South Carolina gets grant for broadband expansion

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South Carolina is getting $9.75 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to improve high-speed broadband infrastructure serving the state’s rural areas.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the USDA ReConnect Pilot Program grants in Orangeburg on Tuesday. The investment will improve broadband connectivity for nearly 4,000 rural households, according to a news release from the S.C. Department of Agriculture.

Orangeburg County will use the grant funding to deploy a fiber to the home broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second or higher, according to the release. The improved connectivity will service an area containing 3,911 households, 21 farms, 17 rural businesses, 13 educational facilities, nine critical community facilities and a health care center.

In March 2018, Congress approved $600 million to the USDA to expand broadband infrastructure and services in the country’s rural areas, with the ReConnect program launching in December. The USDA received 146 applications in less than two months for grant funding and will continue to review applications and approve projects on a rolling basis.

Applicants can request a 100% loan, 100% grant or a loan-grant combination.

“Our core mission at USDA is to increase the rural prosperity through boosting economic opportunity in rural America,” Perdue said in the release.

S.C. Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers said high-speed internet in the state’s rural areas helps farmers connect to new markets and promote their businesses.

“This initiative will boost Orangeburg County and the rest of the state,” he said.