Osage Municipal Utilities will use a $368,000 ReConnect grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 397 people, 27 farms, 14 businesses and a post office to high-speed broadband internet in Mitchell County, Iowa.

C-M-L Telephone Cooperative Association will use a $744,000 ReConnect grant to deploy a last-mile, fiber-to-the-premises network, which will connect three farms left out of past middle-mile deployment efforts in Cherokee County, Iowa.

Citizens Mutual Telephone Cooperative will use a $731,500 ReConnect grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 941 people, 40 farms and seven businesses to high-speed broadband internet in Wapello County, Iowa.

In March 2018, Congress provided $600 million to USDA to expand broadband infrastructure and services in rural America. On Dec. 13, 2018, Secretary Perdue announced the rules of the program, called “ReConnect,” including how the loans and grants will be awarded to help build broadband infrastructure in rural America.

On April 20, 2020, USDA announced the Department has received 172 applications for $1.57 billion in Round Two of the ReConnect Program. The second round will enable USDA to implement innovative new solutions to rural connectivity by leveraging financial options with our partners and continuing the success of the first round of funding. The application window for Round Two closed on April 15.

In Round One of the ReConnect Program, USDA invested $698 million to bring high-speed broadband e-Connectivity to approximately 167,000 households, 17,000 rural small businesses and farms, and more than 500 health care centers, educational facilities and critical community facilities located in 33 states. To learn more about individual investments, read USDA’s Broadband ReConnect Program report (PDF, 4 MB).

USDA received 11 Round Two ReConnect Program applications that are eligible for the $100 million Congress allocated to the program through the CARES Act.

To learn more about ReConnect Program eligibility, technical assistance and recent announcements, visit www.usda.gov/reconnect.