USDA Seeks to Truly Help Bring Robust, Affordable Broadband to Tribal and Rural Communities

The US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announced more than $1 billion in funding to promote meaningful broadband access in rural, Tribal, and socially vulnerable communities. The RUS has set aside $350 million in grant funding for Tribal governments and socially vulnerable communities to build 100/100 Mbps future-proof networks. Additionally, by providing these funding grants without a requirement that the eligible entity commit a percentage of matching funds, these communities that are oftentimes challenged to secure collateral to invest in broadband networks will have an opportunity to access funding. Projects will be ranked and awarded funding based on criteria that includes points for addressing affordability (20 points), serving higher poverty areas (20 points), committing to net neutrality (10 points), and offering wholesale broadband service (10 points). These criteria, if utilized by applicants, will promote affordable broadband, expand consumer access to the content of their choosing, and inject competition into a highly-concentrated market. Finally, the USDA has released an interactive mapping tool that allows applicants to draw the boundaries of the areas they seek to serve and through the use of datasets understand how that defined area scores in terms of economic need, rurality, and social vulnerability. The data included in the map is rich with detail and is the type of tool that should be scaled as part of other mapping efforts underway at the Federal Communications Commission.

[Greg Guice is the Director of Public Knowledge's Government Affairs Team.]