Qwest Asking for Portion of Stimulus Package

Qwest Communications is asking the federal government for a portion of the planned economic stimulus package to increase the high-speed Internet access in unserved areas. The proposal from the company asks that an unspecified amount of money be set aside to allow the company to achieve broadband availability that is 7 megabits per second or faster to 95% of each state served nationwide.

Qwest’s Colorado President, Chuck Ward, who helped in writing the proposal, is optimistic that the broadband expansion will be a part of the Obama administration’s proposed infrastructure spending. “It certainly satisfies the stimulus program’s objective, and that’s putting people to work,” Ward said.

Because Qwest isn’t quite sure what areas aren’t reached by certain service providers, the company doesn’t know how much money the proposal would require. Ward does know, however, that the cost would run into the billions.

In the upgrade of its existing infrastructure in 23 cities to make its network capable of offering download speeds between 7 Mbps or 20 Mbps the company spent $300 million. That upgrade was made last year. Building a new network, however, is far more costly given the greater distances and the creation of a completely new structure of fiber optic cable.

 

According to Qwest, the construction of the new network will not only create jobs and help telecommunications employment, but it will bridge the gap between the rural and urban parts of the US.

Seven Mbps is considered by Qwest to be the speed at which movie and song downloading is quick enough to satisfy customers. Qwest’s letter to the administration said, “…while many urban areas have multiple broadband service providers, competitive prices, and speeds in excess of 7 Mbps, many rural areas lack even the most basic broadband offerings.”