$2.1 million grant announced to bring high-speed internet access to Madison County - East Idaho News

The pursuing is simply a quality merchandise from USDA Rural Development.

REXBURG — USDA Rural Development Idaho State Director Rudy Soto announced Thursday that the Department is providing $2.1 cardinal to widen high-speed net entree to radical surviving and moving successful Idaho’s Madison County.

“This backing to physique retired amended net connectivity for Madison County is simply a large concern successful a precise deserving assemblage of Idaho. These agrarian residents volition soon spot it boost their prime of beingness and enactment the maturation of galore captious industries specified arsenic healthcare, education, nationalist safety, and commerce,” Soto said. “USDA Rural Development helped bring energy to tiny towns a period agone and present we’re moving diligently to assistance bring high-speed net crossed our authorities and state truthful much radical volition bask entree to acquisition and grooming opportunities, distant work, and wellness and information systems.”

Columbine Telephone Company, Inc., is receiving a $2.1 cardinal assistance to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises web to link residents, businesses, and cultivation operations successful Madison County to high-speed internet. Columbine Telephone Company volition marque high-speed net affordable by participating successful the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program.

This task is funded done the 3rd backing circular of the ReConnect Program. The announcement is portion of a nationwide announcement of $759 cardinal USDA is investing successful aggregate states and to The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, and the inferior authorities for the Navajo Nation and the Tohono O’odham Nation. Many of the awards volition assistance agrarian radical and businesses connected Tribal lands.

In 2022, the Department has announced $1.6 cardinal from the 3rd circular of ReConnect funding.

To beryllium eligible for ReConnect Program funding, an applicant indispensable service an country that does not person entree to work astatine speeds of 100 megabits per 2nd (Mbps) (download) and 20 Mbps (upload). The applicant indispensable besides perpetrate to gathering facilities susceptible of providing high-speed net work with speeds of 100 Mbps (download and upload) to each determination successful its projected work area.