USDA is allocating close to $700 million in grants and loans through the ReConnect Program to expand high-speed internet access in rural areas.
“Keeping the people of rural America connected with reliable, high-speed internet brings new and innovative ideas to the rest of our country and creates good-paying jobs along the way,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.
The ReConnect Program is designed to fund underserved areas in the country, which are usually rural and remote locations. The latest announcement is the fourth funding round of the program, the goal of which is to connect everyone in the country to high-speed internet by 2030.
An example of the recent funding is a $21 million loan to the Ponderosa Telephone Co. in California, which will provide high-speed internet to more than 1,000 people in Fresno County.
