(a) Loans made or guaranteed by the Administrator of RUS will be made in conformance with the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (RE Act), as amended (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.), and 7 CFR chapter XVII. RUS provides borrowers with specialized and technical accounting, engineering, and other managerial assistance in the construction and operation of their facilities when necessary to aid in the development of rural telephone service and to protect loan security. The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) makes loans to:

(1) Furnish and improve telephone service in rural areas; and

(2) To finance facilities and equipment which expand, improve or provide:

(i) 911 access;

(ii) Integrated interoperable emergency communications, including multiuse networks that provide critical transportation-related information services in addition to emergency communications services;

(iii) Homeland security communications;

(iv) Transportation safety communications; or

(v) Location technologies used outside an urbanized area.

(b) RUS will not make hardship loans or RUS cost-of-money loans for any wireline local exchange service or similar fixed-station voice service that, in RUS' 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 (see 7 CFR part 1751, subpart B), unless RUS has determined that achieving the requirements as stated in such plan is not technically or economically feasible.

(c) A borrower receiving a loan to provide mobile telecommunications services or special telecommunications services shall be considered to be participating in the state telecommunications plan (TMP) with respect to the particular loan so long as the loan funds are not used in a manner that, in RUS' opinion, is inconsistent with the borrower achieving the goals set forth in the plan, except that a borrower must comply with any portion of a TMP made applicable to the borrower by a state commission with jurisdiction.

(d) RUS will not deny or reduce a loan or an advance of loan funds based on a borrower's level of general funds.

(e) The Administrator may use consultants funded by the borrower for financial, legal, engineering, and other technical advice in connection with the review of a borrower's loan application.

(f) For the purpose of paragraph (a)(2) of this section, rural areas means any area that is not located within a city, town, or incorporated area that has a population of greater than 20,000 inhabitants or within an urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to a city or town that has a population of greater than 50,000 inhabitants. For the purpose of the definition of rural area,

(1) The population figure is obtained from the most recent decennial Census of the United States (decennial Census). If the applicable population figure cannot be obtained from the most recent decennial Census, RD will determine the applicable population figure based on available population data; and

(2) An urbanized area means a densely populated territory as defined in the most recent decennial Census.

Borrowers must make adequate telephone service available to the widest practical number of rural subscribers during the life of the loan. Both the nature of the service area and the cost per subscriber must be fully considered. The borrower must seek to provide service to all interested potential subscribers in the service area. Borrowers are not required to extend service in situations where the costs would be exorbitant. The loan contract shall contain appropriate provisions to effect this requirement. See 7 CFR 1737.11(a), Preapplication Determinations: Area to be Served.

(a) A loan will not be made unless the Administrator determines that no duplication of lines, facilities, or systems already providing reasonably adequate services shall result from such a loan.

(b) Existing borrowers that apply to upgrade existing facilities in their existing service area are exempt from the non-duplication requirement in paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) RUS shall consider the following criteria for any wireline local exchange service or similar fixed-station voice service provided by a local exchange carrier (LEC) in determining whether such service is reasonably adequate:

(1) The LEC is providing area coverage as described in § 1735.11.

(2) The LEC makes available custom calling features (at a minimum, call waiting, call forwarding, abbreviated dialing, and three-way calling).

(3) The LEC is able to provide E911 service to all subscribers, when requested by the government entity responsible for this service.

(4) The LEC is able to offer local service with blocked toll access to those subscribers who request it.

(5) The LEC's network is capable of providing retail broadband service as defined in § 1735.2 to any subscriber location.

(6) There is an absence of frequent service interruptions.

(7) The LEC is interconnected with the public switched network.

(8) No Federal or State regulatory commission having jurisdiction has determined that the quality, availability, or reliability of the service provided is inadequate.

(9) Services are provided at reasonably affordable rates.

(10) Any other criteria the Administrator determines to be applicable to the particular case.

