RUS $25 Million Community Connect Grant Opens for Application

Access is one of the top broadband challenges in the U.S., Adelstein said. The program is designed to bring broadband to rural areas that have been overlooked by today’s communications technology, improving education, commerce, public safety and health care in these areas, he said. Eligible entities are incorporated organizations, tribes and tribal organizations, state and local government bodies, for-profit or non-profit cooperatives, private corporations and limited liability corporations. Individuals aren’t eligible for the program. Grants will range from $50,000 to $1.5 million. The grant program aligns with President Barack Obama’s innovation strategy, which emphasizes the role for regulators to help facilitate investment in technology, promote market-based innovation and enhance national key priorities, Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra said. Robust digital infrastructure is critical to job creation and economic growth, especially in rural areas that are unserved, he said.

RUS believes that broadband speeds of 200 kbps, as defined by federal regulation, aren’t adequate to offer services like distance learning and telemedicine, the NOSA said. As a result, emphasis will be placed on bandwidth when the applications are scored for the “community-oriented connectivity benefits derived from the proposed services.” Applicants are encouraged to construct systems that are capable of delivering speeds that are identified in the National Broadband Plan.

It makes sense for the Community Connect program to be consistent with the stimulus programs and the National Broadband Plan recommendations, said Wiley Rein consultant Hilda Legg, a former RUS administrator. The grants are being targeted to the unserved, she said. The pool would shrink with the stimulus money, but a large number of applicants are still expected, she said. Applications from very isolated communities are likely, she said. Although $25 million may seemed like a small amount of money, stiff competition is likely with many applications of small projects, said consultant Craig Settles. It’s about using a small amount of money that would connect the most number of people, he said. “Depending on the type of technology, that money can go a long way,” Legg said.

Meanwhile, community-owned broadband projects are eligible for the grant program, Adelstein said. But applicants must have the legal capacity and authority to own and operate the broadband facilities as proposed in its application, to enter into contracts and to otherwise comply with applicable federal statues and regulations, the NOSA said. To be eligible for a grant, the project must serve a rural area where broadband doesn’t currently exist, to be verified by Rural Development, it said. The project must also deploy basic broadband service, free of all charges for at least two years, to all critical community facilities located in the proposed service area. It must also provide a community center with at least 10 computer access points within the proposed service area and make broadband available therein, free of all charges to users for at least two years.