The funding that Congress is likely to set aside for build-outs of high-speed Internet in its economic-stimulus package falls short of what service providers say is required to reach rural and unserved areas, based on initial cost estimates by several companies.A trade group representing midsize telecom providers with 27 million customers says its members alone would require $6 billion to $6.5 billion to reach about 3.6 million homes in their territories that don’t have high-speed Internet access.That includes Qwest Communications International Inc., which says its rural build-out would cost $3 billion, but doesn’t include estimates from bigger providers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., or any cable companies.To read this report in The Wall Street Journal in full, see:
online.wsj.com/article/SB123326956344630723.html
US Telecoms Say Web Funding For Unserved Falls Short
The funding that Congress is likely to set aside for build-outs of high-speed Internet in its economic-stimulus package falls short of what service providers say is required to reach rural and unserved areas, based on initial cost estimates by several companies.