News
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced when they will begin accepting applications for the fifth round of their ReConnect Program funding.
March 22 is when the USDA will begin accepting applications for the agency’s ReConnect Program Round 5, which includes several program improvements, according to the USDA.
An upcoming webinar, to be held by Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service, will also afford potential applicants the ability to ask questions regarding a recently published Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Registration for that webinar, scheduled for March 6, is available here.
As previously reported by Broadband Communities, the USDA invested in 88 projects in the fourth round for ReConnect Program funding, totaling a bit more than $1.72 billion in grant and loan funding for high-speed internet, almost entirely fiber.
The USDA’s ReConnect Program “provides loans, grants, and loan-grant combinations to bring high-speed internet to rural areas that lack sufficient access to broadband,” according to a USDA factsheet.
The program’s funds can be used to cover construction costs, or to fund improvements and the acquisition of facilities or equipment, the factsheet stated.
Among the changes in the fifth round is an extended deadline, an amended notice published in the Federal Register stated. The program will now have a deadline of May 21 to accept applications.
USDA Rural Development has also released a guide, titled “Preparing to Apply: ReConnect Round 5” to navigate applicants through the process.
According to previous reporting from Broadband Communities, projects funded through Round 4 of the ReConnect Program will connect 94,147 households (over 200,000 family members) and 18,329 farms, businesses, and educational institutions across 13,668 square miles.
Co-ops overall did well in the fourth round of the awards competition, getting 26 projects funded. Corporations, also identified as LLCs, snagged 49.
For more information about the USDA’s ReConnect Program Round 5, visit the USDA’s ReConnect Program website.
