wires going into a router

Our Take:

For years, the cable industry has sounded alarm bells over the administration of money for broadband projects by the Rural Utilities Service. Politico found that roughly half of the nearly 300 projects the government agency approved as part of the 2009 Recovery Act  have not yet drawn down the full amounts of funds they were awarded. More than 40 projects never got started at all. And if these networks do not draw all their cash by the end of September, they will have to forfeit what remains—as much as $277 million, Politico reported. It’s an issue Cablefax has followed for years. The stimulus rules for $7.2 billion in funding for broadband infrastructure loans and grants for RUS and NTIA drew the ire of the American Cable Association at the time. Problems included RUS giving preference to past borrowers. The GAO also has weighed in on the issue, recommending in 2010 more stimulus fund oversight. Check out Politico’s deep dive into the issue below.

In September 2011, as the U.S. economy continued to sputter in the shadow of the Great Recession, Jonathan Adelstein offered a bold promise on behalf of a tiny federal agency that had long strived to improve the lives of rural Americans. The administrator of the little-known Rural Utilities Service had just finished announcing $3.5 billion in aid to…

Read More at Politico

The Daily

Subscribe

Next Frontier: CableLabs Explores More than Speed Connectivity Era

Internet speed records are all the rage these days, with two separate breakthroughs making the headlines recently. One is more in the distant future, but the other hits closer to home.

Read the Full Issue
The Skinny is delivered on Tuesday and focuses on the cable profession. You'll stay in the know on the headlines, topics and special issues you value most. Sign Up

Calendar

Sep 11
2025 Faxies Awards Faxies Nominations Open! Final deadline: 4/4/25
Full Calendar

Jobs

Seeking an INDUSTRY JOB or hiring for one?
VIEW JOBS

In conjunction with our sister brand, Cynopsis, we are offering hiring managers a deep pool of media-savvy, skilled candidates at a range of experience levels and sectors. The result will be an even more robust industry job board, to help both employers and job seekers.

Contact Carley Ashley, [email protected], for more information about posting a job on the website and our Jobs newsletter, sent twice weekly to 85,000 media professionals.