August 5, 2010 (FinancialWire) (Go to http://www.financialwire.net/?s=ftrdnwswnd for all of today’s featured news.) — Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE: TDS) said that TDS Telecommunications Corp., its wholly owned subsidiary, has been approved by the A Rural Utilities Service for $114.5 million in broadband expansion projects in 18 states.

The company said that, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, TDS Telecom submitted 46 applications in March for the second round of broadband stimulus funding.

On August 4, TDS Telecom said it received funding approval for 39 of those projects. In total, TDS Telecom will receive $85.9 million in federal grants and provide $28.6 million of its own funds to complete the projects.

The awards follow TDS Telecom's success in the first round of funding, when the company received $12.5 million in grants to construct and expand broadband networks in Michigan and Alabama.

TDS said that more approvals could be forthcoming as the RUS continues its work to meet the September 30, 2010 statutory deadline requiring the agency to distribute all $2.6 billion in federal broadband stimulus funding under its jurisdiction.

Once contracts are signed, TDS Telecom will have 24 to 36 months to complete construction of these networks. Currently, the company is working on projects in Chatham, Michigan and Butler, Alabama that were funded in the first round. Those projects are on track to be completed in 2012, according to the company.

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. provides wireless, local and long-distance telephone, and broadband services to around 7.3 million customers in 36 states through its business units, U.S. Cellular (wireless) and TDS Telecom (wireline). Illinois-based TDS Telecommunications Corp. markets communication services to business and residential customers in 30 states through its brands TDS Telecom and TDS Metrocom.

Real-time, streaming research for companies and funds mentioned in FinancialWire(tm) news is available via the Investrend Research Syndicate (at http://investrend.stocksmart.com/ss/html/hpcompany.html). Current valuation analysis research for companies and funds mentioned in FinancialWire(tm) news is available via the Investrend Research Syndicate (at http://www.valuengine.com/rep/searchsrep?pid=42&srchfor=).

FinancialWire(tm) is committed to serving the financial community through true journalism and providing relevant resources to investors. Standards-based, independent equity research on numerous public other companies is available through the Investrend Research Syndicate (http://www.investrend.com/reports) written by FIRST Research Consortium (http://www.investrend.com/FIRST) member-providers. Free annual reports and company filings for companies mentioned in the news are available through the Investrend Information Syndicate (at http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279). FinancialWire(tm), in cooperation with the Investrend Broadcast Syndicate, also provides complete, daily conference call and webcast schedules as a service to shareholders and investors via the FirstAlert(tm) Network’s “FirstAlert(tm) Daily” (at http://www.financialwire.net/news-alerts/).

FinancialWire(tm) is a fully independent, proprietary news wire service. FinancialWire(tm) is not a press release service, and receives no compensation from subject entities, companies, equities, or representatives thereof, for its news, opinions or distributions. Further disclosure is posted at the FinancialWire(tm) website (at http://www.financialwire.net/disclosures.php and http://www.financialwire.net/2010/04/23/safe-harbor/). Additional resources for investors are also accessible via the FinancialWire(tm) website (at http://www.financialwire.net/2010/04/23/investor-resources/). Contact FinancialWire(tm) directly via inquiries@financialwire.net.

Copyright © MMX, FinancialWire(tm); All rights reserved.

[hlmsmlh] [gvrnmnt] [sstncntss] [cmmsmda] [nwdlsldw] [cmmsmda] [vrtltrvrt] [tchnlgy] [ftrdnwswnd]

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.