USDA is announcing plans today to spend $759 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding in the third round of the department’s ReConnect program. The money will go to 24 U.S. states and territories.

A USDA official described three of the grants: $36.5 million of the funding will go to Public Service Telephone Co. in Georgia, $62.5 million to Shelby Electrical Cooperative in Illinois and $7.1 million to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority in the Navajo Nation.

Take note: The USDA official said the funds are supposed to be used “as expeditiously as possible,” but the program does have a five-year buildout timeframe.

The Department of Agriculture is providing a fresh $1.15 billion in ReConnect program funding to expand broadband availability in rural communities. The new funding will be available for projects in areas where 90% of households lack service with download speeds of 100 megabits per second download speeds and upload speeds of 20 Mbps.


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