Welcome to the Rural Development Telecommunications Program

USDA Rural Development continues to provide many programs for financing rural America's telecommunications infrastructure. The Traditional Telephone Loan program consists of hardship, cost of money, and guaranteed loans that finance voice telephone service. Since 1995, every telephone line this program has constructed has also been capable of providing broadband service using digital subscriber loop (DSL) technology.

The Broadband Access Loan program provides loans for funding the costs of construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities to provide broadband service to eligible rural communities. The Distance Learning and Telemedicine program continues its charge of bringing electronic educational resources to rural schools and improving health care delivery in rural America. Lastly, the Community Connect Grant program provides financial assistance to eligible applicants that will provide currently unserved areas with broadband service that fosters economic growth and public safety services.

Based on a survey of Rural Development's traditional telephone loan program borrowers conducted in October 2006, approximately 92% of these borrowers are providing high-speed Internet service ("broadband") to all of the telephone exchanges in their service territories.