Cell Phone Companies Jockeying For Broadband Grants

by Darren

Cell phone companies are very eager to get their hands on some of the $7.2 billion in government money that Barack Obama is giving out in “broadband grants.” They want the bar to set very low for their involvement.

The U.S. Commerce Department will disperse most of the broadband funding included in the Obama administration’s stimulus valued at nearly $800 billion. The broadband portion aims to bring technology to unserved and underserved areas.

“If we are to reach the goal of ubiquitous broadband availability, we must use all tools available and the private sector should be a part of that,” Curt Stamp, president of the Independent Telephone and Telecommunication Alliance, told a public meeting on the program.

Details are scant on just how the money will be dole out, but that hasn’t stopped the companies from making plans on what would happen if they could get some of this fresh government cheese. In order to be chosen, private companies will need to prove that their projects “serve the public trust.”

Tags: Broadband Grants, Cell Phone