King urges USDA to remove restrictions on rural broadband money

File Photo Courtesy / U.S. Naval War College, Flickr U.S. Sen. Angus King has joined seven other senators urging the USDA to ease restrictions on broadband funding.

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By Maureen Milliken

U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, is among a bipartisan group of senators asking for changes to a program that blocks rural communities receiving federal money for satellite service upgrades from getting financing to support broadband.

King, co-chair of the Senate Rural Broadband Caucus, joined seven other senators Wednesday in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to adjust requirements of the ReConnect program. The program restricts areas that have already gotten Federal Communications Commission grants for satellite service expansion from applying for broadband grants and loans. The restriction affects communities in 19 states, according to the group.

The letter says the restriction "prevents rural communities across the country from receiving their share of over $500 million in federal funding for high-speed broadband, which is vital to reducing the digital divide and harnessing important opportunities in telemedicine and online education, and the high-paying jobs that come with them."

Satellite service has much lower bandwidth caps, reliability and network speeds than fiber and fixed wireless services. This makes satellite service ill-suited for the telemedicine, mental health services and interactive distance learning applications that help rural communities thrive, according to the senators' letter.

ReConnect was established in 2018 and gives grants and loans of about $600 million a year to help increase rural broadband access. Service providers that were awarded FCC Connect America Fund Phase II grants are not eligible to apply for USDA ReConnect grants and 50/50 loan-grant combinations, even if the money only was used for satellite service.

“USDA can, and should, fix this," the Wednesday letter to Perdue says. The senators say that the USDA is not required by law to block communities that have received satellite funding, and points out the USDA doesn't consider satellite service as sufficient broadband service for the purposes of awarding ReConnect funding.

"To rectify this inequity and further USDA’s stated goal of expanding broadband access for all Americans, we urge you to act to allow service providers to submit applications for ReConnect funds if the area has only received FCC auction funding for satellite service, but would otherwise be eligible.”

Joining King in signing the letter are Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.; Doug Jones, D-Ala.; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc.; and Tom Udall, D-N.M.

Advocating for broadband

King has been a strong advocate for improving access to broadband in rural areas and the need to increase funding for stand-alone broadband infrastructure. He co-sponsored the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act, a bipartisan bill that was passed in December by the Senate. He also pushed for funding to prioritize sustainable rural broadband networks as the FCC considers new rules to govern the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program.

Digital connectivity in rural regions is a key priority of King’s economic agenda to help modernize and grow Maine’s rural economy, support innovation and create jobs, according to a news release from his office. In May, he worked with U.S. Sen. Shelley Capito, R-W.V., to reintroduce legislation to measure the economic impact of broadband so state and federal policymakers can understand the return they will receive on any investments in digital infrastructure. The legislation had passed the Senate the previous December, but was not taken up by the House.