Senator Gillibrand’s Bill would Amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936

A legislative initiative by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) called the Broadband Connections for Rural Opportunities Program Act of 2012 (B-CROP Act, S. 2275) has been introduced for the purpose of supporting rural broadband projects. According to Bennet & Bennet PLLC’s Rural Spectrum Scanner, “The B-CROP Act would amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 and would authorize the awarding of grants covering up to 50% of eligible project development costs to bring broadband services to rural communities in which there is no other business case for private investment for broadband.”

A September 14, 2011 story in Potsdam, NY’s North Country Now explains Senator Gillibrand’s intentions with the B-CROP Act: “create a new competitive rural broadband grant program to provide adequate resources to private sector providers as well as state and local governments, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit economic development organizations to expand broadband access to underserved rural areas.” Additionally, “The bill also aims to streamline and improve broadband grant and loan programs.”

Senator Gillibrand introduced the legislation to the Senate on March 29, 2012, and the bill has been referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. The draft legislation, available to read here, explains that entities eligible to participate in a Broadband Connections for Rural Opportunities Program include private sector providers, state, local, or tribal governments, municipal providers, cooperatives, institution of higher educations, nonprofit organizations, or public economic development organizations.  The purposes of the grant program are: “(1) to enhance the feasibility of providing broadband service to eligible rural communities; and (2) to deploy broadband telecommunications networks and capabilities to areas in which there is not  otherwise a business case for private investment in a broadband network, with a focus on unserved eligible rural communities.”

The legislation recommends that priority should be given to projects that “provide service to the highest proportion of rural residents that do not have access to broadband service,” and “will use broadband services to stimulate rural economic development.” Further recommendations seek to streamline the application process for broadband grants and require a report to Congress 540 days after the bill is passed on “the effectiveness of all Federal broadband assistance programs and policies aimed at fostering broadband access in rural and unserved areas.”

There’s no word yet on the likelihood of this bill passing, but JSICA will monitor its movement in the Senate. This legislation could be a win for entities like WISPs and municipal broadband providers, but with all of the budget-related stress on Congress as well as highly-publicized failures of some BIP and BTOP-funded projects, the legislation may have some roadblocks.