USDA Rural Broadband Grants Announced

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced four new investments through its ReConnect Pilot Program to expand broadband infrastructure and services in rural America.

In Missouri, the USDA will invest $60.9 million in five high-speed broadband infrastructure projects that will create or improve e-Connectivity for more than 11,000 rural households, 81 farms, 73 businesses, 16 educational facilities, 12 critical community facilities and two health care facilities in rural Missouri.  Specifically: 

• Mid-States Services LLC will use a $3 million loan to provide unserved and underserved members in and around Trenton, Mo., with Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband services. This investment is expected to reach 566 households, a highway patrol office and an elementary school. 
• Total Highspeed LLC will use a $20.1 million loan and a $20.1 million grant to build a Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to improve broadband services to families and businesses in rural Greene County. This investment is expected to reach 8,683 households, 20 pre-subscribed farms, 15 pre-subscribed businesses, eight critical community facilities, 12 educational facilities and a health care center. 
• Gascosage Electric Cooperative, serving Camden, Maries, Miller, Phelps and Pulaski counties, will use a $7 million loan and a $7 million grant to develop a Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network for its most rural areas. The investment is expected to reach 20 pre-subscribed farms, 20 pre-subscribed businesses, 1,177 households and two fire protection districts. 
• Green Hills Telephone Corporation will use a $2.6 million grant to expand its Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to rural areas in Caldwell and Livingston counties. This investment is expected to reach 20 pre-subscribed farms, 20 pre-subscribed businesses, 546 households, a fire protection district and two educational facilities. 
• Marshall Municipal Utilities will use a $575,000 loan and a $575,000 grant to provide high-quality internet access to rural areas of Saline County. By expanding its current service area, an additional 21 pre-subscribed farms, 18 pre-subscribed businesses, 763 households, a private school and a nursing home will have access to broadband. 

In Louisiana, the USDA will invest $15.5 million in a high-speed broadband infrastructure project that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for 2,609 rural households, 12 pre-subscribed businesses and 16 pre-subscribed farms in Iberville, Pointe Coupee and St. Landry parishes.  Specifically, Star Telephone Company Inc. will use a $7.7 million ReConnect Program grant and a $7.7 million ReConnect Program loan to deploy 154 miles of optical fiber and 95 miles of drop optical fiber cable to the premises. The project will cover 136 square miles in Iberville, Pointe Coupee and St. Landry parishes. 

In Washington, the USDA will invest $2.4 million in a high-speed broadband infrastructure project that will create or improve e-Connectivity for approximately 250 households and home-based businesses in rural Mason County in southwest Washington.  Specifically, Mason Public Utility District 3, based in Shelton, will use a $2.4 million ReConnect Program grant to provide high-speed broadband to the unserved Grapeview community. The Three Fingers Rural Broadband Fiber Project will provide middle-mile and last-mile fiber-optic service to each premises located within the targeted area. 

In Kentucky, the USDA will invest $55.3 million in four high-speed broadband infrastructure projects in rural Kentucky. These projects will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for more than 12,250 rural households and nearly 100 farms and businesses across Kentucky and northern Tennessee.  Specifically,  

• Ballard Rural Telephone Cooperative Corporation will use a $2.4 million ReConnect Program grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network in rural McCracken County. The funded service areas include 578 households and a critical community facility spread over 20 square miles. 
• Duo County Telephone Cooperative Corporation Inc. will use an $18.7 million ReConnect Program grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in rural Adair, Cumberland and Russell counties. The funded service areas include almost 3,650 households spread over 45 square miles. 
• Gibson Electric Membership Corporation will use a $32 million ReConnect Program loan to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in rural Fulton, Graves and Hickman counties in Kentucky, and in Dyer, Lake, Obion and Weakley counties in Tennessee. The funded service areas include almost 7,400 households spread over 1,056 square miles. 
• Thacker-Grigsby Telephone Company Inc. will use a $2.3 million ReConnect Program grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in rural Breathitt County. The funded service area includes 637 households spread over 109 square miles. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The Regulatory Mix Today:  USDA Rural Broadband Grants, FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund,  FCC Hearing Aid Compatibility Rules 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund 

At its Open Meeting this morning, the FCC voted to establish a new Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to efficiently fund the deployment of high-speed broadband networks in rural America. Through a two-phase reverse auction mechanism, the FCC will direct up to $20.4 billion over ten years to finance up to gigabit speed broadband networks in unserved rural areas, connecting millions more American homes and businesses to digital opportunity. The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction will prioritize networks with higher speeds, greater usage allowances, and lower latency. To support the deployment of sustainable networks in this auction, the auction will prioritize bidders committing to provide fast service with low latency. Bidders must also commit to provide a minimum speed more than double than was required in the CAF Phase II auction.  

Phase 1 of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund will begin later this year and target census blocks that are wholly unserved with fixed broadband at speeds of at least 25/3 Mbps.  Phase 1 will  make available up to $16 billion to census blocks where existing data shows there is no such service available whatsoever.  Funds will be allocated through a multi-round reverse auction like that used in 2018’s Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II auction.  FCC staff’s preliminary estimate is that about six million rural homes and businesses are located in areas initially eligible for bidding in the Phase I auction. 

Phase II of the program will make available at least $4.4 billion to target partially served areas, census blocks where some locations lack access to 25/3 Mbps broadband. Using the granular, precise broadband mapping data being developed in the FCC’s Digital Opportunity Data Collection, along with census blocks unawarded in the Phase I auction. 

FCC Hearing Aid Compatibility Rules 

At its Open Meeting today the FCC also voted to begin a rulemaking proceeding to update its existing hearing aid compatibility rule to incorporate the 2019 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for evaluating whether a handset is hearing aid compatible.  During a proposed two-year transition period, handsets could be tested for compatibility under either the 2011 ANSI standard that is currently in the rules or the new 2019 ANSI standard. After the transition, the Notice proposes that only the new 2019 ANSI standard could be used.  

The FCC is also proposing to: (1) adjust its current volume control deadline to coincide with the end of the transition period; and (2) remove unnecessary or superseded rules.  It also seeks comment on ways to simplify and update its hearing aid compatibility rules.  

____________________________

The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.