Following a 60-day budgetary roller coaster ride, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that the agency will be awarding $1.136 billion in loan and grant capital subsidies for rural communications service providers.

The figure represents a $309 million cut mandated by Congress in the "program level" funding, versus the initial target of $1.445 billion in funding across four separate programs.  The funding, which is contained in programs managed by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) of USDA, is required to be obligated during the current federal fiscal year ending September 30, 2011.

According to information provided on background by multiple sources at USDA to the publication StimulatingBroadband.com, the $1.136 billion is the confirmed figure USDA is now issuing. The figure represents the culmination of the final budgetary continuing resolution (CR) passed by Congress on April 8^th, and the follow-on work of USDA staff during April.

TelPlexus Pulse is the first source to publish this confirmed funding information for our industry.

2011 USDA/RUS Funding Break Out by Program

FY 2011 RUS Telecom Programs

As seen in the chart above, the critically important Telecom Loan Program was kept at the initial target program funding level of $690 million. The Community Connect Grant Program was reduced in funding slightly, to $13.4 million. We believe that Congress will fully defund this program in the years ahead. The Distance Learning & Telemedicine Program (DLT) was slightly increased, to $32.5 million.

Applications for DLT closed off on April 25. The deadline for Community Connect applications was May 3.

Given the significant loan leverage capacity of the USDA, relatively minor cuts to hard dollar appropriations resulted in the $300 million decrease (43%) in the Broadband Loan Program. The overall multiple program cuts, crafted by Appropriations Committee members in the U.S. House, were most severe in the Broadband Loan Program.

The term "program level" in federal parlance refers to the actual dollar amount of loans available to carriers. Under the four non-stimulus telecom programs administered by RUS, awards are being offered either solely as loans or as grants issued on a program-by-program basis.

Loan/grant combination awards, which were offered under the now ended broadband stimulus program, are no longer available. All broadband stimulus awards were issued before October 1 of last year, as mandated by Congress.

TelPlexus invites you to attend our webinar on May 18th, during which we will have experts brief interested service providers in how to apply for the Broadband Loan and Telecom Loan funding.

The $1.136 billion in USDA funding, which is now being awarded to qualified rural traditional carriers and new entrant service providers, marks a victory for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and RUS Administrator Jonathan Adelstein.

On May 18th, TelPlexus will conduct a webinar designed to provide fledgling and veteran broadband and telecom providers with all the information you need to decide the best course of action in applying for more than 1 billion dollars in federal RUS funding.  

A panel of experts including Rick Peppers of TelPlexus, industry analyst and publisher Peter Pratt, and others will present an overview of the funding guidelines and answer specific questions from attendees regarding eligibility, project worthiness, application procedures and other pertinent topics.  

Make plans today to attend our webinar, "The USDA $1 Billion Rural Telecom Funding Opportunity", and learn how your broadband project can become a reality with millions in federal dollars.  

Email us to sign up for the webinar here: info@telplexus.net.  

Our thoughts and prayers are with the thousands of people whose lives have been affected by the unprecedented outbreak of tornados and severe storms that swept through the southeast at the end of April. In one small Mississippi town, a TelPlexus client's office was partially destroyed when an F5 tornado with winds as high as 205 mph ripped through the area during late afternoon on April 27.

Luckily, none of the client's employees were harmed, but the town is still recovering from the shock of 14 fatalities and dozens of injuries caused by the storm's destructive power. According to the client, more than 150 homes were destroyed, which represents approximately one-third of the potential service premises inside the town limits.

"We sheltered about 25 people until early evening after the storm including nearby residents who lost their homes and drivers who had ditched their cars and ran for cover," said the TelPlexus client and business owner who requested anonymity.

"In the area most heavily impacted, our underground cable plant appears to have survived, but the pedestals disappeared, leaving bare cable sticking up from the ground," he said.

As repairs and reconstruction continue, TelPlexus is providing special technical support to help our client get the town's communication systems up and running again.

TelPlexus sends out special congratulations to our clients in Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas for receiving funds from Round II of the federal broadband stimulus program.

With the help of TelPlexus, these clients proved their eligibility and confirmed the worthiness of their respective fiber optic cable projects while successfully demonstrating an ability to deploy within the funding program's designated timeline.

For more information about how TelPlexus can help your organization secure hundreds of thousands or  even millions of dollars in funding through government grant programs, please visit RDUP Planning and Financing.

During the last three years, TelPlexus has successfully completed the buildout of more than $100 million worth of projects funded with support from the RURAL Utilities Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (RUS).  

Our RUS projects are located in Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky and Tennessee.   

"We're running full-speed ahead around here," said TelPlexus President Rick Peppers. "Thanks to the successful efforts on behalf of clients, who are seeking stimulus funding, we have projects already in the queue and we have plans to bring several more clients onboard in 2011."  

Whether you are operating a small or even fledgling business in a rural setting or a large enterprise in a dense, intensely competitive urban environment, TelPlexus can provide a full range of engineering and consultative services.  

But don't just take our word for it. Visit our newly redesigned website and read what clients are saying about working with TelPlexus.