President Obama, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and Commerce Secretary Locke have announced investment in 66 new Recovery Act broadband projects nationwide, 37 in rural America. The $780 million in grants and loans through the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture have been matched by over $200 million in outside investment, for a total public-private investment of nearly $1 billion in bringing broadband service to rural communities.

The announcement begins the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s second round of broadband funding awards through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In all, $390.9 million will be invested in 37 projects through funding made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. An additional $21.9 millionin private investment will be provided, bringing the total funds invested to $412.7 million. To date, $1.458 billion has been awarded to construct 105 broadband projects in 37 states and one territory.

A complete list of the latest USDA broadband award recipients by state is here.

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Thursday–May 8

Cable Tells FCC to Say No to Forced ATSC 3.0 Transition

Cable is pushing back against a broadcast proposal for a mandatory ATSC 3.0/NextGen TV transition, saying it would be costly and unwanted by consumers. NAB wants the FCC to require most stations to fully transition to ATSC 3.0 by February 2028.

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