Much of the communications industry’s focus on American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) funding remains trained on the $7.2 billion for broadband buildouts to unserved/underserved areas – that money will be distributed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS). But there’s also $27.5 billion set aside for infrastructure improvements, and telecom equipment makers are in a good position to cash in on the opportunity.
That’s because municipalities are taking advantage of certain stimulus monies to, for example, overhaul their traffic systems to all-IP networks for video surveillance. And, as they rip up old roads, some localities plan to upgrade to Ethernet over copper while they have the chance. On top of that, an unknown number of cities and towns intend to roll out municipal Wi-Fi service or metro Ethernet, many of which will be looking to service providers to partner with them.
Stimulus package infrastructure work is also an opportunity for equipment makers partnering with munis that plan to roll out next-gen networks on their own. This was an experiment that was all the rage about five years ago, and that failed, in many cases, spectacularly. Yet, in spite of debates surrounding the viability and sense of munis as operators, the government is getting closer to disbursing dollars, and now is the time for vendors to be talking with muni customers.
’50 Percent More Interest’
“We’ve easily seen 50 percent more interest because cities know they have [ARRA] funding,” said Charles Clawson, director of enterprise sales at Actelis Networks. Actelis sells Ethernet over copper equipment and works with a range of entities including municipalities. In Sacramento, Calif., for example, Actelis recently installed “intelligent transportation systems” that keep traffic running smoothly. Sacramento didn’t use economic stimulus grants, likely because they weren’t yet available, but the project provides an example of what cities can do with government subsidies, Actelis representatives said.
Indeed, the activity promises to spawn a digital gold rush; and if that happens, the overarching goal of the ARRA – job creation – will have been met. Already the government has committed nearly $11 billion in roads, bridges and environmental stimulus money – projects that include traffic systems revamps and smart grid undertakings. NTIA, on the other hand, has yet to distribute any broadband stimulus dollars.
