Verizon Could Get $1.6 Billion in Senate Stimulus Plan

[FreeStateDemocrat]

Source: NY Times

By Saul Hansell
Four words buried in a provision to help subsidize high-speed Internet service contained the latest Senate’s version of the economic stimulus legislation could mean hundreds of millions of dollars a year in tax credits for Verizon Communications, according to telecommunications analysts.

Indeed, John Hodulik, an analyst with UBS Securities, said the provision might give Verizon $1.6 billion in credits in the next two years, even if it does not hire one more person than it currently plans to do.

At issue is the part of the stimulus package meant to bring fast Internet connections to rural and low-income areas. The House bill that passed Wednesday provided $6 billion in grants to broadband projects. The latest Senate bill increases those grants to $9 billion.

Most significantly, the bill before the Senate also includes tax credits for investment in broadband services to low-income neighborhoods, rural areas and places that don’t have any providers of high-speed internet service.

Companies would get a 20 percent tax credit on investments made on “current-generation” broadband — speeds of at least 5 megabits per second — in “unserved areas” and 10 percent for investment in low-income and rural areas.


Read more: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/senate-looks-t... /

---

Corporate America rapes the taxpayer with our party being the enabler.

[Renew Deal]

1. Verizon is almost completely union

And this will generate jobs

[Baby Snooks]

4. The union will demand they hire more people?

I am at a loss as to how this will create more jobs. Most of the recipients of the "stimulus" so far not only are not creating jobs but cutting jobs. And so far the unions don't seem to have had much influence in terms of the layoffs.

[terisan]

2. Exactly and while party members blindly follow the leaders. We are entering the fascist state.

Bush opened the door but it is the Dems who have been crossing the threshold.

I notice that Eliot Spitzer (disgraced former gov of NY and now Slate columnist) is opposed to to big bank bailouts. HE used to be criticized for prosecuting too many Wall Streeters but I see now that he had good reason.

[bowens43]

9. I read and re-read this but I missed facism part.............

[terisan]

12. Sorry I meant fascist in the meaning of Mussolini's term for fascism: Corporatism

in which industries are represented in government and government is seen as representing them more than representing citizens.

I would see the spying AT&T and possibly other telecommunications companies did on American citizens for the government as an example of a type of corporatism. also see the big bank bailout as another example.

[biopowertoday]

3. this part about net neutrality is very troubling also:...........

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/senate-looks-t... /


............The changes to the broadband part of the Senate stimulus bill were spearheaded by Senator Jay Rockefeller, the West Virginia Democrat who is the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Mr. Rockefeller has long advocated for expanded broadband service to rural areas. Verizon is the dominant phone company in his state.

The Senate proposal also would not ban Verizon, or any other company benefiting from the credit, from discriminating against certain uses of their Internet service, a principle often called network neutrality. Recipients of those grants would be required to follow network neutrality principles outlined by the Federal Communications Commission.

Barak Obama campaigned for president on a pledge to enforce network neutrality, but telecommunications companies object to the idea as unneeded restrictions on their business., and would impose a potentially less stringent test that the recipients meet “non-discrimination” rules created by the commission. Those tax credits don’t impose any requires on network neutrality or non-discrimination.

[Runcible Spoon]

5. That is BAD NEWS.

Give them massive amounts of money to expand wireless access only to let the telecoms restrict usage. So basically they get paid to install the infrastructure and then get PAID AGAIN to restrict broadband access. Fantastic.

[Gin]

6. I don't know if this is the same thing...but Verizon used all Mexican

crews to lay cables in the Hampton Roads area.....via a subcontractor..thinking was...they were illegals because none spoke English.

I hope new rules make sure eligible people get the jobs..

[biopowertoday]

10. The bill does not call for new jobs as part of the grants. !!!

[On the Road]

16. The Author Seems to be Implying That

because the economic stimulus bill doesn't deal with net neutrality, that Obama has abandoned his support of net neutrality. I'm not sure I buy that -- why would that bill address this policy issue?

It's written to create the impression that Obama now opposed net neutrality but very carefully avoids saying that explicitly. I suspect the author knows better and is trying to pull a fast one.

[LaPera]

7. $1.6 billion corporate welfare with our tax dollars, so Verizon can upgrade & charge the poor

and the rest of us more for internet service, without providing any more jobs...the republican CEOs will enjoy those hundreds of millions in more bonus money for themselves...it certainly NEVER trickles down to workers as the republicans have told us since Reagan and still want us sheep to believe...

[paparush]

8. Cool, maybe I can get fiber to the house.

[Born Free]

15. me too....

I am sick of Comcast and know FIOS has to be better

[Brucie Kibbutz]

11. Didn't Verizon spend a staggering amount buying up the rights

to a large majority of the airwaves being auctioned off by the government last April? I believe they did. They spent over nine billion. Let them sell some of that if they need money.

"Verizon Communications Inc. Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg said Friday that the $9.36 billion in total spectrum licenses won by the company’s wireless unit, jointly owned with Vodafone Group, was “nothing short of a transformative opportunity for our company.”

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/05/business/fi-auc...

The Obama administration will do some good things like closing Gitmo and reversing Bush's last minute executive orders, etc. but when it comes down to money, it's obvious the Wall Stret gangs are still calling the shots. This country is a fucking disgrace.

[CRF450]

13. I'm pissed that they had to buy Alltel

Love their service and good deals with the prepaid plans. I have the pay per day plan which starts out at 75 cents a day and I have two options of unlimited night/weekends, and unlimited text messaging. Verizon's gonna fuck me over with their deals once the transition is done. Something similar to my plan is friggin $2 to $3/day!! I didn't want to sign a contract, now I have no damn choice but to do so

[groundloop]

14. This part of the bill is probably a good thing

I don't believe the bill specifies how big a peice of the pie that Verizon will get, they're only one of the players involved. And I think most economists agree that building infrastructure, such as this is proposing, is a very good way to spend bailout dollars in terms of creating jobs. And, as was previously mentioned, Verizon is mostly union, and for the most part instead of laying people off they're offering early retirements and buy-outs (in my mind anyway that's preferable to layoffs).

Not only will the telecom companies have to hire cable installers, they will have to buy the cable, buy the hardware attached to each end of the cables, hire people to run and service the equipment, and so on. The companies that manufacture fiber optic cable will be purchasing fiber, hiring people in their manufacturing plants, they have R&D and quality people that will be kept busy, and so on.

As for the comments that this bill doesn't enforce net-neutrality, I don't believe a spending bill like this is the proper place for that. The FCC will have to write those rules, and I believe that Obama's new FCC people have said they're in favor of net neutrality

[kevsand]

17. Bringing broadband to unserved areas is a good thing.

The long term economic impact of rural "broadbandification" is potentially as significant as rural electrification was in the last century.

[dkofos]

18. Verizon should be broken up.

To big to fail, to big to exist.

[ohio2007]

19. A monopoly for the increasing gap ....between the rich and the hyper rich grows

the poor will pay at the pump in due time

[No Elephants]

20. Bail out Verizon? I give up.

[trashcanistanista]

21. Deleted

Nevermind, self corrected.