Report: Nearly $7 billion in broadband stimulus, but tax credit gone

Congress reached a compromise of the House and Senate economic stimulus bills Wednesday, and a report in The New York Times indicated that the final broadband grant is between $6.65 and $6.8 billion. However, several reports also suggested tax credits for broadband service providers that had been proposed in the Senate bill did not survive in the compromised version.

The final grant is well under the $9 billion originally proposed by the Senate (a number later cut closer to $7 billion), but still more than the $6 billion in the original House bill. The compromise also reportedly drops a rule included in the previous bills that would have directed much of the stimulus funds to companies offering at least 45 Mbps broadband service.

Confirmation of these numbers and further details are like to become clear in the next few days, so stay tuned.

For more:
- The New York Times has this report

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