(d) RUS shall consider the following criteria for any of mobile telecommunications service in determining whether such service is reasonably adequate:

(1) The extent to which area coverage is being provided as described in 7 CFR 1735.11.

(2) Clear and reliable call transmission is provided with sufficient channel availability.

(3) The mobile telecommunications service signal strength is at least −85dBm (decibels expressed in miliwatts).

(4) The mobile telecommunications service is interconnected with the public switched network.

(5) Mobile 911 service is available to all subscribers, when requested by the local government entity responsible for this service.

(6) No Federal or State regulatory commission having jurisdiction has determined that the quality, availability, or reliability of the service provided is inadequate.

(7) Mobile telecommunications service is not provided at rates which render the service unaffordable to a significant number of rural persons.

(8) Any other criteria the Administrator determines to be applicable to the particular case.

(e) RUS does not consider mobile telecommunications service a duplication of existing wireline local exchange service or similar fixed-station voice service. RUS may finance mobile telecommunications systems designed to provide eligible services in rural areas under the Rural Electrification Act even though the services provided by the system may incidentally overlap services of existing mobile telecommunications providers.

(f) RUS shall consider the following criteria for any provider of a specialized telecommunications service in determining whether such service is reasonably adequate:

(1) The provider of a specialized telecommunications service is providing area coverage as described in § 1735.11.

(2) An adequate signal strength is provided throughout the largest practical portion of the service area.

(3) There is an absence of frequent service interruptions.

(4) The quality and variety of service provided is comparable to that provided in nonrural areas.

(5) The service provided complies with industry standards.

(6) No Federal, State, or local regulatory commission having jurisdiction has determined that the quality, availability, or reliability of the service provided is inadequate.

(7) Services are provided at reasonably affordable rates.

(8) Any other criteria the Administrator determines to be applicable to the particular case.

(g) RUS shall consider the following criteria for loans made for the purposes described in § 1735.10(a)(2):

(1) In making a preliminary assessment and a credit decision, the RUS will take into consideration the extent to which the emergency communications capability or emergency communications benefits already exist in the affected area and the need expressed by the proposed user of the emergency communications technology.

(2) The RUS will not consider an application to finance an upgrade of 911 capabilities or other emergency communications capability by different providers serving the same geographic area to be automatically duplicative. For example, RUS will generally not consider an application from two competing wireless carriers to upgrade their E911 capabilities in overlapping geographic territories to be duplicative, however the carrier's competitive situation will be a relevant consideration in evaluating the ability of a service provider to repay their loan.

(3) Duplication considerations will be reviewed on the basis of the emergency communications benefit; the Agency encourages applicants to fully embrace interoperability to maximize the impact of RUS financed investments. In the case of dual or multi-use technologies, the extent to which the proposed non-emergency communications benefits are available from other providers within the proposed service area will be considered in determining loan feasibility.

(a) When it is determined by the Administrator to be necessary in order to furnish or improve telephone service in rural areas, loans may be made for the improvement, expansion, construction, acquisition, and operation of telephone lines, facilities, or systems without regard to their geographical location.

(b) To the greatest extent practical, loans are limited to providing telephone facilities that serve subscribers in rural areas. In order to furnish and improve service to rural subscribers it may at times be necessary to provide loan funds to finance telephone facilities which (1) will also serve nonrural subscribers, or (2) are located in nonrural areas. Loans may be approved to finance such facilities if the Administrator determines, on a case-by-case basis, that (i) the primary purpose of the loan is to provide service to rural areas and (ii) the financing of facilities for nonrural subscribers is necessary and incidental to furnishing or improving telephone service in rural areas.

(c) Loan funds may be approved for facilities to serve nonrural subscribers only if (1) the principal purpose of the loan is to furnish and improve rural service and (2) the use of loan funds to serve nonrural subscribers is necessary and incidental to the principal purpose of the loan. The following are examples of purposes for which such loans may be made (such loans are not limited to these examples):

(1) In the case of construction of a new system, if the loan would not be economically feasible and self-liquidating unless the nonrural as well as the rural portions of the telephone service area are included in the proposed system, the loan may include funds for both portions.

