Sec. 6102. Incentives for hard to reach communities
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Title VI of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 ( 7 U.S.C. 950bb ) is amended by adding at the end the following: In this section: The term associated loan means a loan or loan guarantee to finance all or part of a project under title I or II or this title for which an application has been submitted under such title and for which an application has also been submitted for a grant under this section. The term density means service points per road-mile. The Secretary shall further define, by rule, a method for calculating service points per road-mile, where appropriate by geography, which— divides the total number of service points by the total number of road-miles in a proposed service territory; requires an applicant to count all potential service points in a proposed service territory; and includes any other requirements the Secretary deems necessary to protect the integrity of the program.
The term eligible project means any project for which the applicant— has submitted an application for an associated loan; does not receive any other broadband grant administered by the Rural Utilities Service; and proposes to— offer retail broadband service to rural households; serve an area with a density of less than 12; provide service that meets the standard that would apply under section 601(e)(4) if the associated loan had been applied for under section 601; provide service in an area where no incumbent provider delivers fixed terrestrial broadband service at or above the minimum broadband speed described in section 601(e)(1); and provide service in an area where no eligible borrower, other than the applicant, has outstanding Rural Utilities Service telecommunications debt or is subject to a current Rural Utilities Service telecommunications grant agreement.
The term service point means a home, business, or institution in a proposed service area. The term road-mile means a mile of road in a proposed service area. The Secretary shall establish a competitive grant program to provide applicants funds to carry out eligible projects for the purposes of construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities for the provision of broadband service in rural areas. The Secretary shall establish an application process for grants under this section that— has 1 application window per year; permits a single application for the grant and the associated loan; and provides a single decision to award the grant and the associated loan.
In making grants under this section, the Secretary shall prioritize applications in which the applicant proposes to— provide the highest quality of service as measured by— network speed; network latency; and data allowances; serve the greatest number of service points; and use the greatest proportion of non-Federal dollars. The Secretary shall make each grant under this section in an amount that is— not greater than 75 percent of the total project cost with respect to an area with a density of less than 4; not greater than 50 percent of the total project cost with respect to an area with a density of 4 or more and not more than 9; and not greater than 25 percent of the total project cost with respect to an area with a density of more than 9 and not more than 12.
With respect to a grant provided under this section, the Secretary shall require that— the associated loan is secured by the assets purchased with funding from the grant and from the loan; the agreement in which the terms of the grant are established is for a period equal to the duration of the associated loan; and at any time at which the associated loan is outstanding, the broadband service provided by the project will meet the lower of the standards that would apply under section 601(g)(4) if the associated loan had been made under section 601.
As part of the grant program under this section, the Secretary, at the sole discretion of the Secretary, may provide to applicants who are eligible borrowers under this title and not eligible borrowers under title I or II all or a portion of the grant funds in the form of payment assistance. The Secretary may provide payment assistance under paragraph
(1)by reducing a borrower’s interest rate or periodic principal payments or both. With respect to payment assistance provided under paragraph (1), before entering into the agreement for the grant and associated loan under which the payment assistance will be provided, the applicant and the Secretary shall agree to milestones and objectives of the project. The Secretary shall condition any payment assistance provided under paragraph
(1)on— the applicant fulfilling the terms and conditions of the grant agreement under which the payment assistance will be provided; and completion of the milestones and objectives agreed to under paragraph (3). The Secretary and the applicant may jointly agree to amend the milestones and objectives agreed to under paragraph (3). The Secretary may not provide a grant under this section to an applicant for a project that was commenced before the date of the enactment of this section. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $350,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 to 2023. .
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Sec. 6102
Incentives for hard to reach communities
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