USDA Invests $5 Million in Broadband for Rural Georgia Communities

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a $5 million investment in two, high-speed broadband infrastructure projects that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for 1,221 rural households, 32 pre-subscribed businesses and 20 pre-subscribed farms in McIntosh and Evans counties in Georgia. This is one of many funding announcements in the first round of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ReConnect Pilot Program investments.

“Our core mission at USDA is to increase rural prosperity through boosting economic opportunity in rural America,” Perdue said. “We know that rural communities need robust, modern infrastructure to thrive, and that includes having access to broadband e-Connectivity. Under the leadership of President Trump, USDA is proud to partner with rural communities to deploy this critical infrastructure, because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.”

The Darien Telephone Company will use a $1 million ReConnect Program grant to expand high-speed internet service to underserved households and businesses in McIntosh County, using Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology. The project’s service area includes 257 households, 17 pre-subscribed businesses and a critical community facility.

The Pembroke Telephone Company will use a $2 million ReConnect Program grant and a $2 million ReConnect Program loan to build an FTTP network to provide high-speed internet to residents, businesses and farms in Evans County. The project’s service area includes 964 households, 20 pre-subscribed farms and 15 pre-subscribed businesses.

Background:

In March 2018, Congress provided $600 million to USDA to expand broadband infrastructure and services in rural America. On Dec. 13, 2018, Secretary Perdue announced the rules of the program, called “ReConnect,” including how the loans and grants will be awarded to help build broadband infrastructure in rural America. USDA received 146 applications between May 31, 2019, and July 12, 2019, requesting $1.4 billion in funding across all three ReConnect Program funding products: 100 percent loan, 100 percent grant, and loan-grant combinations. USDA is reviewing applications and announcing approved projects on a rolling basis. Additional investments in all three categories will be made in the coming weeks.

These grants, loans and combination funds enable the federal government to partner with the private sector and rural communities to build modern broadband infrastructure in areas with insufficient internet service. Insufficient service is defined as connection speeds of less than 10 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 1 Mbps upload.

In December 2019, Agriculture Secretary Perdue announced USDA will be making available an additional $550 million in ReConnect funding in 2020. USDA will make available up to $200 million for grants, up to $200 million for 50/50 grant/loan combinations, and up to $200 million for low-interest loans. The application window for this round of funding opened on Jan. 31, 2020. Applications for all funding products will be accepted in the same application window, which will close on March 16, 2020.

A full description of 2020 ReConnect Pilot Program funding is available on page 67913 of the Dec. 12, 2019, Federal Register (PDF, 336 KB). To learn more about eligibility, technical assistance and recent announcements, visit www.usda.gov/reconnect.

In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump.