Nebraska gets $43 million in federal loans and grants

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WASHINGTON, September 24, 2008 - Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer today announced that broadband and telecommunications loans totaling more than $342 million are being awarded to 18 communications firms serving 22 states. The funds will help bring new and improved telecommunications services to rural residents and businesses.

“Providing state-of-the-art communications services in rural areas promotes business development, increases job opportunities and improves access to educational services,” Schafer said. “The funding announced today will provide more rural Americans with high-quality, affordable broadband services.”

Nebraska Telecommunications Loan recipients include:

· Clarks Telecommunications Company of Jackson who will use $11,058,000 to deploy 61 miles of fiber and copper cable.

· Stanton Telecom, Inc. in Stanton received $8,127,000 to provide new and improved service to subscribers through adding GR-303 links to existing DMS-10 to support the proposed construction. The entire exchange outside plant will be upgraded with fiber optic cable, fiber optic drops, and Fiber-To-The-Premises (FTTP) equipment. A new Gigabit Ethernet (Gig-E) router will be placed into the Stanton central office. An OTDR, Fusion Splicer, and a Bore Machine will be purchased to maintain and support the newly placed FTTP outside plant and equipment.

· Henderson Cooperative Telephone Company d/b/a Mainstay Communications in Henderson to use $3,962,000 to provide new and improved service to subscribers through the deployment of 3 new route miles of fiber and copper cable. A Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) system will be constructed in areas outside the Henderson city limits and a new network host switch will be installed in the Henderson exchange. Other system improvements in the Henderson exchange to be made.

· Three River Telco of Lynch will use $19,900,000 to i mplement system wide Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) upgrades and additions to the existing plant. All existing Nortel remote switches will be retired and new FTTH equipment added to provide Emergency Stand Alone capabilities and broadband capabilities to all subscribers. All existing interexchange transport facilities will be replaced with new SONET OC-12 optics. All existing interexchange Ethernet transport facilities will be replaced with 10 Gigabit optics and fiber trunks to be constructed in phases with a plan to eventually migrate to a full FTTH system.

The loans are being made through the Rural Development Broadband Loan and Loan Guarantee Program, which provides low-interest loans to deploy broadband and telecommunications services to rural communities of 20,000 residents or less, with first priority going to areas without broadband. Rural Development is also providing funding through the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan Program, which makes loans to local firms working to provide both voice and broadband services in areas with 5,000 or fewer citizens.

The following is a complete list of loan recipients:

Broadband and Telecommunications Loan Recipients 2008

State (s) Borrower Loan Amount

AL , IN, MD, PA, TX, VA, WI International Broadband Electric Communications $49,218,000

CA, AZ, NV Fort Mojave Telecommunications, Inc. $16,900,000

CA, OR, SC, TX, VA Techcore Consultants II, Inc. d/b/a Almega Cable $13,703,000

CO Wiggins Telephone Association $29,576,000

GA Planters Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc. $20,495,000

IA Communications 1 Network, Inc. $11,052,000

KS The Golden Belt Telephone Associates, Inc. $17,139,000

NE Clarks Telecommunication Company $11,058,000

NE Stanton Telecom, Inc. $8,127,000

NE Henderson Cooperative Telephone Company d/b/a Mainstay Communications $3,962,000

NE, SD Three River Telco $19,900,000

NM Penasco Valley Telephone Cooperative $28,438,000

SD Midstate Communications, Inc. $31,142,000

SD, MN Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative, Inc. $31,996,000

WI Chequamegon Communications Cooperative, Inc. $27,821,000

WI Vernon Communications LLC $5,187,000

WI Spring Valley Telephone Company, Inc. $4,860,000

WY TCT West Inc. $11,453,000

USDA Rural Development’s mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development has invested more than $90 billion since 2001 for equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. More than 1.7 million jobs have been created or saved through these investments. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA Rural Development’s web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov .