Oregon

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $313 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers and business owners in 18 states to reliable high-speed internet.

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has recommended for award more than $276 million to 44 Tribal entities to expand high-speed Internet access and adoption. The funding from the nearly $3 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's Internet for All Initiative.

The Oregon Broadband Office issued Notices of Intent to Award the second tranche of funding for the Broadband Deployment Program. In tranche two, $9,488,246 will be awarded to Home Telephone Company's project, "Nyssa Regional Link Expansion." It will provide 100/100 service at $49.99/month to 800 currently unserved locations in Malheur county.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award applications from Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming, allowing them to request access to more than $100 million to implement their Digital Equity Plans. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The states can request access to:

The Oregon Broadband Office is excited to announce it has issued Notices of Intent to Award $132,917,084 through the Office’s Broadband Deployment Program (BDP), part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF).

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Dr. Basil Gooden announced nearly $173 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers and business owners in the Dakotas and eight other states to reliable high-speed internet. Projects are being financed by the fifth round of the ReConnect Program.

TDS Telecommunications is providing free upgrades to Central Oregon customers’ internet speeds as part of a major investment in the community and its local network. Homes and businesses in Bend and throughout the region will soon have speeds up to 1 Gig—at no additional cost. Customers will have access to lightning-fast internet speeds, allowing users to more easily do remote work or school, virtual doctor appointments, video conferences, online shopping, and a wide variety of other tasks.

Although broadband is widely available in Oregon, it is not universally available. Oregon and the Oregon Broadband Office (OBO) have been laying the groundwork for the delivery of affordable, reliable broadband internet to every household in Oregon.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Illinois, Oregon, and Puerto Rico’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval enables Illinois, Oregon, and Puerto Rico to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. Today’s action allows the entities to request access to: