SOMERSET, Ky. – Congressman Hal Rogers announced that the Trump Administration’s United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $5 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in Eastern Kentucky.
“This project will connect nearly 650 households in Beattyville, Buckhorn, Livingston and surrounding communities to gigabit service,” said Congressman Rogers. “We are diligently working to get broadband to every family and every student in our region. It takes a lot of time and money, and this investment from USDA allows Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative to continue extending high-performance fiber into some of our smallest, mountainous communities in Kentucky’s Appalachian region.”
This investment is part of the $550 million Congress allocated to the second round of the ReConnect Program.
“Broadband is a cornerstone to prosperity in Kentucky’s rural communities because it is essential to economic development, as well as access to health care, educational opportunities and connections to people and services,” USDA Kentucky State Director for Rural Development Hilda Legg said. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, USDA is committed to being a strong partner in deploying this critical infrastructure in Kentucky and across all of America’s rural communities, because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.”
Peoples Telecom LLC will use a $2.4 million ReConnect grant and a $2.4 million ReConnect loan to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network. This network will connect 1,618 people, 25 businesses, two farms, a public school, a post office and a fire station to high-speed broadband internet in Rockcastle, Perry and Lee counties in Kentucky.
https://halrogers.house.gov/press-releases?ID=B2F917C0-F23B-401F-BC05-4F3A9A3CFA6D
