Alcatel-Lucent announced the introduction of its ''Broadband for All' program in the USA with an aim to provide advisory services to telecom firms, municipalities and developers.

The company will advise these players on how to best to use funds from the $ 7 billion broadband stimulus package as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act (ARRA) of 2009 announced by President, Obama.

As part of the consultancy Alcatel-Lucent will guide the players towards:

• Funding application preparation and follow-up

• Advocacy with the key stakeholders and agencies (National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) which are administering the funds)

• Technology consulting and solutions

• Regional seminars and webinars to educate customers and consultants about the funding and application process

“The stimulus bill offers a unique opportunity for service providers, municipalities and developers to upgrade their networks for decades to come with technology that supports broadband access and services,” said Rich Wonders, Vice President of Strategic Marketing for Alcatel-Lucent’s Americas region. “Not only is this a chance to offer their customers the kinds of broadband access enjoyed in more densely populated areas, but this represents a significant opportunity to create jobs throughout the US. The single largest cost component of deploying rural broadband is in the physical construction and deployment of the network, so these projects will create jobs as well as result in much better communications services for the residences and businesses in those communities.”