RUS ReConnect Round 3 Open while Electric Funding More Miles of Fiber than Power Lines

The Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has been funding infrastructure since its original inception in 1935 as the Rural Electrification Service. The agency is currently accepting ReConnect loan and grant applications for broadband projects with the latest round making available $750 million available in grant monies, $250 million available in a combination of loans and grants and another $200 million in loans available at a fixed 2% interest rate. Meanwhile, the agency has recently funded more miles of fiber than power line using electric funding. Applications for round three of RUS’s Rural Development Broadband ReConnect Program (ReConnect) are now open through February 22, 2022, with Acting RUS Administrator and Assistant Administrator for Electrical Programs Chris McLean encouraging communities to apply. As RUS funding has increased, so has the evolution of what broadband projects the agency will fund, with an eye towards higher-speed future-proof infrastructure.