(2) Where the acquisition of an existing system located in and serving a nonrural area is necessary to serve as the nucleus of an expanded system to furnish area coverage service in rural areas, the loan may include funds to finance the acquisition.

(3) When a system is being converted to modern service for rural subscribers, the loan may include funds for the conversion of the nonrural facilities, if the rural service will be improved as a result of such nonrural improvements and it is impractical to finance and serve the nonrural and rural areas separately.

(4) A loan may include funds to serve nonrural subscribers located in community centers frequently called by the rural subscribers if the construction to serve such nonrural subscribers will be incidental to, and contribute substantially to, the provision of adequate service for the rural subscribers.

(d) RUS may also approve financing for facilities to serve nonrural areas if, at the time financing was first approved by RUS:

(1) The nonrural area had a population of 1,500 or less when first financed by RUS and that financing was approved prior to November 1, 1993; or

(2) The nonrural area had a population of 5,000 or less when first financed by RUS and that financing was approved on or after November 1, 1993.

(a) RUS makes loans to:

(1) Entities providing, or who may hereafter provide, telephone service in rural areas;

(2) Public bodies providing telephone service in rural areas as of October 28, 1949; and

(3) Cooperative, nonprofit, limited dividend or mutual associations.

(4) For purposes of § 1735.10(a)(2):

(i) Any entity eligible to borrow from the RUS;

(ii) State or local governments;

(iii) Indian Tribes (as defined in § 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b); or

(iv) An emergency communications equipment provider that in the sole discretion of RUS offers adequate security for a loan where the State or local government that has jurisdiction over the proposed project is prohibited by law from acquiring debt.

(b) RUS does not make loans to individuals.

(c) RUS gives preference to those borrowers (including initial loan applicants) already providing telephone service in rural areas, and to cooperative, nonprofit, limited dividend, or mutual associations. To be eligible for a loan, a borrower:

(1) Must have sufficient authority to carryout the purposes of the RE Act; and

(2) Must be incorporated or a limited liability company.

Borrowers are required to comply with certain regulations on nondiscrimination and equal employment opportunity. See RUS Bulletin 320-19 and RUS Bulletin 320-15, respectively.

Recognizing plant costs, the borrower's cost of system design, and RUS's administrative costs, RUS will not consider applications for loans of less than $50,000.

(a) RUS makes hardship and guaranteed loans to finance the improvement, expansion, construction, acquisition, and operation of systems or facilities (including station apparatus owned by the borrower, headquarters facilities, and vehicles not used primarily in construction) to furnish and improve telephone service in rural areas, except as noted under paragraph (c) of this section.

(b) RUS makes RUS cost-of-money to finance the improvement, expansion, construction, and acquisition of systems or facilities (excluding station apparatus owned by the borrower, headquarters facilities, and vehicles not used primarily in construction) to furnish and improve telephone service in rural areas, except as noted under paragraph (c) of this section.

(c) RUS will not make any type of loan to finance the following items:

(1) Station apparatus (including PBX and key systems) not owned by the borrower and any associated inside wiring;

(2) Certain duplicative facilities, see § 1735.12;

(3) Facilities to provide service other than 1-party; and

(4) System designs or facilities to provide service that cannot withstand or are not designed to minimize damage caused by storms and other natural catastrophes, including, but not limited to hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, mudslides, lightning, windstorms, hail, fire, and smoke, unless an alternate design or facility for modern telecommunications is more economically or technically feasible. Economic and technical feasibility will be determined using total long range economic costs and risk analysis.

(d) Generally, RUS will not make a loan to another entity to provide the same telecommunications service in an area served by an incumbent RUS telecommunications borrower providing such service. RUS may, however, consider an application for a loan to provide the same type of service being provided by an incumbent RUS borrower if the Administrator determines that the incumbent borrower is unable to meet its obligations to the government, including the obligation to provide service set forth in its loan documents and to repay its loans.

