Transcript Document

Rural Development Telecommunications Program Overview
Rural Telecon ’07 Conference
Springfield, IL
October 16, 2007
Rural Development
1400 Independence Ave.
Washington, DC 20250
www.usda.gov/rus/telecom
Presenter:
Mary Campanola
Outreach Coordinator
Telecommunications
Program
202-720-8822
[email protected]
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Telecommunications Program
Vision
Mission
Rural America will have access to
affordable, reliable, advanced
communications services to provide a
healthy, safe and prosperous place to
live and work.
To improve health, safety, education,
economic opportunity, and quality of
life in rural America through
leadership and investment in
communications infrastructure and
services.
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Rural Development Utilities Programs
Support for Telecommunications Loan and Grant Applicants
•
Strong Local Leadership in Rural Development State Offices
– State Directors and Office Staff work with local communities to identify
potential projects and state needs.
– State Offices can be identified at:
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/recd_map.html
•
Telecom Program Staff provide Financial and Engineering support and
guidance in all 50 states.
– 28 General Field Representatives monitoring more than 1000 telecom
and broadband loan and grant projects across the country.
– These same field representatives provide technical assistance to
potential applicants and provide information to communities who are
interested in broadband deployment.
– Identify your local field representative at:
http://www.usda.gov/rus/telecom/staff/gfr-state-list.htm
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Rural Development Utilities Programs
The RD Telecommunications Program loan and grant
programs
• Infrastructure Loan Program: Loans to local
telephone companies for improving telecommunications
service in rural communities
• Broadband Access Loan Program and Community
Connect Grant Program: Loans and grants for local
telephone companies and other service providers who
offer Broadband (high-speed Internet) services in
eligible communities
• Distance Learning/Telemedicine Loan and Grant
Program: Loans and grants for providing Distance
Learning and Telemedicine services to rural residents
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Rural Development Telecommunications Program
More than $6 billion invested in rural telecom infrastructure since 2001……
Community Connect
•Since its inception, the program has
provided 148 grants and invested almost
$70 million to provide service to local
communities.
•Awarded $8.9 million in grants in FY 2007.
Broadband Loan Program
•80 loans have been made, for $1.6 billion,
for broadband deployment in more than
1900 communities.
•More than 1.1 million households will
receive broadband access under loans made.
Distance Learning and Telemedicine
•$306 million in DLT grants and loans have
been awarded.
•In FY 2007, 78 grants and 11 loan/grant
combinations were awarded. 699 educational
centers and 512 health centers have gained
access to improved services.
Infrastructure Program
•Assists the private sector in developing and
financing the construction of telecom
infrastructure in rural America.
•$3.7 billion in principal outstanding; 550
borrowers.
•92% of borrowers are providing Broadband
service.
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Broadband Loans…
Purpose
To provide loans for the cost of
construction, improvement, and
acquisition of facilities and equipment
for broadband services in
eligible rural communities.
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Broadband Loans…
FY 2007 Budget
Treasury Rate Funding:
$998 Million
(includes carryover funding from FY 2006)
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Broadband Loans…
Statistics
209 Applications Received
Totaling $4,459,301,223
Applications Processed as of September 30, 2007
80 Approved
18 In Review
111 Returned
$1,609,432,931
$ 621,000,840
$2,240,000,000
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Broadband Loans…
Status and Results (as of 9/30/07)
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•
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Established by the 2002 Farm Bill.
2007 Farm Bill reauthorization in process.
Originally envisioned to fund $2 billion in rural
broadband deployment by 2007.
To date, 80 loans have been made for
approximately $1.6 billion to finance facilities in
40 states.
– Projects proposing to serve more than 1.1
million subscribers
– 1,979 communities
8 projects completed in Kansas, Louisiana,
Michigan, North Dakota, Nebraska, South
Dakota, Texas and Washington
8% 0%
12%
23%
57%
Completed
In Progress
Not Started
Rescinded
Defaults
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Broadband Loans…
Types of Organizations Funded
7%
One Size Does Not Fit All…
1% 3%
•Private/public partnerships
•Traditional telephone companies
enhancing service offerings
36%
53%
As of 9/30/2007
Municpalities
Corporations
LLCs
Cooperatives
Tribal Authority
•Local service providers serving one
or a few local communities
•National service providers providing
service to multiple communities,
even multiple states
•Municipalities
•33% of applications approved have
been from startup companies
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Broadband Loans…
Types of Technologies Funded
1%
19%
36%
Broadband Over
Power Line (BPL)
DSL
Fixed Wireless
26%
18%
Hybrid Fiber/Coax
Fiber to the Home
As of 9/30/07
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Broadband Loans…
Eligible Entities
Who is eligible?
•
•
•
•
•
Corporations
Limited Liability Companies
Cooperative or Mutual Organizations
Indian Tribes
Public Body
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Broadband Loans…
Ineligible Entities
Who is not eligible?
• Individuals
• Partnerships (including LLPs)
• Any entity serving more than 2% of the
telephone subscriber lines installed in the
United States
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Broadband Loans…
Direct Cost-of-Money Loans
Bear interest at the cost of money to the
Treasury for comparable maturities.
The interest rate is set at the
time of each advance of funds
The current rates can be found at:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/update
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Broadband Loans…
Application Information
The regulation, application, application
guide, and all other relevant information is
available on our website at:
www.usda.gov/rus/telecom/broadband.htm
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Broadband Loans…
Application Information
New Broadband Loans Search Tool
Listing of all approved and pending communities:
http://broadbandsearch.sc.egov.usda.gov/SearchTabs.aspx
This new search tool is regularly updated.
