Alcatel-Lucent Launches Broadband Stimulus Support Program

Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert) has launched an advisory service providing telecommunications companies, municipalities and developers assistance in applying for broadband stimulus funds as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act (ARRA) of 2009.

The new Alcatel-Lucent "Broadband for All" program provides a team of specialists able to support rural service providers, municipal customers, and private developers with such services as funding application preparation and follow-up; advocacy with the key stakeholders and agencies (National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) which are administering the funds); technology consulting and solutions; regional seminars and webinars to educate customers and consultants about the funding and application process. 

Occam Networks has created a blog on the broadband stimulus. 

Other industry suppliers, such as Cisco (News - Alert), have launched efforts that appear less extensive. Most of the sites offer information about the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program. Cisco has a wider effort, though, as it is expecting to benefit from other stimulus programs representing additional spending.

The ARRA also authorizes the spending of $39.8 billion for education, $2.1 billion for Head Start, $2 billion for early childhood education, $650 million for educational technology, $750 million for worker training, $200 million for computer centers, $500 million for adult training, $1.2 billion for youth activities. 

Cisco is expecting some percentage of all those projects will involve spending on software, training and hardware it sells. 

More than 6,200 small service providers, municipalities, utilities and developers provide communications services to residents of rural areas throughout the United States, Alcatel-Lucent notes, and few have sufficient internal resources to create winning grant applications as fast as will be required for the first round of applications, expected to be sought sometime in June. 

So the "Broadband for All" program offers telecom providers a turnkey service to apply for government funding including grant application assistance, as well as technology solutions to enable them to upgrade networks.

The Act provides more than $7 billion in grants, loans and loan guarantees to unserved and underserved rural areas, offering them broadband access and services that have been previously limited or unavailable.