(e) If an unadvanced loan, or portion thereof, is rescinded, a new loan shall not be made for the same purposes as in the rescinded loan, except as provided in § 1735.47.

If determined by the Administrator to be necessary for loan security, a borrower applying for an initial loan shall increase its net worth as a percentage of assets to the highest level recorded, not to exceed 40 percent, at the end of any calendar quarter in the period beginning 2 years prior to the receipt by RUS of the borrower's loan application form (RUS Form 490). This restoration to the higher level of net worth shall take place before RUS will determine the feasibility of the proposed loan.

RUS does not make loans for the sole purpose of merging or consolidating telephone organizations. After a merger or consolidation, RUS will consider making loans to the telephone system to finance the improvement or extension of telephone service in rural areas. See RUS Bulletins 320-4, 321-2, 325-1, and 326-1.

(a) RUS finances the acquisition by a borrower of another system, lines, or facilities only when the acquisition is necessary and incidental to furnishing or improving rural telephone service. See 7 CFR 1735.13.

(b) RUS determines the amount it will lend for each acquisition. If the acquisition price exceeds this amount, the borrower shall provide the remainder.

(c) For additional policies on acquisitions, see subpart F through J of this part.

(a) Any new direct or guaranteed loan authority provided under the RE Act may be used to refinance an outstanding obligation of the applicant on another loan made under Titles II and VI of the RE Act, or on a non-RUS loan if that loan would have been for eligible telecommunications purposes under the RE Act provided that:

(1) The applicant is current with its payments on the RUS loan(s) to be refinanced; and

(2) The amortization period for that portion of the loan request that will be needed for refinancing will not exceed the remaining amortization period for the loan(s) to be refinanced. If multiple notes are being refinanced, an average remaining amortization period will be calculated based on the weighted dollar average of the notes being refinanced.

(b) The amount that can be refinanced will be included in the funding opportunity announcement that will open a funding window based on the funds authorized for any given fiscal year.

(a) RUS makes loans only if, in the judgment of the Administrator, the security therefor is reasonably adequate and the loan will be repaid within the time agreed. See 7 CFR 1735.18 and 7 CFR 1735.51.

(b) RUS generally requires that borrowers provide it with a first lien on all of the borrower's property. See 7 CFR 1735.46.

(c) The RUS will consider Government-imposed fees related to emergency communications (including State or local 911 fees) which are pledged to the repayment of a loan as security.

(d) In the case of loans that include the financing of telephone facilities that do not constitute self-contained operating systems or units (such as lines switched by other systems), the borrower shall, in addition to the mortgage lien on all of the borrower's telephone facilities, furnish adequate assurance, in the form of contractual or other security arrangements, that continuous and efficient telephone service will be rendered.

(e) The borrower shall provide RUS with a satisfactory Area Coverage Survey. See 7 CFR 1737.30 and 1737.31.

(f) RUS makes loans only if the borrower's entire system, including the facilities to be constructed with the proceeds of the loan, is economically feasible, as determined by RUS.

(g) For purposes of determining compliance with TIER requirements, unless a borrower whose existing mortgage contains TIER maintenance requirements notifies RUS in writing differently, RUS will apply the requirements described in paragraph (h) of this section to the borrower regardless of the provisions of the borrower's existing mortgage.

(h) For Loans approved after December 22, 2008, the borrower shall be required to maintain a TIER, at the end of the Forecast Period, at least equal to the projected TIER determined by the feasibility study prepared in connection with the loan, which shall be at least 1.0 and not greater than 1.5.

(i) Nothing in this section shall affect any rights of supplemental lenders under the RUS mortgage, or other creditors of the borrower, to limit a borrower's TIER requirement to a level above that established in paragraph (h) of this section.

(j) A borrower will not be required to raise its TIER as a condition for receiving a loan. Additional financial, investment, and managerial controls appear in the loan contract and mortgage required by RUS.

