Access to broadband telecommunications services in rural areas

The purpose of this section is to provide grants, provide loans, and provide loan guarantees to provide funds for the costs of the construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment for broadband service in rural areas. In this section: The term “broadband service” means any technology identified by the Secretary as having the capacity to transmit data to enable a subscriber to the service to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video. The term “incumbent service provider”, with respect to an application submitted under this section, means an entity that, as of the date of submission of the application, is providing broadband service to not less than 5 percent of the households in the service territory proposed in the application. The term “rural area” means any area other than— The Secretary may, by regulation only, consider an area described in section 1991(a)(13)(F)(i)(I) of this title to not be a rural area for purposes of this section. Such term does not include any population described in subparagraph (H) or (I) of section 1991(a)(13) of this title. The Secretary shall make grants, shall make loans, and shall guarantee loans to eligible entities described in subsection (d) to provide funds for the construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment for the provision of broadband service in rural areas. In making grants, making loans, and guaranteeing loans under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— give the highest priority to applications for projects to provide broadband service to unserved rural communities that do not have any residential broadband service of at least— After giving priority to the applications described in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall then give priority to applications— for projects to provide broadband service to rural communities— that were developed with the participation of, and will receive a substantial portion of the funding for the project from, 2 or more stakeholders, including— community anchor institutions, such as— In this paragraph, the term “development costs” means costs of— To be eligible for a grant under this section, in addition to the requirements of subsection (d), the project that is the subject of the grant shall— Except as provided in subparagraph (D), the amount of any grant made under this section shall not exceed— The Secretary may— make grants of up to 75 percent of the development costs of the project for which the grant is provided to an eligible entity if the Secretary determines that the project serves— The Secretary shall establish an application process for grants under this section that— When determining population density under this section, the Secretary shall prescribe a calculation method which— In the case of loan guarantees issued or modified under this section, the Secretary shall charge and collect from the lender fees in such amounts as to bring down the costs of subsidies for guaranteed loans, except that such fees shall not act as a bar to participation in the programs nor be inconsistent with current practices in the marketplace. To be eligible to obtain a grant, loan, or loan guarantee under this section, an entity shall— An eligible entity that provides telecommunications or broadband service to at least 20 percent of the households in the United States may not receive an amount of funds under this section for a fiscal year in excess of 15 percent of the funds authorized and appropriated under subsection (j) for the fiscal year. Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), assistance under this section may be used to carry out a project in a proposed service territory only if, as of the date on which the application of the eligible entity is submitted— Subparagraph (A)(i) shall not apply to the proposed service territory of a project if a loan or loan guarantee has been made under this section to the applicant to provide broadband service in the proposed service territory. Except as provided in clause (ii), subparagraph (A)(ii) shall not apply to an incumbent service provider in the portion of a proposed service territory in which the provider is upgrading broadband service to meet the minimum acceptable level of broadband service established under subsection (e) for the existing territory of the incumbent service provider. Clause (i) shall not apply if the applicant is eligible for funding under another subchapter of this chapter. The Secretary may require an entity to provide a cost share in an amount not to exceed 10 percent of the amount of the grant, loan, or loan guarantee requested in the application of the entity, unless the Secretary determines that a higher percentage is required for financial feasibility. The Secretary may require an entity that proposes to have a subscriber projection of more than 20 percent of the broadband service market in a rural area to submit to the Secretary a market survey. The Secretary may not require an entity that proposes to have a subscriber projection of less than 20 percent of the broadband service market in a rural area to submit to the Secretary a market survey. Information submitted under this subparagraph shall be— demonstrated on— Subject to paragraph (1), a State or local government (including any agency, subdivision, or instrumentality thereof (including consortia thereof)) and an Indian tribe shall be eligible for assistance under this section to provide broadband services to a rural area. The Secretary may provide to eligible entities described in paragraph (1) that are applying for assistance under this section for a project described in subsection (c)(2)(A)(i) technical assistance and training— Not less than 3 percent and not more than 5 percent of amounts appropriated to carry out this section for a fiscal year shall be used for technical assistance and training under this paragraph. Subject to paragraph (2), for purposes of this section, the minimum acceptable level of broadband service for a rural area shall be at least— At least once every 2 years, the Secretary shall review, and may adjust through notice published in the Federal Register, the minimum acceptable level of broadband service established under paragraph (1) and broadband buildout requirements under paragraph (4) to ensure that high quality, cost-effective broadband service is provided to rural areas over time. The Secretary shall not establish requirements for bandwidth or speed that have the effect of precluding the use of evolving technologies appropriate for rural areas. The term “broadband buildout requirement” means the level of internet service an applicant receiving assistance under this section must agree, at the time the application is finalized, to provide for the duration of any project-related agreement between the applicant and the Department. Subject to subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall establish broadband buildout requirements for projects with agreement lengths of— In establishing the broadband buildout requirements under subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall— establish such requirements to reasonably ensure— If an applicant shows that it would be cost prohibitive to meet the broadband buildout requirements established under this paragraph for the entirety of a proposed service territory due to the unique characteristics of the proposed service territory, the Secretary and the applicant may agree to utilize substitute standards for any unserved portion of the project. Any substitute service standards should continue to consider the best technology available to meet the needs of the residents in the unserved area. For purposes of determining whether to provide assistance for a project under this section, the Secretary shall use criteria that are technologically neutral. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a loan or loan guarantee under this section shall— bear interest at an annual rate of, as determined by the Secretary— in the case of a direct loan, a rate equivalent to— The Secretary shall consider the existing recurring revenues of the entity at the time of application in determining an adequate level of credit support. The Secretary shall ensure that the type and amount of, and method of security used to secure, any loan or loan guarantee under this section is commensurate to the risk involved with the loan or loan guarantee, particularly in any case in which the loan or loan guarantee is issued to a financially strong and stable entity, as determined by the Secretary. In determining the amount of, and method of security used to secure, a loan or loan guarantee under this section, the Secretary shall consider reducing the security in a rural area that does not have broadband service. The Secretary may use the funds appropriated for a grant under this subchapter for the cost (as defined by section 661a of title 2) of providing assistance under paragraph (2). When providing a grant under this subchapter, the Secretary, at the sole discretion of the Secretary, may make— a payment assistance loan, which shall— require no interest and principal payments while the borrower is— With respect to payment assistance provided under paragraph (2), before entering into the agreement under which the payment assistance will be provided, the applicant and the Secretary shall agree to milestones and objectives of the project. The Secretary and the applicant may jointly agree to amend the milestones and objectives agreed to under paragraph (3). When deciding to utilize the payment assistance authority under paragraph (2) the Secretary shall consider whether or not the payment assistance will— The Secretary may not make a payment assistance loan under paragraph (2)(B) to an entity receiving a grant under this section that is also the recipient of a loan under subchapter I or II that is associated with such grant. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $350,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, to remain available until expended. From amounts made available for each fiscal year under this subsection, the Secretary shall— The amount of an allocation made to a State for a fiscal year under subparagraph (A) shall bear the same ratio to the amount of allocations made for all States for the fiscal year as— Any amounts in the reserve established for a State for a fiscal year under subparagraph (B) that are not obligated by April 1 of the fiscal year shall be available to the Secretary to make loans and loan guarantees under this section to eligible entities in any State, as determined by the Secretary. No grant, or loan, or loan guarantee may be made under this section after September 30, 2023.