WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced nearly $700 million in grants and loans to connect thousands of rural residents, farmers and business owners in 22 states and the Marshall Islands to reliable, affordable high-speed internet through the ReConnect Program, funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Aug. 21 announcement of high-speed internet investments are part of the fourth funding round of the ReConnect Program. This announcement includes $667 million in USDA investments in Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and the Marshall Islands.
The Sycamore Telephone Company, in Wyandot County, Ohio, received a $5 million ReConnect Loan to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to provide highspeed internet. This network will benefit 38 people and four farms in Seneca, Crawford and Wyandot counties in Ohio. Sycamore Telephone Company will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program.
A full list of projects is available online. Applicants to ReConnect Program funding must serve a rural area that lacks access to service at speeds of 100 megabits per second download and 20 Mbps upload. Applicants must also commit to building facilities capable of providing high-speed internet service with speeds of 100 Mbps (download and upload) to every location in the proposed service area.
Additionally, to ensure that rural households that need internet service can afford it, all awardees will be required to apply to participate in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Affordable Connectivity Program. The ACP offers a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service to qualifying low-income households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal Lands.
