SUMMARY: The Community Connect Grant Program (Community Connect Program) is designed to provide financial assistance to provide service at broadband speed in communities where broadband service does not currently exist.
- The construction, acquisition, or leasing of facilities, spectrum, land, or buildings used to deploy broadband service for:
- All residential and business customers located within the Proposed Funded Service Area (PFSA)
- All participating critical community facilities (such as public schools, fire stations, and public libraries)
- The cost of providing broadband service free of charge to the critical community facilities for 2 years.
- Less than 10% of the grant amount or up to $150,000 may be used for the improvement, expansion, construction, or acquisition of a community center that provides online access to the public.
Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis for entities to serve all premises in eligible rural areas at broadband speed to ensure rural consumers enjoy the same quality and range of broadband services as are available in urban and suburban communities.
DEADLINE: Applications were to be submitted by December 23, 2020. The next application window is expected to open in early 2023.
ELIGIBILITY: Eligible applicants include:
- Incorporated organizations
- Federally recognized Tribes
- State and local units of government
- Any other legal entity, including cooperatives, private corporations, or limited liability companies organized on a for-profit or not-for-profit basis.
Rural areas that lack any existing broadband speed of at least 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream are eligible.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/telecommunications-programs/community-connect-grants#overview