USDA Releases Report on BIP Awards

Pete CodellaBroadband

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) this week released an awards report on the ARRA-funded Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP).  The report, titled “Advancing Broadband: A Foundation for Strong Rural Communities”, summarizes BIP awards made over two rounds of funding ending late last year.

According to RUS Administrator, Jonathan Adelstein, “These investments in broadband will connect nearly 7 million rural Americans, along with more than 360,000 businesses and more than 30,000 critical community institutions like schools, healthcare facilities, and public safety agencies, to new or improved service.”

Utah Grantees

Infrastructure Projects:

Central Utah Telephone, Inc.
Basin Broadband Project
Last Mile
$620,724 Loan
$1,862,070 Grant
Central Utah Telephone, Inc., will install 71.1 miles of middle-mile underground fiber-optic cable in Juab and Millard Counties and 60 miles of HFC last-mile cable and electronics and operating systems in the communities of Delta, Fillmore, Hinckley, Holden, and Lynndyl. The network will make services available to 2,107 households, 217 businesses, and 137 anchor institutions. The project will create or save seven jobs.

South Central Utah Telephone Association, Inc.
Grand Staircase High-Speed Access Broadband
Initiative
Last Mile
$9,187,244 Grant
South Central Utah Telephone Association, Inc. (SCUTA) will bring high-speed broadband service to State parks, national parks, and national monuments in the PFSA. The PFSA is a 1,416-square-mile area in south central Utah that includes Bryce Canyon National Park, Capital Reef National Park, Kodachrome State Park, Anasazi State Park, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, plus their attendant operation centers or headquarters. The area includes 18 communities in Garfield, Kane, and Wayne counties. The Grand Staircase PFSA includes 3,020 households, 212 businesses, and 47 anchor institutions. SCUTA will offer broadband data service at speeds ranging from 1.0 Mbps to 15 Mbps. The project will include both FTTH and highspeed copper networks connected through a fiber backbone to deliver service to residences, businesses, community organizations, and government facilities. The project will create or save an estimated 25 jobs.

Technical Assistance Projects:

Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation
To create regional broadband development plans and to support planning efforts that will lay the groundwork for the future development of broadband infrastructure and increased broadband access in rural areas.