The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) dished out $667 million in grants and loans as part of the fourth funding round of its ReConnect Program.
The ReConnect program is designed to fund the most rural, remote and unserved communities — some of the most difficult broadband buildouts in the nation.
Monday's announcement includes awards covering 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.
Of the $667 million being awarded by the USDA, $493 million will be used as grant money and $174 million will be loaned out to broadband builders.
The agency in June served up $714 million in ReConnect funding. This week's announcement is the fifth batch of ReConnect grants to be awarded as part of the fourth round of the program. All told, the Biden-Harris Administration has invested $3.1 billion in 179 Reconnect projects, which Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said will improve opportunities for over 430,000 Americans who live in rural areas.
Applicants to the program must serve rural areas that lack access to service of 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds. Symmetrical speeds of 100 Mbps is the minimum speed tier that can be built through ReConnect. The program is technology neutral, meaning that it doesn’t necessarily favor any infrastructure solution over another, unlike some other grant programs that have a preference for fiber over fixed wireless.
ReConnect's latest batch of funding was allocated as part of the $65 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which means the program’s awardees are required to apply to the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). 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.
There is $260 million left in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will be invested “over the next several months,” according to Vilsack.
Affordability questions
ReConnect, along with capital projects like the recently announced funding $42.5 billion Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, rely on the ACP being a long-term program. However, analysts have predicted the $14 billion program will likely run out of money sometime next year and it remains unclear whether Congress will allocate more funding for the broadband subsidy.
Despite those concerns, White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu said in a press conference Friday that the ReConnect Program “will not leave anybody behind,” and expressed optimism that the ACP will get the support it needs.
“The Affordable Connectivity Program, the popularity of it, the fact that people are taking advantage of it, I think is the kind of thing that will create the political level of support necessary for Congress to see that this is...an appropriate utilization of resources,” said Landrieu.
The new ReConnect funding round also includes several investments that will benefit people living in Rural Partners Network (RPN) communities. RPN works address specific needs in rural communities through outreach with federal, state and local partners on how to carry out plans to create broadband jobs and build infrastructure.
This funding round will support projects like Star Telephone Membership Corporation in North Carolina, which will receive a $24.9 million grant, and SWC Telesolutions Inc. in New Mexico, receiving a $9.2 million grant, both focused on building in RPN communities.
In Oregon, Pioneer Telephone Cooperative is receiving a $24.9 million grant. Meanwhile, the Hood Canal Telephone Co. Inc. will get a $3.8 million loan through the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan & Loan Guarantee Program to construct 16 miles of fiber to provide high-speed internet access to 800 households and 10 businesses in Union, Washington.
“This historic investment we're making in high-speed internet is also spurring good paying manufacturing jobs,” said Landrieu. He pointed to Adtran as one example, which through federal funding announced a multi-million-dollar manufacturing investment to increase the production of telecom equipment and help companies comply with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Buy America requirements.
“Companies like Adtran are stepping up, investing and making materials right here at home and onshoring jobs that used to go overseas, this investment that they're making is going to add 300 high paying jobs,” added Landrieu. “Because Made in America is no longer just a slogan.”