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Broadband Loans…
Application Submission
• Prospective applicants should contact their
respective General Field Representative (GFR) prior
to submitting the application
• List of the GFRs and the contact information is included
in Application Guide
• There is no deadline to submit applications
• Applications will be reviewed and processed on a
first-come, first-served basis
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Broadband Loans…
Key Components of an Application
Credit Support
Business Plan
Market Survey
Financial Information
System Design
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7 CFR Part 1738: Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program
Proposed Rule Published May 11, 2007; Public Comments Were Due July 10, 2007
Rural Development’s Goals:
Ensure that rural residents have
access to affordable and reliable
quality broadband service in rural
communities
Make sound lending decisions and to
ensure positive investment of taxpayer
dollars
Our Proposed Rules will…
 Promote deployment to rural areas with little or no service
 Limit funding in urban areas and areas where a significant share of the market
is served by incumbent providers
 Clarify and streamline the equity and marketing survey requirements
 Increase the transparency of the application process
 Promote a better understanding of all application requirements
 Ensure that projects funded are keeping pace with increasing demand for
bandwidth
2007 Farm Bill Will Also Impact Broadband Program
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What is Community Connect?
• A nationally competitive grant program to provide
broadband service on a “community-oriented
connectivity” basis to the most rural and
economically challenged communities.
• Since its inception, the Community Connect
program has provided 148 grants and invested
almost $70 million to provide service to local
communities.
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Program Basics
• Serves one Community
• Community without Broadband
• Provides a Community Center
• Free service to Critical Facilities
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New for 2008
• Added Rand McNally as a community
qualifier if the Census is not recognizing a
community
• Using MHI based on the state average
rather than PCI based on the national level
• Clarified allowable operating expenses
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Benefits
1. Fosters economic growth
2. Delivers enhanced:
•
•
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Educational opportunities
Health Care
Public Safety Services
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Keys to Success
• Good management of the project
• High local involvement; especially local
leadership
• Good service at reasonable rates
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Distance Learning/ Telemedicine Programs
The DLT Grant and Loan Programs
provide rural communities with
opportunities to obtain educational
and medical services from distant
locations utilizing
communications
technologies.
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DLT…
FY 2007 Budget
• Combination Loan/Grant: $50,000,000
– $45,000,000 Loan/$5,000,000 Grant
• 9:1 Ratio
• Maximum Amount: $20,000,000
• Minimum Amount: $50,000
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DLT…
FY 2007 Budget
ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS
• Combination Loan/Grant: $25,000,000
– $20,000,000 Loan/$5,000,000 Grant
• 4:1 Ratio
– Maximum Amount: $1,000,0000
– Minimum Amount: $50,000
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DLT…
FY 2007 Budget
• 100% DLT LOANS
$62,900,000
• Maximum Amount: $20,000,000
• Minimum Amount: $50,000
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DLT Grants…
Eligibility
What Kind of Projects are Eligible for Grants?
•Just about every type of organization is eligible to apply – except
individuals
•Benefits must flow to rural areas (not urban clusters over 20,000 or
urbanized areas)
•Distance Learning and Telemedicine are defined for the grant program to
exclude “on campus” benefit
•Telecommunications service (the transport mechanism itself) is not eligible
for grants
•Every year the emphasis from applicants changes – in recent years
electronic medical technologies, such as Picture Archival and
Communications Systems (PACS), have become dominant
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Distance Learning Project
Examples
•Enabling small rural schools to remain accredited
– and viable – by sharing teaching skills and variety
of curriculum from larger schools
•Bringing specialized nonrecurring programs to rural areas
•NASA space missions
•Virtual field trips
•Offering continuing adult education and GED courses
•Delivering advanced placement college courses to high schools
•Sharing teaching resources between colleges
•Bringing accredited professional continuing education courses to
hospitals
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Distance Learning
University
Resources
Local Schools
Web
Resources
Adult Ed/GED
Resources
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Telemedicine Examples
•Providing teleradiology equipment to small hospitals and clinics to
bring imaging capability to rural patients
•Creating remote treatment/consultation capability with
videoconferencing
•Equipping visiting nurses associations with remote monitoring
capability for home patients
•Establishing remote diagnostic and monitoring capability in
ambulances
•Creating mobile or remote access capability to existing Electronic
Medical Records Systems
•Establishing Picture Archival and Communications Systems for rural
hospitals with no radiologist coverage
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Telemedicine
Schools
Local Hospital
Mobile Computing
Local
Clinics
University
Resources
Regional
Hospital
Local
Hospital
(Hub)
Home Health Monitoring
& Mobile Health Units
Electronic Med
Records
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DLT Program
Eligible Organizations
• Must operate a rural community
facility and be qualified to deliver
Distance Learning or Telemedicine
services.
• Must be legally organized with
capability to contract with USDA
Rural Development.
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DLT Grant Program
Eligible Purposes
Purchase & Installation of:
• Inside Wiring
• Telecom and Data Terminals
• Audio and Video Equipment
• Interactive Video Equipment
• Computer Hardware & Software
• Medical Equipment for Telemedicine Use
• Off-the-shelf Instructional Programming
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DLT Grant Program - 2007
• 226 Applications
• My impressions:
– More Telemedicine applications than ever before, maybe
more than Distance Learning
– Urbanized Area/Urban Cluster tool is focusing benefit on real
rural areas
– Fixed site/non-fixed site scoring has leveled the playing field
– Site classification improving but an area that needs work
– Most applicants are supporting match, Rurality and NSLP
scoring
– Most applications are from eligible entities
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DLT…
For additional information
http://www.usda.gov/rus/telecom/dlt/dlt.htm
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Rural Development Telecommunications Program Overview
Thank You
Rural Development
1400 Independence Ave.
Washington, DC 20250
www.usda.gov/rus/telecom
Mary Campanola
Outreach Coordinator
Telecommunications Program
202-720-8822
[email protected]
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