Reconnect treas rate 50-50 loan-grant infrastructure invest and jobs act grant

The Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service awarded $21,277,167 to The Ponderosa Telephone Co. on May 6, 2026, under the ReConnect Program (CFDA 10.752) to deploy fiber-optic and ethernet infrastructure in O'Neals, California, structured as a 50-50 loan-grant combination funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The award funds broadband deployment to expand service to rural areas without sufficient broadband access. Ponderosa Telephone Co., a rural telecommunications service provider based in O'Neals, is the prime recipient and will execute the infrastructure work in O'Neals, CA 93645. The period of performance runs through May 6, 2028. The ReConnect Program provides loans, grants, and loan-grant combinations to facilitate rural broadband deployment, with scoring applied to grant and loan-grant applications based on rurality, number of farms and businesses served, healthcare and educational facility coverage, service performance, state broadband activity coordination, and tribal land presence. No funds disburse until all other funding sources are obtained and pre-award conditions are met; advances are requested by the recipient according to award documents.