Comcast to US: Don't subsidize our competitors

"Comcast Corp. said some applicants for U.S. stimulus funds to expand high-speed Internet want to build in places already served by the company, which may violate eligibility rules," Bloomberg reported here.

"The largest U.S. cable-television service will file data supporting the assertion on Oct. 28 [today]" with the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Infrastructure Administration and the Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service, Comcast executive vice president David L. Cohen told reporters Monday, according to the story.

"The money is to be distributed under a $7.2 billion program that aims to accelerate the deployment and use of high-speed Internet service in areas that don't have it." Yesterday the Senate Commerce Committe held a hearing on the program. Testimony here.

"'Those applications don't qualify for funding primarily because they are applications to provide service in areas where there is already broadband service,' Cohen said. He didn't provide an estimate of how many applications would be implicated, and said Comcast would point out only applications that would serve areas where it provides Internet service. 'We would mostly care if it goes to an area where we're the broadband provider,' Cohen said."