USDA Awards $13 Million for Rural Telecommunications Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded almost $13 million in grants for distance learning and telemedicine projects in rural areas of 34 states and Puerto Rico. The announcement was made on the 50th anniversary of the program. Since the program’s inception, $11 billion in loans and grants have been made, resulting in more than 1 million miles of phone lines and thousands of miles of optic cable being laid.

The distance learning grants will provide students in rural schools the opportunity to take college preparatory classes taught by an instructor located miles away.  The telemedicine grants will provide life-enhancing and life-saving health technology, allowing patients in rural clinics to be examined by medical specialists in distant locations, providing speedier diagnosis.

The accompanying table provides the number of grants awarded in each category as well as the total dollar amount by state. 

For additional information on these specific awards, contact La Jaycee Brown at 202/720-9741. More general information on USDA’s Rural Distance and Telemedicine Program can be found by visiting their website at http://www.usda.gov/rus/dlt/dlml.htm