(a) To be eligible for grant funding, the Applicant must:

(1) Submit an application for an associated loan component under Title I, Title II, or Title VI of the RE Act; and

(2) Not be the recipient of any other broadband grant from RUS with unadvanced grant funds.

(b) The amount of grant funding on any project shall not exceed:

(1) 75 percent of the total project cost when the proposed funded service area has a density of fewer than 7 people per square mile;

(2) 50 percent of the total project cost when the proposed funded service area has a density of 7 or more and fewer than 12 people per square mile; and

(3) 25 percent of the total project cost with respect to an area with a density of 12 or more and 20 or fewer people per square mile.

(c) Subsequent density determinations, as well as density requirements for projects on tribal lands will be set by notice in the Federal Register.

(d) The Agency may provide additional grant funding of up to 75 percent of the development costs of projects requesting funding under Title VI that serve rural areas that:

(1) Lack access to broadband service with speeds of at least 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream; and

(2) Meet any one of the priorities set forth in § 1738.105(a)(3)(i).

(a) Grant funding may also be used to provide assistance to Title VI Awardees in the form of subsidized loans at such rates as the Agency will issue from time to time by notice in the Federal Register, or in the form of a payment assistance loan, which shall require no interest and principal payments or require nominal periodic payments as determined by the Agency and published in the Federal Register.

(b) Subsidized loans shall only be available to projects which will serve rural areas lacking access to service with speeds of at least 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream and meets any one of the priorities set forth in § 1738.105(a)(3)(i).

(c) The Agency may determine, at its sole discretion, to provide a payment assistance loan which shall require no interest and principal payments or such nominal payments as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. Such loans will only be provided to projects which will serve rural areas lacking access to service of speeds of 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream and meets any two of the priorities set forth in § 1738.105(a)(3)(i). When considering the authority to provide a payment assistance loan, the Agency will consider how such assistance will:

(1) Improve the Applicant's compliance with the commitments of the Agency's standard Award agreement, in addition to any additional requirements imposed by the Agency specific to the project;

(2) Promote the completion of the broadband project;

(3) Protect taxpayer resources; and

(4) Support the integrity of the Agency's broadband programs.

(d) The Agency and recipients of payment assistance loans must agree to specific milestones and objectives for the project which must be met, in addition to the other requirements of this part. Such terms may be amended by mutual agreement for good cause. Failure to meet the agreed upon terms, upon the Agency's determination that such failure was a direct result of the Awardee's own actions, may result in the Agency's request to the return of all, or any portion, of the grant funds used for the payment assistance loan.

(e) Additionally, Applicants with an associated loan under Title I and Title II of the RE Act and which are seeking any grant assistance under this part, are not eligible for a subsidized loan or payment assistance loans.

Applicants seeking assistance may request consideration under the SUTA provisions in 7 U.S.C. 936f.

(a) If the Administrator determines that a community within “trust land” (as defined in 38 U.S.C. 3765) has a high need for the benefits of the Rural Broadband Program, he/she may designate the community as a “substantially underserved trust area” (as defined in section 306F of the RE Act).

(b) To receive consideration under SUTA, the Applicant must submit to the Agency a completed application that includes all of the information requested in 7 CFR part 1700, subpart D. In addition, the Applicant must notify the Agency in writing that it seeks consideration under SUTA and identify the discretionary authorities of 7 CFR part 1700, subpart D, it seeks to have applied to its application. Note, however, that the two years of historical audited financial statements and Net worth requirement for loan and loan/grant combination Applicants in § 1738.206(b)(2)(i) cannot be waived.

Projects which will serve communities that meet, at least, three of the priorities as identified in § 1738.105(a)(3)(i) may request technical assistance and training from the Agency to:

(a) Prepare reports and surveys necessary to request grants, loans, and loan guarantees for broadband deployment;

(b) Improve management, including financial management, relating to the proposed broadband deployment;

(c) Prepare applications for grants, loans, and loan guarantees; and

(d) Assist with other areas of need as identified by the Agency through a notice in the Federal Register.

(a) The Agency will compare and evaluate all applications for assistance and shall give priority to applications in the manner set out in paragraphs (a)(1) through (4) of this section, which shall be scored as outlined in a notice published in the Federal Register. (Note that for applications containing multiple proposed funded service areas, the percentage will be calculated combining all proposed funded service areas.)

(1) Applicant's providing broadband service to rural areas that do not have access to service of at least 10 Mbps upstream and 1 Mbps downstream.

(2) Projects that provide the maximum level of broadband service to the greatest proportion of rural households.

