Are the Bigs Taking the Cash?

So Ryan Singel has an interesting perspective on recent speculation as to whether or not AT&T and Verizon's will apply for broadband stimulus cash.

What's really at stake here are definitions: what kind of service will the government define as 'broadband,' what counts as an 'open' network, and what areas are 'underserved' or 'unserved.'

I couldn't agree more.

Yes, defining and operationalizing these terms is precisely what is at stake in coming to the table (or not) for the Bigs. And as I've argued, they are precisely the matters that are unresolved in the present NTIA/RUS/FCC plan for investing the $7.2 billion of stimulus cash. What will happen? I'm still waiting to see.