Broadband Initiatives Program

The Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is managing a complementary program of $2.4 billion worth of loans, grants and loan-grant combinations to promote broadband deployment in rural areas.

Up to $1.2 billion will be available for “last-mile” projects providing services to end users. Up to $400 million of that is available for projects in so-called Remote Areas, which are unserved, rural areas at least 50 miles from a non-rural area. Up to $800 million is available for projects for Non-Remote Areas. An additional $800 million will be available for “middle mile” projects, those that do not predominantly serve end users. Up to $325 million will be reserved for additional funding in these categories or for future application rounds.

More information on both of the broadband programs, as well as the complete application packet is available by clicking here National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and RUS are using a common application form and working together to process applications.