USDA Partners with Communities to Bring High-Speed Broadband e-Connectivity Infrastructure to Rural Areas

Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett announced that the US Department of Agriculture is investing in infrastructure projects in a dozen states to improve e-Connectivity in rural communities. USDA is investing $91 million through the Telecommunications Programs. The 19 projects will benefit more than 27,000 businesses and households in AR, GA, IA, KY, MN, NC, ND, NM, OK, TN, UT, and VA. Examples of the projects in which USDA is investing:

• The Arkansas Rural Internet Company is receiving a $19.9 million loan to deploy a fiber broadband system to more than 5,000 subscribers in Dallas, Calhoun and Ouchita counties in rural southern AR. 
• In NM, the Tularosa Basin Telephone Company Inc. will use an $11.8 million loan to improve telecommunications for nearly 10,000 customers in the Carrizozo, Cloudcroft and Tularosa exchanges. 
• The Choctaw Nation is receiving a $2.9 million grant to construct a hybrid fiber and fixed wireless system on unserved portions of Le Flore County (OK). This project will increase access to economic development, health care, educational and public safety opportunities for 300 households and 15 businesses. It will include a community center in the Hodgen School where the public can access computer terminals and WiFi service free of charge.