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New customers only. The Recovery Act program CANNOT be combined
with any other mail-in rebates or any other special offers.

The HughesNet service was selected by the Federal Government to participate in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As a national provider of high-speed Internet by satellite with a proven track record of innovation, superior customer care, and reliability, Hughes is uniquely positioned to help meet the program's objectives.

Don't sit on the sidelines and let this opportunity to take advantage of significant savings afforded by the Recovery Act Funds pass you by; this is a unique opportunity that may not come around again any time soon.

Why HughesNet?

HughesNet uses satellite technology to deliver a super-fast alwayson Internet connection. So you can download files faster than ever, access email instantly, and never miss an important call because of tied-up phone lines.

What is the Benefit?

Households eligible for Recovery Act Funds will benefit from NO COST standard installation, NO COST equipment, and a REDUCED monthly service fee. Even if you can't get DSL or cable Internet, HughesNet is available where you live today! Your wait is over!

Who is Eligible?

Eligibility guidelines are set by the Federal Government under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The high-speed Internet initiatives are designed specifically to help provide access to households who currently do not have non-satellite based services. Recovery Act Funds are available to households determined eligible according to these guidelines.

Limited-time Offer

This is a limited-time opportunity to get high-speed Internet at a significant savings. Sign up now for a plan under the Recovery Act Funds and save hundreds of dollars. With an offer like this, there's never been a better time to get high-speed Internet by satellite.

What is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act?

The ARRA was passed by Congress in direct response to the economic crisis. Its stated goals are to:

• Create new jobs and save existing ones
• Spur economic activity and invest in long-term growth
• Foster accountability and transparency in government spending

Funding under the Recovery Act is aimed at helping achieve a longstanding goal of the Federal Government: making high-speed Internet available to millions of Americans who do not have access to it. As economic activities around the world are increasingly conducted over the Internet, Federal officials and U.S. economic experts have continuously cited widespread availability of high-speed Internet as critical to sustaining American global competitiveness.

Rural Area Internet Act

If you have never lived outside of a major metropolitan area, you may take broadband internet access for granted.  People who live in densely populated areas – and even some sparsely populated areas – often have no difficulty logging on or, at the least, dialing up.  Still, for many people who live in the more remote areas of America, internet access has long been (and, in some places, may still be) only a distant dream. 

Why is internet access important?

Yes, the internet can be a form of entertainment providing access to music, movies, and gaming.  But the reason internet access has become a hot political issue in recent years is because it is becoming more crucial to educational and employment opportunities both in the United States and around the world.  By delivering up-to-date news and information and facilitating communication, the internet is important for students, researchers, job-seekers, businesses, and an informed population in general.  Some countries have gone so far as to declare high speed internet access a basic human right and legislate that internet access (sometimes with minimum standards for connection speed) must be available to all citizens.

What is the rural area internet act?

Technically, the government investments in the expansion of internet services to more rural areas were part of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  Congress and President Obama passed this act to help stimulate the economy, create jobs, and make investments in technological, transportation, and other infrastructure. In addition to tax cuts and the allocation of funds for research, health care, unemployment, and construction projects, some grant money was made available to increase internet availability in areas of the United States that do not yet receive it. 

What types of internet are available for people who live in rural areas?

The most common difficulty that people in rural areas face is not being close enough to landlines to receive traditional dial-up, DSL, or cable internet services. Although some projects might involve bringing wired options to more people, many rural residents opt for a type of wireless internet service. Currently, satellite internet is often preferred and sometimes the only available option.  Satellite internet requires a satellite modem, a satellite dish, and a clear line of sight between the satellite and the dish.  Although some satellite providers offer one-way satellite connections (just downloading with the option of supplementing uploads over dial-up), two-way satellite internet is necessary if you are not near a phone connection (Read more about one-way vs. two-way satellite internet).  Other wireless internet options that may become more prevalent once the infrastructure has been expanded include microwave internet(WiMax), EVDO, and LTE.

 

President Obama's Rural Internet Plan

Have you been affected by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act?  Although you may not realize it, many people have benefited from the government’s investments in different types of infrastructure – including technological – which were brought about by the Obama administration.

What is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act?

In February 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was passed by Congress and approved by President Obama. Among the goals of the act were to encourage transparent presentation of spending at the government level to the public, preserve current jobs and bring about new opportunities, and make short- and long-term investments in the American economy.  To do so, the government made nearly $290 billion of tax cuts; increased benefits related to education, health care, and unemployment; and set aside an additional $275 billion for loans and grants. Individual and institutional recipients of government funding for projects have been since expected to report progress on a quarterly basis.

What does the ARRA invest in?

As mentioned above, the ARRA attempts to solidify different kinds of infrastructure. One example would be repairs made to bridges, roads, and other routes of transportation. For health care, ARRA allocated funds to help cover the transitions of numerous hospitals and health care facilities to computerized medical records; doing so could reduce health care expenditures and improve the quality of care overall. Other funding was provided for various types of scientific research; additionally, financial assistance was also given to schools and families to improve education.

How does the ARRA affect internet service in rural areas of the United States?

An important part of the ARRA involved expanding broadband internet service to more remote locations of the country.  In March 2010, the Commerce Secretary announced that nearly $63 million in government grants would be put towards improving America’s technological infrastructure.  The plan was intended to bring internet access not only to residences but also to businesses, libraries, hospitals, academic institutions, and other public and private agencies.  Secretary Locke noted the importance of internet access for education and employment as well as for expanding business opportunities.  Among the states that benefited from technology and internet-related investments were Arizona, Vermont, California, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Missouri, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Minnesota.

What types of internet are available for rural businesses and residences?

