July 3, 2019
The ReConnect Broadband Pilot Program
Congress established the Rural e-Connectivity Pilot
Eligible Service Areas
Program (also known as ReConnect) in the FY2018
Applicants for ReConnect funding must define a Proposed
appropriations act. ReConnect is a rural broadband pilot
Funded Service Area (PFSA)—an area where the applicant
program that provides loan and grant funding to eligible
proposes to provide broadband service. Applicants must
entities to deploy broadband internet service in eligible
propose to build a network capable of providing broadband
rural areas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)
service to all premises in the PFSA at minimum speeds of
Rural Utilities Service (RUS) administers ReConnect. On
25 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps
April 23, 2019, RUS began accepting applications for
upload (known as 25/3 Mbps).
ReConnect funding.
The PFSA must be a rural area—defined as a city, town, or
Program Authority
incorporated area with a population of 20,000 or fewer and
In the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-
not adjacent to a city or town with a population of greater
141, Division B, §779), Congress provided $600 million
than 50,000. The PFSA does not need to be contiguous and
“for the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a new
may include gaps to remove areas that already have
broadband loan and grant pilot program.” In the
sufficient broadband access. With some exceptions, an
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6,
entity may not use ReConnect funding to overbuild or
Division B, §762), Congress provided an additional $550
duplicate broadband expansion efforts made under previous
million for ReConnect. FY2018 and FY2019 appropriated
RUS broadband loans and grants.
amounts are to remain available until expended. ReConnect
does not exist in statute. Congress has authorized the
To be eligible for a loan or a loan/grant combination, at
program only in annual agriculture appropriations bills.
least 90% of households in the PFSA must lack access to
broadband service of at least 10/1 Mbps. To be eligible for
Program Eligibility and Requirements
a grant, 100% of households in the PFSA must lack access
In December 2018, RUS published a Funding Opportunity
to broadband service of at least 10/1 Mbps.
Announcement (FOA) for the first round of ReConnect
funding. Three funding categories are available under this
RUS expects to use multiple approaches to determine what
FOA: 100% loans, 50% loan/50% grant combinations, and
areas have existing broadband service at speeds of at least
100% grants. According to the FOA, up to $200 million is
10/1 Mbps. RUS has stated that their staff will use data
available for each of the three funding categories. The
from the Federal Communications Commission’s Fixed
maximum amounts that applicants can request are $50
Broadband Deployment Map and that staff will conduct site
million for a loan, $50 million for a loan/grant combination
visits to PFSAs to validate broadband speeds. In addition,
(loan and grant amounts must be equal), or $25 million for
RUS plans to publish a public notice for each ReConnect
a grant.
funding application received. Existing service providers
may respond to the public notice and provide RUS with
ReConnect funding may be used for:
information on the number of customers in the PFSA who
currently purchase broadband service at speeds of at least
construction or improvement of facilities required to
10/1 Mbps.
provide broadband service;
Evaluation Criteria
terrestrial-based facilities for satellite broadband service;
According to the FOA, RUS will evaluate applications
reasonable pre-application expenses in an amount not to
based on criteria that include the rurality of the PFSA, the
exceed 5% of the award; and
proposed broadband speeds the applicant will provide, and
acquisition and upgrade of an existing system that does
the inclusion of tribal lands in the PFSA. RUS will also
not currently provide sufficient access to broadband.
favor applications if the state where the PFSA is located has
(Acquisitions are eligible only for 100% loans, and
a broadband plan that has been updated in the past five
acquisition costs can comprise only 40% of the award
years, does not restrict utilities from delivering broadband
amount.)
service, and commits to expediting right-of-way and
environmental permitting. Other criteria include the number
Entities eligible to apply for funding include state or local
of farms, businesses, health care centers, educational
governments, territories or possessions of the United States,
facilities, and critical community facilities to which the
Indian tribes, nonprofit entities, for-profit corporations,
applicant proposes to provide broadband service.
limited liability companies, and cooperative or mutual
organizations.
