[1st-mile-nm] New Mexico not part of USDA funding

[peter]

Well USDA sure knows where the pueblos are -

U S D A Logo

    */USDA Rural Development is an Equal Opportunity Lender, Provider,
    and Employer. Complaints of
    discrimination should be sent to: USDA, Director, Office of Civil
    Rights, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410
    /*


          **Rural Development Telecommunications Program
          Broadband Grant Program Applications**

    Pueblo of Pojoaque 	579,767 	19,596,206 	NM 	Pueblo of Pojoaque


    The first figure is the latest application and the second figure is
    what they have been granted so far

    Now what is wrong with this picture with a population of 1200 people
    getting these kinds of grants of about $17,000c each for basic service

    Well I did a " can we help you " call to PJQ a couple of years ago
    thinking for the kind of money they were getting from just 1 branch
    of the ferderal gov ( They are geting money from several more ) that
    they could plan and build a first class REAL broadband network

     > Here is what I was told.

    /" No you don't understand we re not going to build anything, we
    will just use part of the funds to build some tech centers for (
    150) students conect some basic wireless  and then use a couple of
    $m to blackmail Qwest to expand and upgrade their existing services
    and if they do not threaten them with federally supported
    competition ( Sacred wind combination )  and cut out their cellular
    transmission towers on the reservation then we just pocket the rest
    and use it for local consulting fees etc. "/

    Sad sad opportunity missed but in their eyes it was just getting
    money back that had been stollen from them in the first place so who
    gives a hoot


    Sad sad opportunity missed but in their eyes it was just getting
    money back that had been stolen from them in the first place so who
    gives a hoot

    That money could have made PJQ one of the most wired connected
    places in the state with huge economic benefit

    This is probably repeated in multiple pueblos all over the state



    ( : ( : pete

Peter Baston

*IDEAS*

/www.ideapete.com/ <http://www.ideapete.com/>


 



Richard Lowenberg wrote:
>      I saw this USDA loan announcement earlier in the week, but held 
> off posting
> it to this list because Open Range <www.openrangecomm.com> has no 
> service areas
> in NM.     That did not concern me, as there are CLECs, native communities and
> other rural providers in NM that have received both grants and loans from the
> USDA programs.  I did however contact the USDA loan program officer on
> Thursday, to ask some questions, since this loan (to be paid back over time,
> and matched by a $100,000 private (satellite) company investment) was
> previously announced in March of '07.  Other concerns have to do with the fact
> that this is for unproven WiMax and some satellite access provision, and that
> Open Range does not have a public information web site.   The URL above, only
> gives an email address for their company president, who has never responded to
> my contact.   The USDA program officer could not answer any of my questions in
> this regard.   We'll watch and see what happens with this loan and multi-state
> rural services project.
>      Quite a few federally funded projects of this sort do not manifest as
> proposed, and some spend received funds, without realizing their 
> projects.  This has been the case with some of the native community 
> wireless access
> projects in NM, as far as my personal inquiries have determined.   Having real
> needs, and writing proposals is a lot easier than the required long=term
> project management, oversight and community outreach/education 
> follow-through. Unfortunate, at the least.
> rl
> -----
>
> Quoting ggomes at optonline.net:
>
>   
>> It seems that CBS News is not the only party that does not know New 
>> Mexico is a state.  USDA provides $267 M to Open Range to fund rural 
>> broadband in 17 states - but no New Mexico.
>> Gary Gomes
>>
>> USDA Announces $267 Million Rural Broadband Loan
>> Mar. 27, 2008
>>
>>     
>
>   
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