IT Infrastructure

Rural Broadband Gets Big New Aid

By Alyson Klein — April 30, 2019 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Attention rural communities with major internet-connectivity needs: Are you looking to upgrade your broadband? The U.S. Department of Agriculture—yes, Agriculture—may have a grant and loan program for you.

The funding is available through a new, $600 million pilot program called the Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program, which Congress created last year. The money includes $200 million in grants, $200 million in low-interest loans, and $200 million in loan-grant combinations.

The program is for rural communities with really slow internet service or no service at all. That’s defined as connection speeds of less than 10 megabits per second download and less than 1 megabit per second upload. To put that in perspective, that speed would make it difficult to stream a video on say, Netflix, without service interruptions.

School districts aren’t explicitly on the list of eligible applicants, which includes telecommunications companies, utilities, internet-service providers, and state and local government agencies.

The deadlines for this funding are coming up soon. Communities have until May 31 to apply for the grants-only package, until June 21 to apply for the loan/grant combination, and until July 12 for the low-interest loans.

This, of course, isn’t the federal government’s only investment in broadband, including for underserved communities. The government also operates the E-rate program, which helps schools and libraries cover the cost of internet and other telecommunications services. That program has helped fuel huge gains in school internet connectivity: 44.7 million students now have access to internet speeds of at least 100 kilobits per second, up from 4 million students in 2013.

And Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., the chairman of the House education committee, is hoping to increase that investment through a $100 billion new infrastructure bill that would help districts cover the cost of both brick-and-mortar and digital upgrades.

A version of this article appeared in the May 01, 2019 edition of Education Week as Rural Broadband Gets Big New Aid

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reimagining Grading in K-12 Schools: A Conversation on the Value of Standards-Based Grading
Hear from K-12 educational leaders and explore standards-based grading benefits and implementation strategies and challenges
Content provided by Otus
Reading & Literacy Webinar How Background Knowledge Fits Into the ‘Science of Reading’ 
Join our webinar to learn research-backed strategies for enhancing reading comprehension and building cultural responsiveness in the classroom.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Innovative Strategies for Data & Assessments
Join our webinar to learn strategies for actionable instruction using assessment & analysis.
Content provided by Edulastic

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

IT Infrastructure A Change in Federal Funding May Make the 'Homework Gap' Worse
With the increase in tech use, it’s important that students have sufficient connectivity to access learning materials while at home.
3 min read
Photo of girl working at home on laptop.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
IT Infrastructure Students Are Viewing Porn at School. How Educators Can Stop Them
Nearly a quarter of teenagers said they have viewed pornography at school, new survey shows.
3 min read
Image of a phone and headphones sitting on a stack of books.
iStock/Getty
IT Infrastructure The Tech Factors Linked to Higher NAEP Scores
Higher-performing students were more likely to have access to computers, the internet, and daily, real-time lessons during the pandemic.
3 min read
View on laptop of a Black male teacher with a young student sitting at a desk.
iStock/Getty Images Plus