[1st-mile-nm] CenturyLink Accepts Nearly $506 Million in Annual Support from Connect America Fund

[Michael Harris]

So I see notices of these awards somewhat regularly, and yes, it would be
great if the money go go to a local ISP instead of a big telco. Where/how
would a local ISP go about applying for this fund or others like it? There
is precious little information on the FCC's website, and the USDA grants
requests I've read about on here don't just say "go here, download this
form, and mail to so-and-so."

Anyone have ideas? Links? Contacts?

-Michael

On Thu, Aug 27, 2015 at 5:04 PM, Richard Lowenberg <rl at 1st-mile.org> wrote:

> Thanks for the comment, Chris.   I easily agree.
>
> Additionally, concerning is that the FCC is subsidizing less than
> its stated minimum bandwidth recommendation, with The Connect America Fund
> support enabling CenturyLink to deliver broadband at speeds of often
> no more than 10 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps uploads to nearly 1.2 million
> homes and businesses in its rural service areas (where the cost of
> broadband
> deployment might otherwise be prohibitive).   This action will only
> perpetuate the widening of the rural digital divide for millions.
>
> RL
>
>
>
> On 2015-08-27 13:59, Christopher Mitchell wrote:
>
>> I would love to see what some of the local providers could do with $11
>> million. Though it may not reach 25,000 in the same time span that
>> CenturyLink can owing to its historic monopoly, I suspect the social
>> benefits would be significantly larger and would actually lead to more
>> investment in the future. Dumping more money into a monopoly that has
>> little ambition to ever meet the needs of its captive audience is a
>> bad decision.
>>
>> Seeing government put $11 million into a company that offers such a
>> poor service, whether measured technically or by the customer service,
>> is upsetting.
>>
>> Not that this is the fault of the employees, who I have no doubt work
>> hard. But rather a system designed in the interests of a few to the
>> detriment of most of us.
>>
>> Christopher Mitchell
>> Director, Community Broadband Networks
>> Institute for Local Self-Reliance
>>
>> http://www.muninetworks.org [5]
>>
>> @communitynets
>> 612-276-3456 x209 [6]
>>
>> On Thu, Aug 27, 2015 at 2:54 PM, Richard Lowenberg <rl at 1st-mile.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> CenturyLink Accepts Nearly $506 Million in Annual Support from
>>> Connect America Fund to Expand
>>> and Support Broadband for Over 2.3 Million Consumers in 33 States.
>>>
>>> The Connect America Fund support will enable CenturyLink to deliver
>>> broadband at speeds of at
>>> least 10 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps uploads to nearly 1.2 million
>>> homes and businesses in
>>> its rural service areas where the cost of broadband deployment might
>>> otherwise be prohibitive.
>>>
>>> “CenturyLink’s acceptance of over one-half billion dollars from
>>> the Connect America Fund
>>> represents a huge investment in broadband for its rural
>>> customers,” said FCC Chairman Tom
>>> Wheeler. “This is the largest amount accepted by any company to
>>> date – and the opportunities
>>> that modern broadband will provide for the rural communities
>>> CenturyLink serves are priceless.”
>>>
>>> The allocation in NM:
>>> Number of homes and businesses reached: 25,308
>>> Amount to be spent: $10,942,747
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0827/DOC-335071A1.pdf
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> 1st-mile-nm mailing list
>> 1st-mile-nm at mailman.dcn.org
>> http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/1st-mile-nm
>>
>
> --
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director
> 1st-Mile Institute     505-603-5200
> Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504,
> rl at 1st-mile.org     www.1st-mile.org
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> _______________________________________________
> 1st-mile-nm mailing list
> 1st-mile-nm at mailman.dcn.org
> http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/1st-mile-nm
>



-- 
Michael Harris
--
President, Visgence Inc.
www.visgence.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/1st-mile-nm/attachments/20150827/4d5902ad/attachment.html>