The House Wednesday passed the $800B-plus economic stimulus package, which included $650 million for DTV-to-analog converter box coupons and DTV education.
It came the same day that a bill that would have unclogged the converter box coupon program, using some of that $650 million to do so, failed to pass in the House, with its fate now in doubt.
The stimulus package also includes $350 million for a broadband data collection effort to allow states to track--and specifically, map--the availability of broadband access, and $2.85 billion to implement a wireless and broadband deployment grants program, with $1B of that set going to wireless.
The grants come with open access stipulations.
Rolling out broadband to underserved areas, and open access, are two keys in the Obama tech policy agenda.
The bill now goes to the Senate.