(a) For applications which request funding in which the applicant will provide retail broadband service, the Agency's mapping tool will include the following information from each application, and be displayed for the public:

(1) The identity of the applicant;

(2) A description of the project that can deliver retail broadband service;

(3) A map of the areas to be served, the proposed funded service area (PFSA), including identification of the associated census blocks;

(4) The amount and type of funding requested;

(5) The status of the application; and

(6) The estimated number and proportion of households and businesses in the proposed funded service area without fixed retail broadband service, whether terrestrial or wireless, excluding mobile and satellite service.

(b) For funding requests outside an area where the applicant receives Federal universal service support, the public notice filing referenced under paragraph (a) of this section will accept public notice responses from existing service providers with respect to retail broadband service already being provided in the PFSA for 45 calendar days on the Agency's web page. Existing service providers are requested to submit the following information through the Agency's mapping tool:

(1) The number of residential and business customers within the PFSA currently purchasing broadband at the minimum threshold, the rates of data transmission being offered, and the cost of each level of broadband service charged by the existing service provider;

(2) The number of residential and business customers within the applicant's service area receiving voice and video services and the associated rates for these other services;

(3) A map showing where the existing service provider's services coincide with the applicant's service area using the Agency's mapping tool; and

(4) Test results for the service area in question for a minimum of at least the prior three months demonstrating that the asserted level of broadband is being provided. The test results shall be for different times of the day.

(c) The Agency may contact service providers that respond under paragraph (b) of this section to validate their submission, and so responding service providers should be prepared to:

(1) Provide additional information supporting that the area in question has sufficient access to broadband service;

(2) Have a technician on site during the field validation by RUS staff;

(3) Run on site tests with RUS personnel being present, if requested; and

(4) Provide copies of any test results that have been conducted in the last six months and validate the information submitted in the public notice response months.

(d) If no broadband service provider submits information pursuant to a pending application or if the existing provider does not provide the information requested under paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, RUS will consider the extent of broadband service using any other data available through reasonable efforts, including utilizing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's National Broadband Availability Map and the Federal Communications Commission broadband availability map. That may include the agency conducting field validations so as to locate facilities in the application service area and determine, to the extent possible, if those facilities can provide the minimum threshold of broadband. Notwithstanding, conclusive evidence as to the existence of the level of broadband will be taken only through the public notice process. As a result, the Agency highly recommends that existing service providers in a PFSA submit public notice response to ensure that their service is considered in the determination of eligibility on an application.

(e) The Agency will notify respondents who are existing service providers whether their public notice response was accepted or not and allow for an opportunity to respond.

(f) The information submitted by an existing service provider under paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section will be treated as proprietary and confidential and not subject to disclosure, pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 950cc(b)(3).

(g) For all applications that are approved, the following information will be made available to the public:

(1) The information provided in paragraph (a) of this section;

(2) Each annual report required under § 1735.24 will be redacted to protect any proprietary information; and

(3) Such other information as the Administrator of the RUS deems sufficient to allow the public to understand the assistance provided.

(a) Entities receiving financial assistance from RUS that are used for retail broadband must submit annual reports for 3 years after project completion. The reports must include the following information:

(1) The purpose of the financing, including new equipment and capacity enhancements that support high-speed broadband access for educational institutions, health care providers, and public safety service providers (including the estimated number of end users who are currently using or forecasted to use the new or upgraded infrastructure); and

(2) The progress towards fulfilling the objectives for which the assistance was made, including:

(i) The number of service points that will receive new broadband service, existing network improvements, and facility upgrades resulting from the federal assistance;

(ii) The speed of the broadband services;

(iii) The average price of the most subscribed tier of retail broadband service in each PFSA;

(iv) The number of new subscribers generated from the project; and

(v) Complete, reliable, and precise geolocation information that indicates the location of new broadband service that is being provided or upgraded within the service territory supported by the grant, loan, or loan guarantee.

(b) A notice will be published on the Agency's website that will include each annual broadband improvement report, redacted as appropriate to protect any proprietary information in the report.