The USDA’s ReConnect Program plans to expand the use of rural broadband Internet to areas that currently lack high-speed connectivity.
In December, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the department would be distributing $600 million in a combination of grants and loans to build broadband infrastructure in rural areas of the country through the department’s new ReConnect Program.
Telecommunication companies, rural electric cooperatives and utilities, Internet service providers and municipalities are eligible to apply for funding through the new rural broadband program.
High-speed Internet e-Connectivity is a necessity, not an amenity, vital for quality of life and economic opportunity, so we hope that today rural communities kick off their rural broadband project planning,” Perdue said.
The program is part of the Trump administration’s Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, with eConnectivity as a major stepping stone to all other goals, according to the task force’s infographic:
efficientgov.com
by Rachel Engel
January 4, 2019