The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced $714 million in grants and loans to connect thousands of rural residents, farmers and business owners in 19 states.
The funding was approved under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $65 billion to connect everyone to high-speed internet through the Internet for All initiative.
For USDA, this batch of approvals represents thes fourth funding round of the ReConnect Program. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department has invested in 142 ReConnect projects that will bring high-speed internet access to 314,000 rural Americans.
Some sample projects receiving funding:
- The Home Telephone Company is receiving a ReConnect Program grant to connect nearly 4,000 people, 49 businesses, 46 farms and two educational facilities to high-speed internet in Berkeley County, South Carolina.
- The Decatur Telephone Company will connect 5,400 people, 257 farms, 74 businesses and four educational facilities to high-speed internet in Benton County, Arkansas.
- The North-State Telephone Co. will deploy a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network connecting 1,490 people, 64 businesses and 43 farms in Wasco County, Oregon, to high-speed internet.
- The Cal-Ore Telephone Company will connect 757 people, 45 businesses, 14 farms and four educational facilities to high-speed internet in Modoc and Siskiyou counties in California.
- Both companies will make monthly internet service affordable by participating in the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program.
- Missouri’s Goodman Telephone Company Inc. will connect nearly 7,000 people, 206 farms, 140 businesses and two educational facilities to high-speed internet in McDonald and Newton counties.
- The Craw-Kan Telephone Cooperative Inc. in Kansas will connect 4,189 people, 821 farms, 149 businesses and three educational facilities to high-speed internet in Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette and Neosho counties.
The full list of recipients is in the link below.
https://www.rd.usda.gov/media/file/download/usda-rd-reconnect-r4-tranche-2-06122023.pdf
