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The ReConnect program provides funding in the form of loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations for the costs of construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment needed to facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas. The expansion of broadband services and infrastructure helps fuel long-term rural economic development and opportunities in rural America.

The final rule that established and codified the requirements for the ReConnect program was published in the Federal Register on February 26, 2021 (86 FR 11603). Since its establishment in 2018 as a pilot program, RUS has successfully opened five funding windows, made awards under four, and is currently reviewing the fifth round of applications. The program has continued to mature, and the agency and its stakeholders have learned valuable lessons over that time.

This regulatory update will also ensure the program rule is in alignment with EO 14236 and implement EO 14192 by alleviating unnecessary burden through a reduction  of application requirements.   The Agency proposes to issue a final rule  that will improve  customer experience and service delivery by ensuring the program is technology neutral, updating definitions for clarity, revising reporting requirements to provide flexibility for awardees ,  and reducing regulatory  burden by removing  application requirements that are no longer needed.