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Broadband Technical Assistance

Open Date:

6/21/2024

Close Date:

8/20/2024

Upcoming Milestones:

Eligible Recipients:

  • Educational Institutions
  • Local Governments
  • Native/Tribal Entities
  • Non-profits
  • Private Sector
  • Public Utility Entities
  • Small Businesses
  • State Governments

Program Purpose:

  • Technical Assistance
  • Telecommunications / Broadband

Reserved for Energy
Communities?

No

Bureau/Office

Rural Utilities Service

Funded by:

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Overview

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the acceptance of applications for Broadband Technical Assistance (BTA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. Broadband Technical Assistance provides competitive cooperative agreement funding to eligible entities to receive or deliver broadband technical assistance and training that promotes the expansion of broadband. Program funds must be used to support broadband technical assistance activities that promote the expansion of broadband into rural areas. Examples of broadband technical assistance projects may include conducting feasibility studies, completing network designs, and developing broadband financial assistance applications.

The Agency encourages applicants to consider projects that will advance the following key priorities.

Assisting rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and through improved infrastructure;

Ensuring all rural residents have equitable access to RD programs and benefits from RD funded projects; and

Reducing climate pollution and increasing resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities.

All applicants should carefully review and prepare their applications according to instructions in the BTA Application Guide and program resources. This Application Guide and program resources can be found on the BTA website at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/telecommunications-programs/broadband-technical-assistance-program. Additionally, program requirements can be found in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) available in the Federal Register at https://federalregister.gov/d/2024-13691

Related Resources

Additional information is available on the Resources page.

Funding Details

Funding Source:
Funding Type:
Grant - no match
Total Amount Available:
$20,000,000
Limit per Applicant:
$1,000,000
Estimated Awards:
25

Applicant Guidance

Please submit applications electronically through https://www.grants.gov. We will not accept paper or email submissions. To be considered for funding, your complete application must include all required forms, information, and supporting documentation.

In addition, the Agency encourages applicants to work with the Rural Partners Network. The Rural Partners Network is an all-of-government program that demonstrates to rural America that the federal government can work differently to serve their unique needs in a way this is community-centered and locally-driven. RPN is a recognition by the Biden Administration that it is time to do more for rural communities. Applicants to this funding opportunity are encouraged to include RPN Community Networks in their proposals by identifying Community Networks as collaborative partners or recipients of service.

Contact Information

Submit questions about this opportunity at the following link:

https://www.usda.gov/reconnect/contact-us

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