Department of Agriculture

The US Department of Agriculture invested $62.3 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve e-Connectivity for more than 8,000 rural households, 57 farms, 44 businesses, 17 educational facilities, 14 critical community facilities and three health care facilities in rural Alabama. Tombigbee Electric Cooperative, Inc. will use a $29.5 million 50 percent loan-grant combination to develop an All-Dielectric Self-Supporting (ADSS) fiber network in unserved areas of Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Franklin, Winston and Walker counties.

The US Department of Agriculture invested $12.8 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve e-Connectivity for more than 1,650 homes in rural Illinois. Wabash Telephone Cooperative, Inc. will use a $12.8 million 50 percent loan-grant combination to deploy 298 miles of fiber-optic cable in unserved areas of Jefferson and Wayne counties in Illinois. This investment is anticipated to reach 1,684 households, 31 farms, 29 businesses, nine educational facilities, two critical community facilities and one health care center.

The Department of Agriculture is investing  $18.88 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for nearly 270 rural households in Yakutat. The project, dubbed NICEY (New Internet Communications for Everyone in Yakutat), will deliver broadband internet service to all 662 year-round residents and businesses in Yakutat via fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) connections. Yakutat will be connected to Cordova’s submarine fiber optics via a new microwave middle-mile network spanning 230 miles between the two communities.

The Department of Agriculture is providing $6 million to expand high-speed broadband infrastructure that will provide e-Connectivity for nearly 650 new customers in rural Wheeler and Grant counties. Oregon Telephone Corporation (OTC) will use a ReConnect Program grant to deploy 89 miles of fiber to serve some of the most remote areas of the continental United States. The new broadband infrastructure will provide network speeds ranging from 30 megabits per second (Mbps) to 1 gigabyte per second (Gbps).

The Department of Agriculture is investing  $4.79 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity in the county of Sweetwater. All West Communications Inc. of Wyoming and Utah, will use the grant to fund the construction of high-speed broadband infrastructure in southwest Wyoming.

The US Department of Agriculture is investing  $5.2 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for rural households and farms in Kansas. Wave Wireless, LLC will use ReConnect Program funding to deploy a Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or greater. The funded service areas include 1,390 households, 16 businesses, and 23 farms.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing the funding through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant program. These investments will benefit 5.4 million rural residents. Projects include:

The Department of Agriculture invested $41.6 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for rural households and farms in Missouri and Southern Iowa. The Grand River Mutual Telephone Corporation will use ReConnect Program funding to deploy a fiber to the premises (FTTP) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or greater. The funded service areas include 2,288 households, 17 businesses and 39 farms.

The Department of Agriculture invested $7.2 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for rural households and farms in Iowa and South Dakota. The Heartland Telecommunications Company of Iowa, doing business as Premier Communications, will use a ReConnect Program loan to deploy a fiber to the premises (FTTP) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 1/1 gigabits per second. The funded service areas include 868 households, 17 businesses and 27 farms.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) invested nearly $3.8 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for more than 1,250 rural households in Virginia. Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative will use ReConnect Program funding to deploy a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or greater. The funded service areas include 1,254 households, two volunteer fire departments, and four educational facilities.