Department of Agriculture

The Department of Agriculture is investing  $18.88 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for nearly 270 rural households in Yakutat. The project, dubbed NICEY (New Internet Communications for Everyone in Yakutat), will deliver broadband internet service to all 662 year-round residents and businesses in Yakutat via fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) connections. Yakutat will be connected to Cordova’s submarine fiber optics via a new microwave middle-mile network spanning 230 miles between the two communities.

The Department of Agriculture is providing $6 million to expand high-speed broadband infrastructure that will provide e-Connectivity for nearly 650 new customers in rural Wheeler and Grant counties. Oregon Telephone Corporation (OTC) will use a ReConnect Program grant to deploy 89 miles of fiber to serve some of the most remote areas of the continental United States. The new broadband infrastructure will provide network speeds ranging from 30 megabits per second (Mbps) to 1 gigabyte per second (Gbps).

The Department of Agriculture is investing  $4.79 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity in the county of Sweetwater. All West Communications Inc. of Wyoming and Utah, will use the grant to fund the construction of high-speed broadband infrastructure in southwest Wyoming.

The US Department of Agriculture is investing  $5.2 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for rural households and farms in Kansas. Wave Wireless, LLC will use ReConnect Program funding to deploy a Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or greater. The funded service areas include 1,390 households, 16 businesses, and 23 farms.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing the funding through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant program. These investments will benefit 5.4 million rural residents. Projects include:

The Department of Agriculture invested $41.6 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for rural households and farms in Missouri and Southern Iowa. The Grand River Mutual Telephone Corporation will use ReConnect Program funding to deploy a fiber to the premises (FTTP) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or greater. The funded service areas include 2,288 households, 17 businesses and 39 farms.

The Department of Agriculture invested $7.2 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for rural households and farms in Iowa and South Dakota. The Heartland Telecommunications Company of Iowa, doing business as Premier Communications, will use a ReConnect Program loan to deploy a fiber to the premises (FTTP) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 1/1 gigabits per second. The funded service areas include 868 households, 17 businesses and 27 farms.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) invested nearly $3.8 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for more than 1,250 rural households in Virginia. Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative will use ReConnect Program funding to deploy a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or greater. The funded service areas include 1,254 households, two volunteer fire departments, and four educational facilities.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested $9,750,000 in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for 3,911 rural households in South Carolina. Orangeburg County (SC) will use ReConnect Program grant funding to deploy a fiber to the home (FTTH) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or greater. The funded service areas include 3,911 households, 21 farms, 17 rural businesses, 13 educational facilities, nine critical community facilities, and a health care center. 

The Department of Agriculture's ReConnect Pilot Program is investing  $2,856,167 in high-speed broadband infrastructure to create or improve e-Connectivity for 347 rural households in Tennessee. Tennessee’s Forked Deer Electric Cooperative will use a ReConnect Program grant to deploy a fiber to the home (FTTH) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or greater. The funded service areas include 347 households and one critical community facility spread over approximately 435 square miles.