In a few short months RUS will be releasing a Notice of Funding for the e-Connectivity program allowing for companies to compete for Grants, Loan-Grants and Loans.
The program is designed to assist with capital requirements for unserved rural areas.
Program requirements as we understand today are as follows:
- Multiple Proposed Funded Service Areas (PFSA) can be included in an application and do not have to be connected.
- Below speeds of 10 Mbps down 1 Mbps up will be defined as unserved areas. Also if the cost for 10/1 is prohibitive, the areas are defined as unserved.
- Applications will be submitted online and will be ranked to identify awardees.
Many of the rules will be taken or modified from the existing Broadband Program or the BIP program.
If you are thinking about looking at the e-Connectivity program, you might want to start looking at areas of interest in order to speed up the process and provide more time to get a quality application filed.
MRL will be available to assist your company with filing an application or assist with the process. If you have any questions or would like to ensure you company is in our queue for applications, please contact our office at your earliest convenience.