United States Department of Agriculture Attention broadband providers, local governments and officials, and cooperatives! The Rural Utilities Service, an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is accepting proposals for its Rural eConnectivity Program. This program provides loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations to facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas. By facilitating the expansion of broadband services and infrastructure, the program will fuel long-term economic development and opportunities in rural America. Applications may be submitted beginning September 6, 2022, through November 2, 2022.

United States Department of Agriculture – Rural Development, Rural Utilities Service Does your organization provide education or health care services in rural areas? The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting proposals for its 2021 Distance Learning & Telemedicine (DLT) grants program. The goal of the DLT program is to enable and improve rural access to education, training, and health care through modern telecommunications technology. This 27-year-old program has helped to establish hundreds of distance learning and telemedicine systems in rural areas throughout the United States. Proposals for this year’s solicitation are due June 4, 2021.

COVID-19 has forced many schools, hospitals, and agencies to launch emergency operations that they did not previously offer or to expand upon services that were quickly found to be insufficient. Many limped into virtual operations without adequate technology infrastructure, software platforms, or sufficient bandwidth (both internet signal and staff capacity). The USDA Rural Utilities Services Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant is not new, but it has certainly launched itself into celebrity status. This three-year grant provides eligible applicants the funding to purchase telecommunications equipment, computer networks, and related advanced technologies to be used by students, medical professionals, and rural residents for the purpose of expanding telemedicine and distance learning to rural communities.