Arlington, Va., (August 21, 2023)— Members of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association received nearly $350 million in loans and grants for broadband deployment through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest distribution of funding under the ReConnect and Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee Programs. The funding will support the delivery of 100 Mbps symmetrical or better broadband service to over 44,000 people, 1,650 businesses, 1,125 farms and 92 anchor institutions. Earlier this year, USDA awarded over $530 million to NTCA members through the ReConnect Program. In 2022, USDA awarded over $1 billion to NTCA members, including previously announced awards of approximately $400 million, $375 million and $200 million through its ReConnect and Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee programs.
“In these latest announcements, NTCA members continue to demonstrate their dedication to bridging the digital divide in some of the most rural and hardest to reach areas across the country,” said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield. “USDA has a unique focus on the mission of rural development, and we are grateful that the agency continues to recognize the relatively unique commitment NTCA members have to connecting rural America to the rest of the world.”
The following NTCA members received funding through the most recent ReConnect loans and grants announced:
- Bush-Tell Inc. (Aniak, Alaska)
- Cordova Telephone Cooperative Inc. (Cordova, Alaska)
- Fort Mojave Telecommunications Inc. (Mohave Valley, Ariz.)
- The Ponderosa Telephone Co. (O’Neals, Calif.)
- Calaveras Telephone Company (Copperopolis, Calif.)
- Prairieburg Telephone Company Inc. (Prairieburg, Iowa)
- Hamilton County Telephone Co-op (Dahlgren, Ill.)
- Wabash Telephone Cooperative Inc. (Louisville, Ill.)
- Totah Communications Inc. (Ochelata, Okla.)
- AllBand Communications Cooperative (Curran, Mich.)
- Northeast Missouri Rural Telephone Company (Green City, Mo.)
- Star Telephone Membership Corporation (Clinton, N.C.)
- Beehive Broadband (Lake Point, Utah)
- Sycamore Telephone Company (Sycamore, Ohio)
- Oklahoma Western Telephone Company (Lawton, Okla.)
- Cimarron Telephone Company LLC (Mannford, Okla.)
- Pioneer Telephone Cooperative (Philomath, Ore.)
- Tatum Telephone Company (Lawton, Okla.)
- Poka Lambro Telephone Cooperative Inc. (Tahoka, Texas)
- Scott County Telephone Cooperative (Gate City, Va.)
The following NTCA member received funding through the most recent Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee Program announced:
- Hood Canal Telephone Co. Inc. (Union, Wash.)
###
NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association is the premier association representing more than 850 independent, community-based telecommunications companies that are leading innovative change in smart rural communities across America. In an era of transformative technological developments, regulatory challenges and marketplace competition, NTCA members are advancing efforts to close the digital divide by delivering robust and high-quality services over future-proof networks. Their commitment to building sustainable networks makes rural communities fertile ground for innovation in economic development, e-commerce, health care, agriculture and education, and it contributes billions of dollars to the U.S. economy each year. Visit us at www.ntca.org.
PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date