(3) Projects that:

(i) Serve rural areas:

(A) With a population of less than 10,000 permanent residents;

(B) Are experiencing outmigration and have adopted a strategic community investment plan under section 379H(d) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008v) that includes considerations for improving and expanding broadband service;

(C) With a high percentage of low-income families or persons (as defined in section 501(b) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471(b)));

(D) That are isolated from other significant population centers; or

(E) That provide rapid and expanded deployment of fixed and mobile broadband on cropland and ranchland within a service territory for use in various applications of precision agriculture; and

(ii) Were developed with the participation of, and will receive a substantial portion of the funding for the project from two or more stakeholders, including:

(A) State, local, and tribal governments;

(B) Nonprofit institutions; and

(C) Community anchor institutions, such public libraries, schools, institutions of higher education, health care facilities, private entities, philanthropic organizations and cooperatives.

(4) New construction projects requesting no refinancing.

(b) The Agency may assign special consideration priority points that will be issued in a notice in the Federal Register with respect to any funding opportunity.

(c) With respect to two or more applications that have the same priority, as outlined in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, the Agency shall give priority to the application that requests the least amount of grant funding as calculated based on the total amount of grant funds requested.

(a) The Agency will publish a public notice of each application requesting assistance under this part. The application must provide a summary of the information required for such public notice including all of the following information:

(1) The identity of the Applicant;

(2) A map of each proposed funded service area showing the rural area boundaries and the areas without broadband service using the Agency's mapping tool;

(3) The amount and type of support requested;

(4) The estimated number of households in each proposed funded service area without broadband service, excluding mobile and satellite service; and

(5) A description of all the types of services that the Applicant proposes to offer in each proposed funded service area.

(b) The public notice will remain available for 45 calendar days on the Agency's website, and will request existing service providers to submit to the Agency, within the same period, the following information:

(1) The number of residential and business customers within the Applicant's proposed funded service area that are currently offered, and that are purchasing, broadband service by the existing service provider, 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 proposed funded service area that receive non-broadband services from the existing service provider, and the associated rates for these other services; and

(3) A map showing where the existing service provider's services coincide with the Applicant's proposed funded service area using the Agency's mapping tool.

(c) For purposes of 5 U.S.C. 552,information.

(d) If an application is approved, an additional notice will be published on the Agency's website that will include the following information:

(1) The name of the entity receiving the financial assistance;

(2) The amount and type of assistance being received;

(3) The purpose of the assistance; and

(4) Each annual report submitted under § 1738.107, redacted as appropriate to protect any proprietary information in the report.

(a) Entities receiving assistance from the USDA to provide retail broadband service 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 granted, including:

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

(ii) The speed of broadband services;

(iii) The average price of the most subscribed tier of broadband service in each proposed service area; and

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

(b) Awardees must provide 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 assistance no later than 30 days after the earlier of the date of:

(1) Completion of the project milestone established in the applicable assistance contract; or

(2) Project completion.

(c) Any other reporting requirements established by the Administrator by notice in the Federal Register before an application is submitted.

(a) Federal agencies are required to analyze the potential environmental impacts, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) for Applicant projects or proposals seeking funding. Please refer to 7 CFR part 1970 for all of Rural Development's environmental policies. All Applicants are required to provide environmental review documents, provide a description of program activities, and to submit all other required environmental documentation as requested in the application system or by the Agency after the application is submitted. It is the Applicant's responsibility to obtain all necessary Federal, tribal, State, and local governmental permits and approvals necessary for the proposed work to be conducted. Applicants are expected to design their projects so that they minimize the potential for adverse impacts to the environment. Applicants also will be required to cooperate with the granting agencies in identifying feasible measures to reduce or avoid any identified adverse environmental impacts of their proposed projects. The failure to do so may be grounds for not making an Award.

(b) The Agency may obligate, but not disperse, funds under Title VI of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, before the completion of the otherwise required environmental historical, or other types of reviews if the Secretary determines that subsequent site-specific review shall be adequate and easily accomplished for the location of towers, poles, or other broadband facilities in the service area of the awardee without compromising the project or the required reviews.

(a) Equal opportunity and nondiscrimination. The agency will ensure that equal opportunity and nondiscriminatory requirements are met in accordance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and 7 CFR part 15. In accordance with Federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs).

(b) Civil rights compliance. Recipients of Federal assistance under this part must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In general, recipients should have available for the Agency racial and ethnic data showing the extent to which members of minority groups are beneficiaries of federally assisted programs. The Agency will conduct compliance reviews in accordance with 7 CFR part 15. Awardees will be required to complete Form RD 400-4, “Assurance Agreement,” for each Federal Award received.

(c) Discrimination complaints. Persons believing they have been subjected to discrimination prohibited by this section may file a complaint personally or by an authorized representative with USDA, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250. A complaint must be filed no later than 180 days from the date of the alleged discrimination, unless the time for filing is extended by the designated officials of USDA or the Agency.