[1st-mile-nm] Qwest Applies for RUS Broadband Stimulus Funding

[Richard Lowenberg]

http://news.qwest.com/BroadbandApplication

Qwest Seeks Federal Grant to Deploy Broadband to Rural Communities

Would Extend Broadband at Connection Speeds of 12 to 40 Mbps

DENVER, March 25, 2010 ? Qwest Communications (NYSE: Q) has filed an
application for a federal stimulus grant to extend broadband at speeds of 12 to
40 Mbps to rural communities throughout its local service region.
?Much like the water and electric programs the government established to
encourage rural development, federal grants are needed to enable the deployment
of broadband to high-cost, unserved areas,? said Steve Davis, senior vice
president of Qwest Public Policy and Government Relations.

In its application, Qwest proposes to build facilities to serve more than half a
million homes, schools, businesses and hospitals that lack access to today?s
high-speed Internet capabilities. It plans to introduce the service at download
speeds of 12 to 40 Mbps. Customers will be able to choose from a full array of
broadband services and features.

The total cost of the proposed deployment would be $467 million. Qwest is
requesting a grant for $350 million from the Broadband Initiatives Program
(BIP), which is administered by the Rural Utilities Service, an agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). When Congress enacted the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act last year, it directed the USDA to establish a
program that would stimulate broadband deployment to hard-to-serve rural areas.
The BIP provides 75 percent of the build-out costs. The remaining 25 percent, or
$117 million, would be funded by Qwest.

The rural communities included in Qwest?s broadband application are located
throughout its local service region, which is comprised of 14 Midwestern and
Western states. The area features expansive terrain where the construction of
broadband facilities is expensive and difficult, making the one-time federal
funding necessary.

?Our plan to deploy service to customers in unserved rural areas supports the
national initiative recently undertaken by the Federal Communications
Commission to ensure that all Americans have access to broadband. As the FCC
has found, access to the Internet is increasingly essential for competing and
succeeding in the world?s expanding knowledge-based economy,? Davis said.



-- 
Richard Lowenberg
1st-Mile Institute
P.O. Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-989-9110;   505-603-5200 cell
rl at 1st-mile.com  www.1st-mile.com

----------------------------------------------------------------
This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.