CNN
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the biden administration announced Thursday that it would allocate more than $400 million in loans and grants to support high-speed Internet projects for rural communities, funding that is expected to reach some 31,000 families and businesses in 11 states.
“Rural communities are the backbone of our nation and have a broad impact on our economy, but for too long, rural communities have been left out or left behind and under-recognized for their contributions. We’re changing that, and it starts with making sure rural communities are connected to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet,” bipartisan White House Infrastructure Act Coordinator Mitch Landrieu said on a call with reporters. “Thanks to the hard work of the President, (Agriculture Secretary Tom) Vilsack and the USDA Rural Development team, our administration is providing more than $400 million in loans and grants to fund high-speed Internet infrastructure for rural communities. this week”.
Many rural areas across the country lack affordable, high-speed Internet access in large part because installing the infrastructure isn’t worth it for Internet service providers. The financing of the new projects, which will come through the USDA Reconnection loans and grants program, aims at the construction, improvement and acquisition of facilities and equipment to support rural broadband access. Additional announcements for program funding are expected over the course of the summer.
Vilsack said the $401 million in funding announced today will support 20 projects in 11 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota and Texas.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for us over the next few months to implement an investment of more than a billion dollars to connect people to a better, more modern future,” he added, highlighting how connectivity will support farmers, will expand access to telemedicine in remote areas and expand access to distance learning opportunities.
Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said on the call that a portion of the funds will go to projects in her state, including a $27.1 million grant awarded to Uprise Fiber, which “will go toward improving access to broadband in rural Lovelock, Nevada.
The project, he said, will connect about 4,000 people, 130 businesses, 22 farms and seven public schools in rural Nevada to high-speed Internet.
Earlier this monthThe White House announced that 1 million American households have signed up for broadband Internet credits through the Affordable Connectivity Program since the introduction of GetInternet.gov in May.
Through the program, eligible participants can receive a $30 monthly credit toward the cost of their Internet service plan, or a $75 monthly credit for households living on tribal lands. The administration estimates that a staggering 40% of American households are eligible for the credit.
Thursday’s announcement marks the administration’s latest effort to highlight infrastructure projects pushed since the start of President Joe Biden‘s time in the office.
Unlike the rural internet projects announced Thursday, the Affordable Connectivity Program is funded through a provision of the massive bipartisan infrastructure bill passed last year.
It will take some time for many of the infrastructure projects funded by the bipartisan bill (new roads and bridges, for example) to fully come to fruition due to the planning and approval processes and the digging. But the Affordable Connectivity Program is a one-off effort that yields almost immediate and tangible benefits, a critical victory the administration can tout before the November midterm elections.
additional financing through the bipartisan infrastructure law for rural internet projects is expected to be implemented next year.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the amount of the grant awarded to Uprise Fiber. It’s $27.1 million.