USDA e-connectivity toolkit offers rural broadband resources
The U.S. Department of Agriculture launched a new "e-connectivity" toolkit to support the deployment of high-speed Internet service in rural communities. The toolkit features 27 USDA programs meant to facilitate the expansion of broadband, including grants, loans and technical assistance from multiple mission areas of the USDA. USDA’s launch of the toolkit follows Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s unveiling of the ReConnect Program, a pilot program meant to help facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas that lack sufficient access to broadband.