Although a number of types of internet connections show promise for rural internet users in the future, the most commonly available option remains satellite internet.  By connecting the user’s modem to a satellite, a wired infrastructure is not necessary to provide internet services. Other technologies that may be available in certain areas or may be enhanced and expanded in the future include WiMax, EVDO Wireless, and LTE internet.

How can I learn more?

As part of the project’s aim of transparency, more detailed information about the scope of projects and financial assistance can be obtained from www.recovery.gov.

 

Food, Shelter, Clothing...Internet? Is Internet Access a Human Right?

Like the printing press, the internet has the ability to disseminate information in an unprecedented way.  But is internet access—broadband or otherwise—a luxury that should be reserved for those who can afford to pay for the service or a fundamental right for all people regardless of socioeconomic status?  This was the topic of a March 2010 poll conducted by the BBC that surveyed over 27,900 individuals from twenty-six countries.

Why would internet be considered a human right?

On the one hand, it may seem strange to think of having the ability to watch videos of kittens playing or find pictures of Lady Gaga’s latest publicity stunt as a human right.  But on the other hand, the internet is a high-power vehicle for education and a seemingly limitless forum for communication (freedom of opinion and expression), both of which are part of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was drafted in 1948 [1]. Additionally, internet use has the potential to dramatically improve quality of life in a number of areas (from leisure time to labor, both of which are also human rights) and has already done so for much of the developed world.

Do some countries already recognize internet access as a human right?

Yes, as of the date the survey was conducted, Estonia and Finland had already enacted legislation along those lines. In fact, in July 2010, Finland made it law for internet service providers to offer all citizens a connection of at least 1 Mbps with a national goal of 100 Mbps by 2015 [2]. Similarly, in 2009, French courts considered piracy cases and ruled that internet access was a right that could only be denied a citizen if they were found to be guilty of piracy by a court of law [3]. And, although the United States has not yet adopted an official position, a large amount of funding (nearly $7.2 billion) from the economic stimulus package was allocated to the expansion of high-speed internet service to underserved and rural areas as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which clearly indicated a commitment to increasing internet access for all American citizens [4].

What were the results of the survey?

Nearly 80% of those surveyed felt that internet access was a basic human right.  The strongest support for internet as a right came from South Korea, Mexico, and China. Mexico, Nigeria, and South Korea were also strongly against any type of censorship of internet access for citizens. Not all respondents believed that the internet was a safe platform for expression of personal opinions; hesitant countries included Germany, South Korea, France, and Japan. Fraud, access to violent content, access to pornography, and the potential for invasion of privacy were cited as other major concerns. Nearly 30% of respondents felt that the internet would be a good place to find a romantic interest. Internet use was also reported in the survey: 35% used the internet for personal purposes 0-3 hours per week; 40% for 3-12 hours; and 23% for 13 hours or more [5].

Can universal internet access ever be a reality?

Maybe.  Universal internet access is not terribly difficult to imagine in a country like the United States where schools and libraries can serve as hubs for free internet access, where the country values an investment in expanding its infrastructure to even the most remote areas, and where freedom of speech is almost taken for granted. It is perhaps more difficult to envision in countries that are struggling to overcome poverty and meet other basic needs for food, health care, and electricity.  Also, countries that have political restrictions on the distribution of information are unlikely to unleash this landmine of knowledge in the near future. Still, we can hope that, like the printing press, the internet will eventually be an irrepressible force for social advancement.

 

References

[1] United Nations. n.d. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml

[2] Southern California Public Radio. 2010. Internet Access – A Right or a Privilege? http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/07/01/16825/internet-access-right-or-privilege/

[3] Daily Mail Online. 2009. Internet Access is a Fundamental Human Right, French Court Rules. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1192359/Internet-access-fundamental-human-right-rules-French-court.html

[4] Broadband USA. 2010. The Portal to Apply for Broadband Funding Under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009. http://broadbandusa.sc.egov.usda.gov/

[5] BBC. 2010. Internet access is ‘a fundamental right.’ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8548190.stm

 

Broadband Stimulus & American Recovery & Reinvestment Act

In February 2009, the United States Congress enacted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("the Stimulus Act"). This Act followed other economic recovery legislation passed during the recession of the last year of the Bush presidency. The stimulus was intended to create jobs and promote investment and consumer spending – to provide a fiscal boost to the nation during its greatest economic crisis.

Out of a total stimulus package of $787 billion, $7.2 billion was appropriated for the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) within the Department of Agriculture and the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) with the Department of Commerce specifically "to expand broadband access and adoption in communities across the U.S., which will increase jobs, spur investments in technology and infrastructure and provide long-term economic benefits.

In response to the passage of the Stimulus Act, the RUS established the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). The stated goal of the BIP is to provide loans and grants and combinations of those to provide assistance to expand, as quickly as possible, access to quality broadband services in rural areas across the country.

The RUS funds, focusing on rural broadband access, require that a minimum of three-quarters of any given area that receives money be in a rural area without enough access to high-speed broadband services.

We are now in Round Two of the package, with RUS budgeted at $2.1 billion. The bulk of this funding - $1.7 billion – goes to "Last Mile" projects. Another category, "Satellite and Other" has been funded to a level of $100 million. The Satellite Project category has been established to reach premises left unserved by other technologies. More than half of the grant total was awarded to Hughes Network Systems for use in nation-wide rural-broadband projects. (Three other companies – WildBlue, EchoStar and Spacenet – received grants to provide two-way satellite broadband but only to limited, specific regions and not a national footprint)

It is important to note that individual, end-user recipients will be qualified by virtue of their service area which will now be defined by census tracts and block groups, not by census blocks. (This means that one person might qualify and his/her neighbor across the street may not).

 

Government Funded High Speed Internet Is Now Available In Your Area

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