Arkansas Telephone Co. Inc. has been awarded a $12 million federal grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises broadband network in Searcy and Van Buren counties.
The project is expected to bring affordable, high-speed access to 986 people, 10 businesses and 145 farms. The company will offer low-cost starter packages with voice and voice/data. The grant also requires that the internet speed offered be at least 100 megabits per second for downloads and 20 Mbps for upload.
Discounts will be available to some of those who buy the service, to participants of the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline and Affordable Connectivity Programs.
The grant comes from the USDA’s $1.15 billion ReConnect Program that offers grants and loans. The program is funded by the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that President Joe Biden signed in November, which included $65 billion to support broadband deployment and affordable access to it nationwide.
In addition, the $12 million is also part of a $401 million broadband investment the USDA announced on Thursday. That investment will impact 31,000 people and businesses in Arkansas, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota and Texas.
“Connectivity is critical to economic success in rural America,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release. “The internet is vital to our growth and continues to act as a catalyst for our prosperity. From the farm to the school, from households to international markets, connectivity drives positive change in our communities.”
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