thursday on implementation of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program, Tech Daily Dose has learned. While the panel has not noticed the hearing on finalized a witness list, one might expect officials from the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service to testify. One might also expect those representatives to declare the program's early days a success, given the preliminary figures that have been floated.
The NTIA and RUS said last week that they received almost 2,200 applications requesting nearly $28 billion in funding for proposed broadband projects across 50 states and the District of Columbia. The initial $4 billion round of grants and loans are aimed at expanding broadband access and adoption to help bridge the technological divide and create jobs building Internet infrastructure. NTIA will utilize $4.7 billion to deploy broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas and other projects while RUS will invest $2.5 billion to facilitate broadband deployment in primarily rural communities.
"Applicants requested nearly seven times the amount of funding available, which demonstrates the substantial interest in expanding broadband across the nation," NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling said in a press release. "We will move quickly but carefully to fund the best projects to bring broadband and jobs to more Americans." RUS Administrator Jonathan Adelstein added that the overwhelming response "underscores the extensive interest in expanding broadband across the country."
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