The lack of broadband access in rural areas significantly affects American farmers and the economy. Still, millions of people living in the United States, especially in rural and tribal areas, lack access to sufficient broadband service.
Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dr. Basil Gooden, announced the launch of the Broadband Technical Assistance Program. This initiative will provide $25 million in funding to support local organizations, cooperatives, and tribes in expanding affordable, high-speed internet access in rural areas.
The USDA is currently accepting applications.
As recently as June 2023, more than 14 percent of households in rural areas and nearly 12 percent of those in tribal areas lacked access to broadband, compared with 3 percent of households in metropolitan areas, according to data from the Federal Communications Commission.
Data from the USDA’s Economic Research Service indicates that farming contributes to nearly $133 billion of our country’s gross domestic product. Based on USB’s rural broadband survey, the lack of connectivity negatively impacts farmers responsible for $80 billion of gross domestic product.
“USDA is committed to making sure that people, no matter where they live, have access to high-speed internet,” Gooden said. “Through the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is partnering with small towns, tribes, local utilities, rural cooperatives, and private companies to increase access to this critical service, which will boost opportunities and help build bright futures. That’s how you grow the economy — not just in rural communities, but across the nation.”
The BTA program provides funding to help communities and organizations receive or deliver broadband technical assistance and training to expand high-speed internet into rural and tribal communities. This includes funding for feasibility studies, network designs, hiring efforts, application development assistance, and more.
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“Our Broadband Technical Assistance program will help expand broadband in rural areas,” said South Carolina USDA Rural Development Acting State Director George W. Hicks Jr. “This assistance will enable our rural communities to have access to internet services which will increase educational, health care, and economic opportunities and will further strengthen our rural areas in South Carolina.”
This will be the program’s second round of funding. In its first round, the program received 96 applications requesting a total of $44.5 million.
In this second round, applicants must apply through one of two funding categories.
- Under the Technical Assistance Providers category, applicants must propose to deliver broadband technical assistance that will benefit rural communities. Up to $15 million is available. The minimum award is $100,000. The maximum is $1 million.
- Under the Technical Assistance Recipients category, applicants must be the recipients of the broadband technical assistance. Up to $10 million is available. The minimum award is $50,000. The maximum is $500,000.
Applications will also be evaluated according to USDA’s new scoring criteria, which include points for projects seeking to serve distressed communities and advance racial justice, place-based equity, and opportunity. For example, points will be awarded to projects from or benefiting Rural Partners Network communities.
Applications must be submitted electronically using Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 20, 2024.
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