Giving Compass' Take:
- Seth Bodine discusses how the USDA is supplying funding to expand rural broadband, but internet providers in rural areas are facing equipment shortages.
- How can the $1 trillion infrastructure bill help internet providers to expand broadband in rural communities?
- Learn more about leveraging existing systems to improve rural broadband.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing millions of dollars to expand broadband in rural areas, but rural internet providers are facing shortages and long waits for equipment.
The USDA is allocating $167 million in grants and loans to broadband providers in Oklahoma, Missouri, Colorado, Georgia, North Dakota, Arizona, Alaska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia in the latest round of the ReConnect program. The funds are part of $550 million Congress provided for the program in 2020 and 2021.
The Senate sent a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, which includes $65 billion for broadband expansion, to the House this week.
Broadband providers already are having a hard time getting equipment. Shirley Bloomfield, the CEO of the National Rural Broadband Association, says providers says that they can’t get 30-40% of the needed equipment to install broadband. This includes fiber, which she says companies are waiting up to 71 weeks to be delivered.
Read the full article about rural broadband by Seth Bodine at Harvest Public Media.