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Jul. 4, 2009

It's no secret that mobile phone service in rural areas isn't the best it can be and the U.S. government is determined to do something about it.

Wi-MAX service provider Towerstream is one of the companies hoping to improve the situation as part of a broadband stimulus package offered by the Obama Administration.

The government has published the criteria that it will use in judging funding applications for the broadband stimulus grants. Projects that provide wired or wireless access starting at low-end DSL speeds will be considered, but priority will be given to ones that promise higher wireless speeds.

That should prove beneficial to Towerstream, says CEO Jeff Thompson.

Late Thursday afternoon, Towerstream executives were still poring over the 120 plus pages outlining the criteria for grants, but so far, it looks like the company is in a good position to go after that money.

Towerstream’s business model doesn’t involve going after consumers but small and mid-sized businesses. Most of the jobs in the United States are created by small businesses, and Towerstream can help them be more productive by providing faster wireless broadband in rural areas, including video.

Thompson says he’s greatly encouraged by the timeline for releasing funds and the fact it looks like shovel ready for companies with experience building mobile phone systems.

“We’ve done this for years now,” he says. “We could do it quickly. We have the experience and the technology to do it and to do it well the first time.”

It will be interesting to see if other mobile service providers follow suit in this new race to get new funds.

After all, Wall Street did it, the Big Three auto giants did it, so why not wireless service providers?

The potential is there for them and you can bet your bottom dollar they will go after it with all of what they have...

As always, count on Wireless Industry News to bring you full coverage.

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Source: Towerstream.