The Agriculture Department on Monday said it will be distributing $667 million for high-speed internet projects through the fourth funding round of its ReConnect Program.
The funding will be provided through grants and loans to the broadband companies undertaking the projects. It will go toward projects in Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and the Marshall Islands.
ReConnect funding goes towards rural areas lacking access to service with download speeds of of up to 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of 20 Mbps. All funding recipients must also participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program, a provision of the 2021 infrastructure law offering up to $30 in monthly discounts for internet service in qualifying low-income households or up to $75 for households on tribal lands.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters the funding will help provide a "significant increase" in internet speeds for rural and farming communities.
"We were concerned about the impact not having access to high-speed internet may have on the farming community, on small business development and rural communities," he said.
Approximately $493 of the $667 million is being distributed as grants, while the remaining $174 is being provided for loans, Vilsack said.
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The largest grants will go toward projects in Alaska, according to Rural Development's list of projects. Unicom Incorporated will receive $35 million for a "fiber-to-the-premises" network in the Bethel and Kusilvak Census areas of the state, while $34.9 million will go to Cordova Telephone Cooperative Inc. for a hybrid fiber-coax and fixed wireless network in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area.
A $30.1 million grant will go to a Public Utility District serving Okanogan County, Washington, for installation of a fiber-to-the-premises network.
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