A program that gives financial assistance for delivering broadband technical assistance to rural communities has $20 million available thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
USDA funds the new Broadband Technical Assistance Program that helps with technical assistance projects, including “conducting feasibility studies, completing network designs and developing broadband financial assistance applications,” according to an April 17 news release.
“USDA is committed to making sure that people, no matter where they live, have access to high-speed internet,” USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small in the release. “That’s how you grow the economy – not just in rural communities, but across the nation. USDA is partnering with small towns, local utilities and cooperatives and private companies to increase access to this critical service which in turn boosts opportunity and helps build bright futures.”
Applicants for the Broadband Technical Assistance Program must choose from the funding categories of Technical Assistance Providers with a minimum award of $50,000 and maximum of $1 million; Technical Assistance Recipients with a minimum award of $50,000 and a maximum of $250,000; or Projects Supporting Cooperatives with a minimum award of $50,000 and a maximum of $1 million, the release said.
Applicants should consider projects that advance the USDA’s key priorities of advancing rural economic recovery, increasing equitable access to USDA Rural Development programs and projects plus promoting climate resilience in rural communities, the release reported.
USDA Rural Development’s loans and grants “supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas,” according to the release.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law gives $65 billion for expanding access and lowering the costs of high-speed internet, the release reported. This initiative will work in conjunction with other high-speed internet programs to assist in connecting every community in the nation with affordable, high-speed, reliable internet.
