USDA Partners with Local Organizations, Cooperatives and Tribes to Support High-Speed Internet Deployment in Rural Communities as Part of Investing in America Agenda
Columbia, Mo., April 24, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small today announced that USDA is partnering with rural cooperatives, local organizations and Tribes to support high-speed internet deployment in 11 states.
USDA is awarding $5.2 million in cooperative agreements through the Broadband Technical Assistance Program, which is funded through the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
This funding will extend the reach of other high-speed internet programs to connect every community in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed internet.
Keeping the people of rural America connected with reliable, high-speed internet brings new and innovative ideas to the rest of our country,” Deputy Secretary Torres Small said. “Through President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, USDA is partnering with small towns, cooperatives, local utilities and private companies working to ensure that people, no matter where they live, have access to high-speed internet. That’s how you grow the economy – not just in rural communities, but across the nation.”
The Broadband Technical Assistance Program provides funding to cooperatives and organizations interested in receiving or delivering broadband technical assistance and training. This program promotes the expansion of high-speed internet into rural communities by funding feasibility studies, network designs, hiring efforts, application development assistance and more.
Today’s announcement will help people living in Alaska, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia.
In Missouri, The Curators of the University of Missouri is receiving a $191,038 award to support community planning, a broadband economic analysis study, an environmental study and a technical design study in Carter and Shannon counties in Missouri. The project hopes to promote the expansion of high-speed internet.
A full list of projects from today’s announcement is available online.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
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