House committee recommends $6 billion in broadband grants

A U.S. House of Representatives committee has recommended the U.S. government give out US$6 billion in grants for wireless and broadband roll-out in a $825 billion economic stimulus package to be considered in Congress.

The House Appropriations Committee's recommendations, released Thursday, also include $20 billion for health IT programs and $650 million to buy more coupons for digital television converter boxes, as U.S. television stations are scheduled to switch to all-digital broadcasts on Feb. 17. A $1.3 billion fund for the coupons at the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) ran out of money earlier this month.

U.S. residents receiving over-the-air broadcasts on older television sets will need to buy a converter to continue to receive TV signals after Feb. 17. The NTIA program provided $40 coupons for converter boxes, which can cost $40 to $80.

The broadband money is less than several groups had called for. A year ago, Educause, a higher education tech advocacy group, called for $100 billion in new broadband spending, with $32 billion coming from the U.S. government, spread out over four years. The money is needed to bring 100Mbps of broadband service to every U.S. home and business, Educause said.

In recent weeks, Free Press, a media reform group, has called for $44 billion in new government programs for broadband, and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) suggested a $30 billion broadband program would create about 950,000 new jobs in the U.S.

Still, Free Press applauded the Appropriations Committee recommendation. "While $6 billion is not as much as we had hoped for, it is a substantial investment that represents an important public commitment to broadband," Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, said in a statement. "This money must be tied to a single agency that can uphold clear principles of public service and enforce concrete administrative accountability."

Free Press and other groups calling for a national broadband policy say money for roll-out would create jobs and would bring new opportunities to U.S. residents in areas that do not have broadband. Some experts estimate 5 percent to 10 percent of U.S. households do not have broadband service available.

The broadband money will "strengthen the economy and provide business and job opportunities in every section of America with benefits to e-commerce, education and health-care," a House Appropriations Committee document said. "For every dollar invested in broadband the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment."

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