ReConnect Funding to Connect 1,326 Rural Georgia Households to High-Speed Internet e-Connectivity (USDA) — The Trump Administration announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $4.6 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in Georgia. This investment is part of the $550 million Congress allocated to the second round of the ReConnect Program. “The …
USDA Invests in Broadband for Rural Georgia Communities
(USDA/RD) — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a $5 million investment in two, high-speed broadband infrastructure projects that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for 1,221 rural households, 32 pre-subscribed businesses and 20 pre-subscribed farms in McIntosh and Evans counties in Georgia. This is one of many funding announcements in the first round of the United States Department of Agriculture’s …
Broadband Map Fix Will Reveal Needs
(AFBF) — The House of Representatives passed Farm Bureau-backed legislation that will improve the accuracy of broadband coverage maps to better identify needs. The Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (DATA) Act (H.R. 4229) requires broadband providers to report more specific data to create a significantly more accurate and granular National Broadband Map. With more precise data, federal agencies can …
USDA to Make Funding Available in 2020 to Deploy High-Speed Broadband Internet Infrastructure in Rural America
Announcement Made at Round One Investment in Iowa (USDA/RD) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the availability of a second round of $550 million in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Reconnect Pilot Program funding appropriated by Congress. The application window for this round of funding is set to open Jan. 31, 2020. Secretary Perdue made the announcement alongside Iowa …
USDA Invests in Rural Broadband Infrastructure for Alabama Families
(USDA/RD) — U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald “DJ” LaVoy announced USDA has invested $62.3 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve e-Connectivity for more than 8,000 rural households, 57 farms, 44 businesses, 17 educational facilities, 14 critical community facilities and three health care facilities in rural Alabama. This is one …
Rural Broadband Will Boost Economy, Improve Sustainability and Animal Welfare
(AFBF) — Broadband is no longer a luxury but a necessity for modern agriculture and the quality of life for rural Americans, Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst told a House subcommittee. “While most Americans take broadband for granted, 26.4% of rural Americans lack access to broadband,” the Missouri farmer told the Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit. …
Report Released on Rural Broadband and Benefits of Next Generation Precision Agriculture
Reliable, High-Speed Broadband e-Connectivity is Essential to Enhanced Agricultural Production Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue unveiled a groundbreaking report, A Case for Rural Broadband: Insights on Rural Broadband Infrastructure and Next Generation Precision Agriculture Technologies (PDF, 2.5 MB). The report finds that deployment of both broadband e-Connectivity and Next Generation Precision Agriculture Technology on farms and ranches throughout the U.S. could result …
USDA Opens Application Portal for New ReConnect Rural Broadband Infrastructure Program
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting online applications for funding through the new ReConnect Rural Broadband Pilot Program. These funds will enable the federal government to partner with the private sector and rural communities to build modern broadband infrastructure in areas with insufficient internet service. Insufficient service is defined as connection …
Secretary Perdue on the American Broadband Initiative Milestones Report
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement regarding the American Broadband Initiative Milestones Report: “Last year, I presented the findings of the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to President Trump at the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention. The report showed how broadband e-connectivity is essential for achieving rural prosperity in the 21st Century, and it has guided work …
USDA Launches High-Speed Broadband e-Connectivity Resource Guide
Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett announced the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched a new toolkit to help support the deployment of high-speed broadband e-Connectivity in rural communities. “High-speed broadband e-Connectivity is becoming more and more essential to doing business, delivering health care, and, for schoolchildren, doing homework in rural communities,” Hazlett said. “This …