Broadband, 911 in Mix as Senate Gets Back to Farm Bill
New provisions on broadband mapping and 911 services are among amendments likely to be adopted in a multi- titled farm bill (HR-2419) on which the Senate resumed work Friday after nearly a month of inactivity. Leadership limited amendments to 40, half Democrat and half Republican. That forestalled a reprise of the amendment clog that paralyzed the measure on the floor as November began. Prospects for passage remain dim, with the White House vowing a veto.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
But telecom provisions have advanced in the five-year bill, including a $125 million rural broadband loan program and a $200 million broadband mapping program. Provisions would let state and local governments and Indian tribes use loans in rural areas to “expand or improve” interoperable emergency communications equipment. Applicants would apply for funds to the Agriculture Department Rural Utilities Service, which would have 90 days after enactment to write regulations for the 911 program.
“The farm bill came to the Senate with great momentum
it stayed within pay-as-you-go budgeting, yet provided needed investments to rural America,” Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said in a statement. Despite bipartisan support, the bill got off track when members tried to lard it with amendments, some not germane, Harkins said. Accord on a limit to amendments is a major step forward, he said. The House approved its version of the bill in July.
Telecom provisions addressed in proposed amendments are likely to get House conferees’ backing, if the bill reaches that point, Hill sources said. Senate amendments on broadband loan and mapping programs offer more detail and budgetary safeguards than does the House version.
Rural Areas A Top Priority
Loan applications by communities lacking terrestrial broadband service would have priority, the amendment says. Loan applicants would have to present business plans under which at least 25 percent of households would be served in areas lacking terrestrial broadband providers. Applicants would have to agree to build out service fully within three years of getting a loan. No loans would be made if three or more terrestrial providers offer service in a given area.
The government could require applicants to put down up to 10 percent of their own funds to get a loan. Those proposing to serve more than 20 percent of a rural market could be have to submit a market survey, which might not be required of applications seeking to serve 20 percent of a market. No one provider could use more than 20 percent of the program’s resources in any fiscal year. The government would have to report annually on how the $125 million program is used.
Some provisions would speed review of applications. The government would have to post certain information on loan applicants on its website for at least 90 days. This would included naming companies and describe areas they propose to serve. Proprietary information would remain confidential. The government would have to devise a timeline for handling applications “to ensure prompt processing,” the amendment said. Loans would have to be paid within 30 years at maximum, and could serve as adjuncts to existing loans if used to improve equipment and facilities needed to provide service.
A preliminary process would let applicants know if they stand to qualify for a loan before going the full route. The government could not set requirements for bandwidth or speed “that have the effect of precluding the use of evolving technologies appropriate for rural areas,” the amendment said. The government also would have to develop a formula ensuring fair nationwide distribution of loan funds based on the number of communities with populations of 2,500 or less.
The amendment would appropriate $5 million over five years for a National Center for Rural Telecommunications Assessment. The entity would do research, assess broadband service and ensure that programs get broadband to rural areas.
More favorable loans at 2 percent interest would be set aside for “substantially underserved trust areas.” In such places “more than 20 percent of residents do not have modern, affordable or reliable utility services,” including telecom services. The government could extend payment terms for loans in these areas, and would have to report annually to Congress on possible ways to boost services to such areas.
A separate study by the Comptroller General would address government loan decisions. It would examine why providers go for federal funding rather than relying on the private market, and evaluate whether loans improve service. The amendment has a version of the “Connect the Nation Act,” which would set up a national database of broadband providers. Other House and Senate bills pursue the same goals.
The farm bill amendment would appropriate $200 million over five years for Connect the Nation program grants. That program deems broadband service as having a data transmission rate of at least 200 kbps. Some funding would go to “improve computer ownership and Internet access for unserved, underserved and rural populations.” Funds also would go for a “map” inventorying broadband service at the census block level.
Another section of the bill would reauthorize an existing program to enhance rural distance learning and telemedicine by offering loans for instructional programming, hardware and software and other gear needed for data transmission.