The first moment of truth for the Obama Administration's $4.7 billion grants to be awarded under the Broadband Stimulus Plan is scheduled for Friday, but don't look for the big broadband players to participate.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) aren't expected to participate, at least not in this first round, for a variety of reasons. The companies aren't talking publically, but acceptance of government funds could stymie the providers' stances in major issues such as net neutrality and executive compensation.

"We are concerned that some new mandates seem to go well beyond current laws and FCC rules, and may lead to the kind of continuing uncertainty and delay that is antithetical to the president's primary goals of economic stimulus and job creation," Walter McCormick, president of USTelecom, told the Washington Post. McCormick's trade group represents AT&T and Verizon.

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— W. David Gardner, InformationWeek