ACA: Include Small Ops in Stimulus

In separate letters to Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the American Cable Association has urged lawmakers to make federal assistance available to cable providers as part of the economic stimulus package pending in Congress to deliver faster broadband service in small and rural communities.

With minimal investment, the ACA says, the federal government can bring faster broadband speeds to thousands of smaller markets and rural areas across the country. By making grants and loans accessible to local operators to build higher-capacity connections to the national fiber network, broadband speed would be increased by as much as 10 times.

The House of Representatives passed its economic stimulus package (H.R. 1) on Jan 28. The Senate version of the bill is still being debated. Upon passage of the Senate version, the House and Senate will need to reconcile the difference in the two bills.