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link to page 2 link to page 2 link to page 2 The ReConnect Broadband Pilot Program
ReConnect in Comparison to Other RUS In addition, to be eligible for Rural Broadband Access, 90%
Broadband Connectivity Programs
of households (for grants) and 50% of households (for
In addition to ReConnect, RUS administers three other rural
loans) must lack sufficient access to broadband service (7
broadband connectivity programs: the Telecommunications
U.S.C. §950bb). The narrower eligibility criteria for
Infrastructure Loan Program, the Community Connect
ReConnect reserves funding for the most underserved areas,
Grant Program, and the Rural Broadband Access Loan and
whereas the broader criteria under Rural Broadband Access
Grant Program. ReConnect differs from these programs in
allows more underserved areas to be eligible for assistance.
its breadth of available funding categories and in its
Timeline
narrower eligibility criteria.
On December 14, 2018, RUS published an FOA for
ReConnect. On February 25, 2019, RUS published a notice
ReConnect offers loans, grants, and loan/grant
in the Federal Register revising application deadlines and
combinations, whereas some RUS programs offer only one
clarifying certain application and program requirements in
funding category. For example, Telecommunications
the December FOA. According to the February notice, the
Infrastructure offers only loans, and Community Connect
application deadlines for the current ReConnect FOA are
offers only grants.
May 31, 2019, for a 100% grant; June 21, 2019, for a 50%
The criteria to determine eligible service areas for
loan/50% grant; and July 12, 2019, for a 100% loan.
ReConnect is narrower than for Rural Broadband Access.
Two criteria Congress and RUS use to determine eligible
On April 12, 2019, RUS published another notice in the
service areas are (1) what broadband speeds constitute
Federal Register amending the December FOA. The April
sufficient access to service and (2) the percentage of
notice clarified program requirements in response to the
households in an area that lack sufficient access to
FY2019 appropriations act. The act directed RUS, “in
broadband service. In the FY2018 appropriations act,
determining whether an entity may overbuild or duplicate
Congress directed that at least 90% of households served by
broadband expansion efforts,” not to consider RUS loans
a ReConnect loan or grant lack sufficient access to
that were rescinded or defaulted on or whose loan terms and
broadband service, defined as speeds of at least 10/1 Mbps.
conditions were not met. The April notice revised the
Congress also authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to
definition of broadband loan from the December FOA and
redetermine the definition of sufficient access for
announced criteria by which applicants may challenge
ReConnect, as necessary, on an annual basis. RUS raised
RUS’s determination of whether a PFSA is eligible for
the threshold for ReConnect grants to require that 100% of
ReConnect funding.
households lack sufficient access to broadband but kept it at
90% of households for loans and loan/grant combinations.
More Information
For more information on RUS broadband programs, see
Congress sets eligibility criteria for Rural Broadband
CRS Report RL33816, Broadband Loan and Grant
Access in periodic farm bills, most recently the 2018 farm
Programs in the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service, by
bill (P.L. 115-334, Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018).
Lennard G. Kruger and Alyssa R. Casey. For more
Congress defines sufficient access, for the purposes of
information on ReConnect, see USDA’s ReConnect
Rural Broadband Access, as speeds of at least 25/3 Mbps.
website at https://www.usda.gov/reconnect.
Table 1. The ReConnect Broadband Pilot Program: Selected Eligibility Criteria
Funding
Cost-Sharing
Category
Eligible Service Area
Requirement
Eligible Entities
100% Loan
A rural areaa where 90% of
None.
For all funding categories, eligible entities
households lack broadband service
include:
at speeds of at least 10/1 Mbps.
state or local governments,
50% Loan/50%
A rural areaa where 90% of
None.
territories or possessions of the United
Grant
households lack broadband service
States,
at speeds of at least 10/1 Mbps.
Indian tribes,
100% Grant
A rural areaa where 100% of
Applicants must provide
nonprofit entities,
households lack broadband service a matching contribution
for-profit corporations,
at speeds of at least 10/1 Mbps.
equal to 25% of the
limited liability companies, and
overall project cost.
cooperative or mutual organizations.
Source: Compiled by CRS using RUS’s 2018 Funding Opportunity Announcement and subsequent notices in the Federal Register.
Notes:
a. For ReConnect, Congress defines rural area as any area not located within (i) a city, town, or incorporated area that has a population of
greater than 20,000 inhabitants or (i ) an urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to a city or town that has a population of greater than
50,000 inhabitants. For the purposes of this definition, urbanized area means a densely populated territory as defined in the latest decennial
census of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Alyssa R. Casey, Analyst in Agricultural Policy
IF11262
https://crsreports.congress.gov
The ReConnect Broadband Pilot Program
Disclaimer
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