USDA Funding Rural Broadband Projects

The Agriculture Department approved $74.8 million in telecom loans and $11 million in community connect grants that will increase access for rural Americans in seven states, said a USDA news release Monday. Included in the grants is $6 million for Minnesota's Northeast Service Cooperative to provide broadband service to subscribers on the Fond du Lac Reservation. South Carolina is one of the states that received a loan from the USDA, for $12.38 million to upgrade its wireless network to 4G/LTE.