Broadband Initiatives Program

During my trip to Kentucky, I was truly gratified to see Rural Development’s footprint throughout small towns spread across all regions of the Commonwealth. From water lines, broadband networks, wastewater treatment plants, single and multi-family housing, electric lines, senior centers, hospitals...

Reinforcing USDA’s commitment to connecting rural America to the global economy, Oklahoma USDA Rural Development State Director Ryan McMullen, cut the ribbon on a new high-speed internet network, projected to serve more than 4,000 rural Oklahoma residents, many of them Native American, and 1,400...

It’s a bit boggling to imagine so much broadband technology could be woven into the far reaches of Alaska’s vast wilderness, but on August 25 th it became a reality. Representatives of the organizations and people of Southwest Alaska who are benefitting from this important project, including a...

As President Obama challenges Americans to win the future, we at USDA are implementing ways to do so by helping tribal communities across the country out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build our global competition. Starting in rural America, but more specifically within tribal communities, we see an...

This fall USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) successfully completed its final round of grant awards under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). In the last year and a half, we’ve done more to bridge the digital divide for rural Americans than many ever thought possible. The...

On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As a result of this Act, two Broadband groundbreaking ceremonies were held in Louisiana during the month of October. Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and USDA Rural Development State Director Clarence W...

More than 7,000 rural residents in a remote area of Arizona will soon be connected to the world at large thanks to Recovery Act support from USDA Rural Development.

Several years ago, commissioners in Lake County in Northeastern Minnesota began researching the possibility of bringing fully network connected broadband services to the region.

Monmouth, Ill., residents Vicki and Ted Briscoe want to know when their access to the Internet will no longer be hampered by a slow dial up connection. The answer—12 to 18 months—came from Noah Campbell, vice president of community relations for Utopian Wireless Corp, at a talk show-style forum held...

As further evidence of Secretary Vilsack’s belief that broadband is the foundation of rural economic development, he brought together American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) recipients, economic development experts, and USDA officials in Dallas last week...