Kaptur announces $21M USDA loan for rural broadband in Sandusky and Ottawa counties

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, on Monday announced a $21,341,792 ReConnect loan award to benefit Ottawa and Sandusky counties through the United States Department of Agriculture.

The loan is part of $714 million in loans announced Monday, administered by USDA across 19 states, as part of their ReConnect Program. Connecting all communities across the United States to high-speed internet is a central part of President Biden's Investing in America agenda to rebuild the economy from the bottom up and middle out by rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure.

The initiative is driving more than $470 billion in private sector manufacturing investments and creating good-paying jobs. The Rural Development investment will be used to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to provide high-speed internet. The network will benefit 3,134 people, 65 businesses and 187 farms in Ottawa and Sandusky counties. Amplex Electric Inc. will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program.

“This loan through the USDA’s Rural Connect program will benefit thousands of rural Ohioans in Sandusky and Ottawa counties, connecting them to vital services to compete in today’s internet age,” Kaptur said. “Bringing our farmers and rural communities modern high-speed broadband internet infrastructure will allow them to compete regionally, nationally, and globally. I want to thank Secretary (Tom) Vilsack and the team at USDA for making sure that our Ohio communities are not left behind, and that we continue to work together to build our economy from the bottom up and the middle out.”

“High-speed internet is a key to prosperity for people who live and work in rural communities,” USDA Secretary Vilsack said. “Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we can ensure that rural communities have access to the internet connectivity needed to continue to expand the economy from the bottom up and middle out and to make sure rural America remains a place of opportunity to live, work, and raise a family.”

As part of the Investing in America agenda, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $65 billion to connect everyone to high-speed internet through the Internet for All initiative. USDA is connecting more people to high-speed internet in this fourth funding round of the ReConnect Program. Since the beginning of the Biden administration, the department has invested in 142 ReConnect projects that will bring high-speed internet access to 314,000 rural Americans.

Applicants to ReConnect Program funding must serve a rural area that lacks access to service at speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 20 Mbps upload. Applicants must also commit to building facilities capable of providing high-speed internet service with speeds of 100 Mbps (download and upload) to every location in the proposed service area. Additionally, to ensure that rural households that need internet service can afford it, all awardees will be required to apply to participate in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP offers a discount of up to $30 per month towards internet service to qualifying low-income households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal Lands.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: $21M USDA loan set to expand broadband in Sandusky, Ottawa counties