Source: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development

Eligible Applicant: Most State and Local governments, Federally-recognized Tribes, Non-profits, and For-profit corporations.

Description: This program helps fund broadband deployment into rural communities where it is not yet economically viable for private sector providers to deliver service of at least 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. A funding match of 15% from non-federal sources are required, and can be used for operating costs.

Source: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Eligible Applicant: 

• States, local governments, or any agency, subdivision, instrumentality, or political subdivision thereof
• A territory or possession of the United States
• Federally-recognized Tribes
• Non-profit entities
• For-profit corporations
• Limited liability companies
• Cooperative or mutual organizations

Description: This program furnishes loans and grants to provide funds for the costs of construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment needed to provide broadband service in eligible rural areas. Below are the maximum award amounts, per application.

• 100 Percent Grant program is available for up to $25,000,000.
• 50 Percent Loan / 50 Percent Grant is available for up to $50,000,000 in total - $25,000,000 for the grant and $25,000,000 for the loan.
• 100 Percent Loan is for up to $200,000,000.

Source: Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)

Eligible Applicant: K-12 Public Schools and Libraries.

Description: The schools and libraries universal service support program (i.e. E-Rate Program) helps schools and libraries obtain affordable broadband. Eligible schools, school districts, and libraries may apply individually or as part of a consortium.

Funding may be requested under two service categories:

• Services to a school or library (telecommunications, telecommunications services and Internet access)
• Services that deliver Internet access within schools and libraries (internal connections, basic maintenance of internal connections, and managed internal broadband services)

Discounts for support depend on the poverty level and location of the school or library. E-Rate discounts range from 20% to 90% of costs for eligible services.

Through the Emergency Connectivity Fund in the American Rescue Plan Act, $7.6 billion was allocated for expanding the purpose of E-rate funding to allow for the purchase of eligible equipment and telecom services for students, school staff, and library patrons at other locations than the school or library.

Source: Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Eligible Applicant:  Broadband providers

Description: On December 7, 2020 the Federal Communications Commission announced preliminary results of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction. The results of the RDOF auction have the potential to award up to $238.6 million to connect up to 186,745 locations across the Commonwealth. Areas awarded in the RDOF auction must be served within 6 years of final acceptance of areas won in the auction, expected in the Summer of 2021.

Source: Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)

Background: The Alternative Connect America Cost Model (ACAM) provides support to rate-of-return carriers that voluntarily elect to transition to a new cost model for calculating High Cost funding. ACAM models forward-looking economic costs of deploying and operating a fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) network. ACAM is funded at $578 million annually from 2017 to 2026.

Deployment Requirements: Carriers must provide fixed broadband and voice services to awarded  locations based on the following deployment schedule:

• 40% of deployments by the end of year 4
• 50% of deployments by the end of year 5
• 60% of deployments by the end of year 6
• 70% of deployments by the end of year 7
• 80% of deployments by the end of year 8
• 90% of deployments by the end of year 9
• 100% of deployments by the end of year 10

Source: National Telecommunications and Information Association

Description: $300 million broadband deployment program directed to partnerships between a state, or one or more political subdivisions of a state, and providers of fixed broadband service to support broadband infrastructure deployment to areas lacking broadband, especially rural areas.

Source: Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Description: The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program that provides a temporary discount on monthly broadband bills for qualifying low-income households. If a household is eligible, it can receive up to a $50/month discount on your broadband service and associated equipment rentals. More information can be found at https://getemergencybroadband.org/

Source: National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Description: The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is a $1 billion program directed to tribal governments to be used for broadband deployment on tribal lands, as well as for telehealth, distance learning, broadband affordability, and digital inclusion. The rulemaking process is underway for this program, with final rules released in summer 2021.

Source: National Telecommunications and Information Association

Description:  The $285 million Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program will provide grant funding to eligible recipients to purchase broadband or eligible equipment, or to hire and train IT personnel. The rulemaking process is underway for this program, with final rules released in late summer to early fall 2021.

Source: BroadbandUSA

Description: BroadbandUSA provides a list of federal funding opportunities in the broadband space.