Biden-Harris Administration Partners with Local Organizations, Cooperatives and Tribes to Support High-Speed Internet Deployment in Rural Communities as Part of Investing in America Agenda

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is partnering with rural cooperatives, local organizations and Tribes to support high-speed internet deployment in 11 states. USDA is awarding $5.2 million in cooperative agreements through the Broadband Technical Assistance Program, which is funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This funding will extend the reach of other high-speed internet programs to meet the Administration’s goal to connect every community in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed internet. The Broadband Technical Assistance Program provides funding to cooperatives and organizations interested in receiving or delivering broadband technical assistance and training. This program promotes the expansion of high-speed internet into rural and Tribal communities by funding feasibility studies, network designs, hiring efforts, application development assistance and more. The funding will help people living in Alaska, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia. Examples of projects in this announcement include:

• In the Southwest, Ciomperlik Enterprises LLC is receiving a $126,570 award to prepare reports, feasibility studies, financial forecasts, market surveys, environmental studies and technical design to expand high-speed internet access in 10 communities across Duval, Frio, Jim Hogg, La Salle and Zavala counties in Texas.
• In the Midwest, the Curators of the University of Missouri is receiving a $191,038 award to support community planning, a broadband economic analysis study, an environmental study and a technical design study in Carter and Shannon counties in Missouri.
• In the Pacific Northwest, the Connecting Alaska Consortium is receiving a $1 million award to deliver technical assistance and training to support planning and engagement, coordinating partnerships, grant-related training, and data collection and reporting. Funding will also support technical assistance and training conferences. The project will be used to promote and expand high-speed internet access in 122 rural and Tribal communities across Alaska.
• In the South, the South Central Alabama Broadband Cooperative District is receiving a $820,000 award to perform community needs assessments and project planning, provide grant assistance, support construction planning and engineering and provide federal resource management and oversight in 45 communities across 15 counties in South Central Alabama.

A full list of projects from today’s announcement is available online.