ARRA Stimulus Award
At the end of March 2010, KeyOn submitted applications for government stimulus funding under the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). On September 13, 2010, we were announced as a $10.2 million award recipient under the BIP to deliver 4G wireless broadband services to almost 40 communities throughout rural Nevada.
Pursuant to the project’s design, we will make 4G, last-mile wireless broadband access and VoIP (voice over IP) services available to approximately 93,000 people, 5,522 businesses and 849 critical community facilities in qualified rural communities through Nevada under Round Two of the Broadband Initiatives Program.
We plan to offer broadband service at speeds up to 8megabits per second (Mbps). We anticipate commencing our project in the second quarter of 2011 and will be substantially complete within two years. We are currently working with our third-party contractors and applicable personnel to begin requisitioning funds pursuant to the award, however, we cannot provide any assurances as to the timing of the funding of the award or whether we will ultimately receive it.
Broadband Stimulus Opportunities under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The ARRA allocated $7.2 billion for the deployment of broadband infrastructure. Under ARRA, the RUS was charged with providing $2.5 billion in grants and loans through its Broadband Initiatives Program, so long as 75% of the area to be served is a rural area without sufficient access to broadband. KeyOn viewed the passage of ARRA and the broadband funding component as further evidence of the market opportunity we seek to address.
