USDA Rural Development · Broadband
ReConnect Program (Rural Broadband)
Loans, grants, and combinations for high-speed broadband infrastructure in rural areas where 90% of households lack 100/20 Mbps service. Cities can partner or sponsor projects.
Program facts
- Typical award
- $500K – $50M
- Non-federal match
- Varies by NOFO
- Audience
- Cities, towns, counties, and tribal governments
- Application window
- Annual rounds; window varies.
- Typical prep time
- 12–24 weeks
- Statutory authority
- Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018
Catalog entry last verified 2026-05-24 · Verify on the agency page →
Eligibility at a glance
- Cities are eligible applicants.
- Rural eligibility: population under 50,000 (USDA threshold).
- Population ceiling: no more than 50,000.
Rural areas; eligibility based on service availability rather than only population. Amounts and timing approximate; verify directly with administering agency.
How Strategic Pursuit scores this program
When you run a city dossier, Strategic Pursuit cross-checks the city's demographics, federal award history, disaster history, and CEJST burden categories against this program's eligibility and strategic-fit signals. You see an explicit eligibility / strategic / competitive grade — backed by source citations — instead of a generic "match" badge.
Planning purposes only. Award ranges, match percentages, and application windows on this page summarize the latest publicly available agency guidance and are approximate. Always verify the binding NOFO on the administering agency's page before applying.