The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has dedicated over $313 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers, and business owners to high-speed networks in 18 states.
The announcement marks the latest and fifth round of funding through the ReConnect Program. The USDA’s funding program was launched in 2018 to provide loans, grants, and loan-grant combinations to expand high-speed internet access to rural communities in the United States.
It is also designed to “fund the most difficult high-speed internet projects in the nation, which are in the most rural, remote, and unserved communities,” according to the USDA.
The program is also part of the broader Investing in America agenda set by President Biden, and part of the administration’s Internet for All initiative which aims to connect everyone in America to high-speed internet by 2030.
“Keeping the people of rural America connected with good, reliable high-speed internet brings new and innovative ideas to the rest of our country and creates good-paying jobs,” Tom Vilsack, the secretary of USDA, said in a statement. “That’s why USDA’s ReConnect Program is an important part of our partnership with rural communities. Through these investments, we are connecting the most rural and remote communities to a global marketplace and bringing new opportunities within reach.”
State’s receiving funding under the program will help connect residents in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
A Broadband Technical Assistance pilot project – which supports projects such as feasibility studies or completing network designs – in Nevada is another component of the funding, USDA said. Valley Electric Association Inc. will receive a $542,281 cooperative agreement to “promote the deployment of high-speed fiber networks to the rural areas of Clark, Esmeralda, Lyon, Mineral and Nye counties.”
The project in Nevada will leverage partnerships with local energy and internet service providers to bolster the development of mid-mile and last-mile fiber in the rural areas named. It will also provide product and service delivery solutions that include design, engineering, procurement, permitting, construction, operations, maintenance and repair, and regulatory compliance.
Since the ReConnect program’s launch in 2018, the program has invested a total of $5.6 billion in broadband funding, according to USDA.
