Nebraskas Senator Ben Nelson welcomed an announcement by Vice President Biden that $4 billion will be available on a competitive basis for rural broadband and Senator Nelson encouraged broadband providers across Nebraska to apply for funding.

The $4 billion is the first round of $7.2 billion in funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to expand broadband access in un-served and underserved communities.

Broadband is a vital piece of infrastructure, said Senator Nelson. Quick and reliable broadband access keeps Nebraskas small businesses competitive and lays the groundwork for future growth. Broadband allows our schools and educational facilities to be connected with the push of a button and provides our public safety services and health care providers with the information they need at a moments notice.

As providers across the state have invested in broadband infrastructure over the last several years, Nebraska has seen historic growth. The state had 71,451 high speed lines in 2001 with the number growing to 633,593 lines by 2007.

In 2002, this Commission opened an investigation to monitor broadband deployment in Nebraska and while significant progress has been made we still have consumers that our service providers are unable to economically provide broadband, said Commissioner Frank Landis, Chairman of the Nebraska Public Service Commission. It is my expectation the funds from the stimulus package will be used to extend the availability of broadband in the state to further the goal of providing advanced telecommunications to all our residents.

While Nebraskas private telecommunications companies have taken great strides in our effort to deploy broadband services to every community, it is critical to receive federal grant support to ensure that those Nebraskans living and working in extremely rural areas have the same access to broadband technology.
The ARRA grants will provide an opportunity for companies like Great Plains Communications to expand our broadband coverage to areas where it would otherwise be impossible from a financial perspective, said Ken Pfister, vice president of strategic planning for Great Plains Communications. GPC is the largest Nebraska-owned telecommunications provider in the state.

Funds will be distributed through both the Commerce Departments National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agricultures Rural Utilities Service (RUS). According to the Vice Presidents office, both will be accepting applications for loans, grants and loan/grant combinations to be awarded by each agency under a single application form. This collaborative approach will ensure that the agencies' activities are complementary and integrated, make the best use of taxpayer funds and make it easier for applicants to apply for funding.