RUS Targets Public Safety Financing, Rural Broadband Programs, Smartgrid
The new eligibility criteria to the Rural Utility Service telecom infrastructure loan program for public safety expand the eligible purposes for loans for the deployment of 911 access and integrated interoperable emergency communications systems, Deputy Administrator Jessica Zufolo said Tuesday. Systems include multiuse networks, homeland security communications, transportation safety communications and E-911 location technologies used outside urban areas, she said at an Internet Innovation Alliance event. The agency recently published the eligibility requirements for public safety in rural areas.
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The new lending authority complements President Obama’s initiative and Senator Rockefeller’s legislation to build a nationwide LTE public safety network, Zufolo said. The new eligibility criteria gives municipalities and public safety agencies low-cost, low-interest financing options to build out public safety broadband networks in the 700 MHz band and next-generation 911 upgrades to emergency call centers, she said. RUS has been working closely with the Rural Housing Service, which has a loan and grant program for community-based public safety infrastructure, she said. RUS plays a vital financial role as the country focuses on building out a nationwide public safety network, she said. The public safety loan program would also generate the need for highly skilled construction and engineering jobs, she said.
RUS is also heavily involved in smart grid deployment by using the telecom and electric program investments to improve the electric grid, Zufolo said. The agency’s $900 million loans in electric utility infrastructure, announced in August, include substantial investments in smart grid technologies, she said. Parallel to investments in electric system upgrades, the RUS telecom programs are also targeting smart grid, she said.
RUS is moving to implement stimulus projects, Zufolo said. The stimulus program was only able to fund one in 10 projects, she said. RUS has several other loan and grant programs available, she said. Demand for broadband financing remains an all-time high, she said. The agency’s Community Connect, Distances Learning and Telemedicine grant programs were “heavily oversubscribed” this year, she said. One of the Agriculture Department’s top priorities is to reduce the broadband gap, she said. Many rural areas remain “highly unserved,” she said. There’s not much difference between rural and urban America regarding their needs for bandwidth, she said.
Other IIA speakers touted the benefits of the AT&T/T-Mobile deal. AT&T presented state coverage maps before and after buying T-Mobile for each state, said former Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell. The differences are dramatic, said Rendell, now at Ballard Spahr, which is working on the deal for AT&T. The deal is expected to create 100,000 jobs, he said. Another 100,000 jobs could be created by LightSquared if the interference issue is solved, he said. Rendell was hired as a lobbyist for LightSquared. There’s no existing solution to expand wireless broadband to most of the country, said Bruce Mehlman, co-chair of IIA. AT&T is a member of the group.