Roughly 20 states will soon get a cut of more than half a billion dollars in an effort to expand high-speed broadband access in rural communities.
The additional $502 million is part of the funding from the Reconnect Program and will come in the form of loans and grants issued by the USDA. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says more grants will soon be available through the current Administration’s Infrastructure Law, with funds going to the most vulnerable communities.
“With the announcement today, we’re adding an additional $502 million of investments in 20 states. These resources are divided between loans and grants, with roughly $141 million in loans and $360 million or so in grants. This is a second announcement that has been made by the Biden-Harris Administration. Up to this point in round three, we have announced $858 million of additional investments. We anticipate and expect additional announcements in the very near future,” said Vilsack.
Secretary Vilsack says one condition of the additional funding is that network capacity must be capable of handling 100 up and 100 down, which most internet companies classify as high-speed.
