ReConnect Funding to Give Access to High-Speed Internet e-Connectivity
STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA, Aug. 11, 2021 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $167 million in 12 states to deploy broadband infrastructure in rural areas without sufficient access to high-speed internet. Rural Oklahoma is receiving more than $32 million.
“Generations ago, the federal government recognized that without affordable access to electricity, Americans couldn’t fully participate in modern society and the modern economy. Broadband internet is the new electricity. It is necessary for Americans to do their jobs, to participate equally in school learning and health care, and to stay connected,” Secretary Vilsack said. “This is why President Biden’s American Jobs Plan prioritizes building ‘future-proof’ broadband infrastructure – like the investments we’re announcing today – in areas without sufficient access to broadband, so that we finally reach 100 percent high-speed broadband coverage.”
These investments will benefit rural people in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
Projects in Oklahoma are:
• Texhoma Fiber LLC will use a $2,648,931 grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in rural Oklahoma. The funded service area includes 353 households, 890 people, three educational facilities, two essential community facilities, two health care facilities, 60 businesses and a farm spread over one square mile.
• Southern Plains Cable LLC will use a $2,228,689 loan and $2,228,689 grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises and a hybrid-fiber-coax network in rural Oklahoma. The funded service area includes 123 households, 293 people, an essential community facility, seven farms, and five businesses spread over five square miles.
• Terral Telephone Company will use a $1,854,675 grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in rural Oklahoma. The funded service area includes 105 households, 255 people, two educational facilities, three essential community facilities, a health care facility, 11 businesses and 74 farms spread over 132 square miles.
• Oklahoma Western Telephone Company will use a $23,344,336 grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in rural Oklahoma. The funded service area includes 947 households, 2,459 people, an educational facility, two essential community facilities, 17 businesses and 301 farms spread over 297 square miles.
The investments being announced today are part of the $550 million Congress allocated to the second round of the ReConnect Program as well as other funds made available for the program since 2018. USDA expects to begin inviting applications for a third round of program funds in the coming weeks.
Background:
USDA’s ReConnect Program provides loans and grants to construct, improve or acquire facilities and equipment needed to provide broadband service in eligible rural areas. To learn more about ReConnect Program eligibility, technical assistance and recent announcements, visit www.usda.gov/reconnect.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
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