7 U.S.C. § 950bb-2
Section 950bb-2 · Innovative Broadband Advancement Program
Current version, with additions and removals from the February 7, 2014 version.
In this section, the term "ultra-high speed service" means broadband service operating at a 1 gigabit per second downstream transmission capacity.
The Secretary shall establish a pilot program to be known as the "Rural Gigabit Network Pilot Program", under which the Secretary may, at the discretion of the Secretary, provide grants, loans, or loan guarantees to eligible entities.
The Secretary shall establish a program to be known as the "Innovative Broadband Advancement Program", under which the Secretary may provide a grant, a loan, or both to an eligible entity for the purpose of demonstrating innovative broadband technologies or methods of broadband deployment that significantly decrease the cost of broadband deployment, and provide substantially faster broadband speeds than are available, in a rural area.
In this section, the term "rural area" has the meaning provided in section 950bb(b)(3) of this title.
(A) demonstrate to the Secretary the ability to furnish or extend ultra-high speed service to a rural area;
(1) submit to the Secretary an application—
(A) that describes a project designed to decrease the cost of broadband deployment, and substantially increase broadband speed to not less than the maximum 1 broadband buildout requirements established under section 950bb(e)(4) of this title, in a rural area to be served by the project; and
(C) not already provide ultra-high speed service to a rural area within any State in the proposed service territory; and
(D) agree to complete buildout of ultra-high speed service by not later than 3 years after the initial date on which assistance under this section is made available.
(2) Eligible projects
Assistance under this section may only be used to carry out a project in a proposed service territory if—
(A) the proposed service territory is a rural area; and
(B) ultra-high speed service is not provided in any part of the proposed service territory.
(2) demonstrate that the entity is able to carry out the project; and
(3) agree to complete the project build-out within 5 years after the date the assistance is first provided for the project.
In awarding assistance under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to proposals for projects that—
(1) involve partnerships between or among multiple entities;
(2) would provide broadband service to the greatest number of rural entities at or above the broadband requirements referred to in subsection (c)(1)(A); and
(3) the Secretary determines could be replicated in rural areas described in paragraph (2).