Stakeholders are relieved that the House and Senate passed the debt ceiling bill yesterday evening, averting an impending government shutdown and other dire consequences. The bill calls for certain spending cuts, but according to a research note issued this week…
Four federal agencies have agreed to a broad data sharing agreement under which they will collaborate on collection and reporting and share information on broadband deployment. The “covered agencies” in the “Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Information Sharing” are the FCC,…
HOUSTON, TX — August 12, 2020 — After partnering with CHR Solutions, SyncGlobal was awarded a $12.5 million USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS) grant to deliver residential fiber internet to several unserved rural counties in Georgia. The project timeline currently…
Two organizations representing rural broadband service providers have asked the USDA to relax certain rules for the ReConnect rural broadband funding program. In a letter to the administrator of USDA’s Rural Utilities Service unit, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association…
USDA ReConnect awards made today in Kansas, Oklahoma and New Hampshire total $73 million in the program aimed at creating or enhancing broadband capabilities in rural areas. In New Hampshire, the program is providing a $2 million loan to Granite…
The Universal Broadband Act introduced in the House of Representatives yesterday aims to expand the contribution base from which funding for the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF) program is drawn. The USF, which has four sub-programs, has increasingly been focused…
Three service providers in New Mexico are getting a total of $23 million in USDA ReConnect awards to improve rural broadband in the state. In all, the projects will provide broadband service to more than 2,200 rural households in 17…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $152 million in 19 rural broadband projects across 14 states. The USDA rural broadband funding projects are in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West…
Chad Rupe is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) new Rural Utilities Service (RUS) administrator, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today. Rupe had been the Acting Administrator for the RUS since April 30. Before stepping into that role,…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will start accepting applications for its Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program) on April 23. The ReConnect Program enables USDA to create and implement innovative solutions to rural connectivity by providing various financial options to…
Various government agencies today announced a cross-government strategy to promote broadband deployment — the American Broadband Initiative (ABI). ABI includes streamlining the federal permitting process, leveraging Federal assets to lower the cost of build-outs and maximizing the impact of Federal…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is extending the deadlines for applications for its Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program). The USDA said the deadlines for the program have been pushed back to no earlier than May 31 or later…
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