Biden-Harris Administration Invests $63 Million in High-Speed Internet in Rural Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Mississippi

WASHINGTON– U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Department is investing $63 million to bring high-speed internet access to people living and working in rural areas in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Mississippi. Today’s investments include funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides a historic $65 billion to expand reliable, affordable, high-speed internet to all communities across the U.S.

“Investing in high-speed internet is a fundamental part of our partnership with rural communities,” Secretary Vilsack said. “Connecting rural Americans with reliable internet brings new and innovative ideas to the rest of our country. Under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris, USDA is committed to ensuring that the people who make up the rich tapestry in rural areas have every opportunity to succeed – and that people can find those opportunities right at home in their communities.”

The $63 million in grants comes from the third funding round of the ReConnect Program, in which USDA invested a total of $1.7 billion. Since the beginning of the ReConnect program, the Department has invested $3.2 billion to bring high-speed internet access to people in rural communities across the country.

The four projects being funded are:

• McDonough Telephone Cooperative is receiving an $18 million grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in Illinois. The network will connect 1,583 people, 274 farms and 41 businesses to high-speed internet in Hancock, Henderson, McDonough and Warren counties. The company will make internet access affordable through the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Lifeline and Affordable Connectivity Programs.
  
  
• Alpha Enterprises Limited, Inc. is receiving a $19.5 million grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network that will connect 1,023 people, 19 businesses and 10 farms to high-speed internet in Chippewa and Mackinac counties in Michigan. Alpha Enterprises Limited, Inc. will make high-speed internet affordable through the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity and Lifeline programs. The project will serve socially vulnerable communities in Mackinac County.
  
  
• Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative is receiving a $10 million grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in Minnesota. The network will connect 3,529 people, 71 businesses, 35 farms and two public schools to high-speed internet in Hubbard, Itasca and St. Louis counties.
  
  
• Uplink Internet LLC is receiving a $15 million grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network in Mississippi. This network will connect 2,340 people, 143 farms, 45 businesses and a public school to high-speed internet in Coahoma, Quitman and Tunica counties. It also will serve socially vulnerable communities in these counties, which are supported by the Rural Partners Network, an all-of-government initiative that combines federal, state and local resources to address specific needs in rural and tribal communities across the country.