Department of Agriculture

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue unveiled a new webpage featuring information about the importance of rural e-Connectivity and the ways the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing to help deploy high-speed broadband infrastructure in rural America. In the coming months, USDA will almost double longstanding programs with at least $600 million of additional funds for expanding rural broadband infrastructure in unserved rural areas and tribal lands. 

The Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development is seeking applications to support regional economic development planning efforts in rural communities under the Rural Economic Development Innovation (REDI) initiative. This funding opportunity will be administered by the Rural Development Innovation Center, in partnership with the Rural BusinessCooperative Service. The agency is announcing up to $750,000 in competitive cooperative agreement funds in fiscal year (FY) 2018. Rural Development Agency may select one, multiple, or no award recipients.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $97 million in 12 projects to provide or improve rural broadband service in 11 states (Arizona, Iowa, Idaho, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming)

The Department of Agriculture invited comments on the implementation of the e-Connectivity Pilot Program established in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 on March 23, 2018. USDA is developing this pilot program to catalyze private investment and bring broadband to unserved rural areas of the country.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces that it is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2018 for the Rural Broadband Access Loans and Loan Guarantees Program (the Broadband Program). Applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis. Every ninety (90) days, RUS will conduct an evaluation of the submitted applications.

The US Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for grants to fund broadband infrastructure projects in unserved rural communities. USDA is accepting applications through May 14 in the Community Connect program. Grants from $100,000 to $3 million are available to state and local governments, federally-recognized tribes, nonprofits and for-profit corporations. Applicants must be able to provide a 15 percent match on the desired grant amount.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing in e-connectivity which will provide virtual access to job training, educational, and health care opportunities for rural communities. USDA is awarding 72 grants totaling $23.6 million through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program. This program invests in equipment that uses broadband to help rural communities connect to educational and health care services.

Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Roger Glendenning announced that the US Department of Agricutlure is awarding $19.3 million in loans to provide broadband in rural portions of Illinois and Oklahoma.

In Oklahoma, Southern Plains Cable, LLC will receive a $15.3 million loan to build a fiber-optic broadband network serving a 55-square-mile area that includes the communities of Anadarko, Verden, and Chickasha. Illinois' Moultrie Independent Telephone Company will receive a $4 million loan to make upgrades to fiber service in a portion of its service territory. Both loans are being provided through USDA's Telecommunications Programs of the Rural Utilities Service.