Telecommunications Infrastructure Loans and Loan Guarantees Program - FY 2025
| Agency: | U.S. Department of Agriculture |
|---|---|
| Office: | Rural Development (RD) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) |
| Multipart Grant: | No |
| Next Due: | Rolling |
|---|---|
| Solicitation Date: | Rolling |
| Match Required: | No |
| Actual Funds: | Unspecified |
| Award Range: | $50,000 (Min) |
Summary:
The purpose of this program is to support the construction, maintenance, improvement, and expansion of telephone service and broadband in rural areas. Projects are intended to help maintain a seamless nationwide telecommunications network that also provides access to broadband for education, health care, public safety, and jobs for all Americans regardless of where they live. Partnerships with other federal, state, local, private, or nonprofit entities are encouraged.
Funding is available in the form of cost-of-money loans, guaranteed loans, and hardship loans. Funds may be used for financing the improvement, expansion, construction, acquisition, and operation of systems or facilities to furnish and improve telephone service in rural areas. Guaranteed and hardship loan funds may additionally be used for station apparatus owned by the applicant, headquarters facilities, and vehicles not used primarily in construction.
Loan funds may be approved for facilities to serve non-rural subscribers only if the principal use of the loan is to furnish and improve rural service, and the use of loan funds to serve non-rural subscribers is necessary and incidental to the principal purpose of the loan.
Applicants must have the legal authority to provide, construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities or services. All supported facilities must be used for a public purpose.
Eligible project costs include:
- Improvements
- Expansions
- Construction
- Acquisitions, in certain cases
- Refinancing, in certain cases
Funds may be used for acquisitions only when the acquisition cost is necessary and incidental to furnishing or improving rural telephone service, and the service area to be acquired is eligible for financing.
Program Office Notes:
The program officer stated that the fact sheet for this program, attached as the FactSheet file, is up to date.
Eligibility Notes:
Eligible applicants include:
- State and local governmental entities
- Federally recognized tribes
- Nonprofit organizations, including cooperatives and limited dividend or mutual associations
- For-profit businesses that function as a corporation or limited liability company (LLC)
Projects must serve rural areas or towns with a population of 5,000 or fewer. Additionally, the project area must be without telecommunications facilities, or the applicant must be recognized as the telecommunications provider for the area. To confirm whether the project area is eligible, applicants may contact the appropriate general field representative (GFR) listed online at www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us.
Applicants may be located in U.S. territories, as well as any area within the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
Applicants must have the legal authority to provide, construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities or services.
Projects may serve non-rural subscribers only if the principal use of the loan is to furnish and improve rural service, and the use of loan funds to serve non-rural subscribers is necessary and incidental to the principal purpose of the loan.
Preference is given to applicants already providing telephone service in rural areas, and to cooperative, nonprofit, limited dividend, or mutual associations. Partnerships with other federal, state, local, private, and nonprofit entities are encouraged.
Previous award recipients include:
- The Ponderosa Telephone Co. (CA)
- Valley Telephone Cooperative (AZ and NM)
- Geetingsville Tele Co, Inc. (IN)
- Chibardun Telephone Cooperative, Inc. (WI)
- Pulaski-White Rural Telephone Cooperative (IN)
Refer to the Award file for additional information regarding previously funded applicants.
Eligible Applicants:
Local GovernmentNative American Tribe
Non Profits
Private Sector
State Government
Application Notes:
Prior to submitting an application, applicants should work with their general field representative (GFR), a map of which with contact information can be found online at www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us, to ensure complete and eligible applications.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
The funding agency encourages that applications be submitted online at www.eauth.usda.gov.
The contents of the application will become available upon initiation of the online application process.
Refer to the NOFA file for additional application information.
| Match Required: | No |
|---|---|
| Actual Funds: | Unspecified |
| Award Range: | $50,000 (Min) |
|---|
Match Notes:
There are no stated matching requirements for this program. No fees or charges are assessed for any type of loan or guarantee under this program.
Funding Notes:
An unspecified amount of funding is available to support loans of at least $50,000 through this program. Generally, no more than 10 percent of the funding agency's appropriations in any fiscal year may be loaned to a single borrower.
The following types of loans are available through this program:
- Cost-of-money loans: direct loans will be issued at current U.S. Treasury rates depending on loan maturity at the time of each advance
- Guaranteed loans: loans are primarily issued by the Federal Financing Bank (FFB) at varying interest rates depending on call options and the interim maturity rate; current interest rates are available online at www.rd.usda.gov
- Hardship loans: loans have a fixed rate of 5 percent for up to 20 years
Refinancing costs are limited to 40 percent of the entire loan.
Cost-of-money loans may not be used for:
- Headquarters facilities
- Vehicles not used primarily for construction
Hardship loan funds may not be used in any exchange that has more than 1,000 existing subscribers and an average number of proposed subscribers per mile of line greater than 17.
Generally, hardship or cost-of-money loans my not be used for wireline local exchange service or similar fixed-station voice service that, in the funding agency's opinion, is inconsistent with the borrower achieving the requirements stated in the state’s telecommunication modernization plan within the time frame stated in the plan.
Generally, the funding agency will not make a loan for the acquisition of an existing borrower.
Funds may not be used for:
- Duplicating similar services in the same area
- Station apparatus not owned by the applicant and any associated inside wiring
- Facilities to provide service other than one-party
- System designs or facilities to provide service that cannot withstand or are not designed to minimize damage caused by storms and other natural catastrophes
- Similar purposes as a rescinded loan through this program
- Merging or consolidating telephone organizations
- Reimbursing acquisition costs unless the funding agency has approved interim financing prior to the closing of the acquisition
- Acquiring stock or any telephone plant of an affiliate
Contacts:
Program Staff
(202) 720-0800
Agency Address
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, D.C. 20250
Contact Notes:
Questions should be directed to the program staff using the information provided, or to the appropriate general field representative (GFR). A map of GFRs with contact information can be found online at www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us.
The funding agency encourages that applications be submitted online at www.eauth.usda.gov.
The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.
Files:
NOFA File: US15420_NOFA_FY2025.pdf (107.5 Kb)Other Pre-Award File: US15420_FactSheet_FY2025.pdf (123.3 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US15420_ProgramRule_FY2025.pdf (297.4 Kb)
Award File: US15420_Award_FY2025.pdf (1.5 Mb)
File Notes:
The NOFA file contains detailed program information and application guidelines. The FactSheet file contains a fact sheet for this program. The ProgramRule file contains the federal rule for this program. The Award file contains information on previous award recipients. Additional program resources can be found online at www.rd.usda.gov.
The program officer stated that the FactSheet file is up to date.
Grant Keywords
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Community DevelopmentInformation Technology/Telecommunications
Rural Issues