Tykeson Calls For Broadband Loan Reforms
BendBroadband CEO Criticizes Rural Utilities Services Program
By Ted Hearn -- Multichannel News, 10/23/2007 12:53:00 PM
Washington – Testifying before a House subcommittee, BendBroadband CEO Amy Tykeson said Tuesday that the federal government had to stop providing loans to broadband providers interested in offering service to consumers who already have access to high-speed Internet access.
Tykeson, echoing concerns raised by cable officials for several years, took aim at a Rural Utilities Service (RUS) program, claiming that funds intended for areas truly unserved were flowing to companies that compete with cable competitors. The RUS is an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Subsidizing competition is a waste of scare RUS loans funds that should instead be targeted to areas where a market-based solution has not developed,” Tykeson said, noting that cable’s broadband lines pass about 94 million U.S. homes.
Tykeson, whose Oregon-based company is privately held, appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies.
The RUS, Tykeson said, made a loan to a company within BendBroadband’s own 60,000-home service area, which is also served by two other broadband providers, Qwest and wireless provider Clearwire.
“Notwithstanding this information, the RUS granted the application for a loan to offer subsidized service there,” she said.
