Valley FiberCom and Valley Telecommunications are pleased to announce an additional grant in the amount of approximately $5.5M from the USDA Rural Development ReConnect Program to continue the buildout of fiber based services in the rural areas of the Highway 14 corridor, as well as some additional areas near Flandreau.
Earlier this year, Valley received a grant for nearly $500,000 from the Connect South Dakota Broadband Program to build fiber services in the rural Flandreau area. Those areas are currently under construction and are expected to be completed before the years end.
Last December, Valley received a similar grant from USDA Rural Development in the amount of $9.5M during Year 1 of the ReConnect program. This project is currently in the engineering phase with connections expected to take place beginning in 2021. The engineering for the most recent grant announced yesterday will begin immediately with services available to underserved subscribers the following year.
Chad Rupe, Rural Utilities Service Administrator, and South Dakota Director Julie Gross made yesterday’s announcement at Midway Camp near Volga.
Read the official USDA Press Release:
https://www.usda.gov/…/trump-administration-invests-55-mill…
KELO-TV News:
https://www.keloland.com/…/more-rural-s-d-communities-will…/
