WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Department of Rural Development has awarded approximately $63.3 million in grants and loans to bring high-speed Internet access to communities in the Pacific Northwest.
Funding comes from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act passed by Congress in 2021. The bill provides $65 billion for rural broadband expansion in the U.S., with $759 million announced on Oct. 27 for 49 projects in 26 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and Palau.
In a statement, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said the agency is committed to providing people with access to high-speed Internet, no matter where they live.
“That’s how you grow the economy — not just in rural communities, but across the country,” Vilsack said.
State and local governments, tribes, corporations and cooperatives are eligible to apply for funding through the USDA’s ReConnect loan and grant program. The program helps pay for the construction or upgrade of broadband facilities and equipment in eligible rural areas.
Of the $63.3 million earmarked for the Northwest, $35 million will go to Western Oregon to support a pair of projects that will provide high-speed broadband Internet access to nearly 5,000 people — including 100 businesses, 579 farms and two schools — in Polk, Benton, Lincoln and counties
“Fast and reliable Internet is essential to the growth and prosperity of Oregon’s rural communities,” said Margie Hoffman, USDA State Director of Rural Development. “By working with local utilities and cooperatives, the USDA is ensuring that even our most rural households, farms and businesses have a chance to build a brighter, more connected future.”
Those projects include $24.9 million for Philomath-based Pioneer Telephone Cooperative to build a fiber-optic network connecting 3,570 people, 558 farms and 72 businesses to high-speed Internet in Benton, Lincoln and Polk counties.
Another $10.6 million will go to Florence-based Siuslaw Broadband LLC to build a high-speed fiber-to-the-premises Internet network connecting 1,407 people, 28 businesses, 21 farms and two schools in Lane County.
Elsewhere, one project in southwest Washington was funded, with about $8.6 million going to Kalam’s phone company.
The company will build a fiber-to-fiber network that will connect 4,330 people, 61 businesses and 21 farms to high-speed Internet in rural Cowlitz County.
The USDA has awarded about $2.1 million to Columbine Telephone Company in Madison County, Idaho, to build a fiber-to-fiber network connecting 469 people, 32 businesses and four farms to high-speed Internet.
Finally, $17.6 million will go to Cal-Ore Telephone Company in Tulelake, California, near the Oregon border, to build a fiber-optic network that will connect 321 people, seven farms, six businesses and three public schools with high speed internet.
https://www.indianagazette.com/news/national/usda-rural-development-awards-grants-for-rural-broadband/article_00898766-6e16-5ee6-9629-785f9774e222.html
