About the office

Mission

To ensure that people in rural and tribal communities can obtain reliable high-speed internet service, and that the federal funds spent on that purpose produce results that can be verified and published.

History

Before 2015, rural connectivity funding was administered through four separate program offices with different application forms, different eligibility rules, and different reporting calendars. Applicants in the smallest communities, the ones with no grant-writing staff, were the least able to navigate that. The office was created to end it, and its first solicitation closed in 2016.

Appropriations grew steadily through FY2021, rose sharply under supplemental infrastructure funding in FY2022 through FY2024, and returned to the underlying trend in FY2025. The projects awarded during those surge years are the ones now finishing, and they are the reason our completion-time indicator is the one we are furthest from meeting.

Our programs

Four grant programs, each with its own eligibility rules, typical award size, and period of performance. An applicant may hold awards under more than one.

• Rural Broadband Construction Grants (RBCG)

  $1.3B obligated since FY2017

  Builds the physical network, mostly fiber, to homes and businesses in areas where no provider offers service at 100 megabits per second download and 20 megabits per second upload.

  Who may apply

  States, counties, municipalities, tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, and special districts.

  Typical period of performance

  5 years. Costs incurred outside that window are not reimbursable.

  426 awards made, 288 of them active. See this program's awards.

• Tribal Connectivity Grants (TCG)

  $406M obligated since FY2017

  Funds network construction, spectrum deployment, and network operations on tribal lands, where a single project often serves an entire nation.

  Who may apply

  Federally recognized tribal governments and tribal enterprises.

  Typical period of performance

  5 years. