Small telecom equipment manufacturers, like Alvarion Ltd. (ALVR), Arris Group (ARRS), ADC Telecommunications (ADCT), and Anaren Inc. (ANEN), are expected to benefit from the $7.2 billion Broadband stimulus fund granted by the U.S. government under the Rural Utilities Service program.

The American Reinvestment & Recovery Act contains provisions that encourage telecom operators to apply for grants, loans and guarantees to assist them in deploying un-served and under-served communities for broadband access. Telecom-gear makers and infrastructure-solution providers will help the regional/rural telecom operators to plan, design, and implement broadband networks.

Recently, Alvarion received a five-year contract from Open Range Communications Inc, a U.S. wireless operator. The total contract size is more than $100 million. Alvarion will provide radio-access equipment, customer premises devices and systems integration for Open Range's broadband wireless network deployment spanning 17 states, 546 rural communities that may reach out to a population