(Des Moines) To continue connecting rural families, business owners and agricultural producers to reliable, affordable high-speed internet, USDA is making several program improvements under Round 5 of ReConnect. This will further increase the availability of funding in rural areas where residents and businesses lack access to affordable, high-speed internet.
A total of $700 million is available under four funding categories:
- Up to $200 million is available for loans.
- Up to $200 million is available for loan/grant combinations.
- Up to $150 million is available for grants.
- Up to $150 million is available for grants serving Alaska Native corporations, Tribal governments, colonias, persistent poverty areas and socially vulnerable communities.
USDA is making several program improvements for this round of funding. For instance:
- USDA will award priority points to applications proposing to serve areas in states with the highest concentrations of Unserved Broadband Serviceable Locations (UBSLs).
- Organizations, including Tribes, that can meet robust financial tests will have increased ability to streamline the required elements in a ReConnect application.
- At least 90% of households within a proposed service area must lack sufficient access to high-speed internet, which is now defined as fixed, terrestrial high-speed internet speeds of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload.
In part, these improvements continue to ensure that the Biden Harris Administration reaches its Internet for All goals. In addition, these changes increase the availability of funding in the hardest-to-reach rural areas where residents and businesses lack access to affordable, high-speed internet.
Applications must be submitted electronically through the application system at usda.gov/reconnect by 10:59 a.m. on May 21st.
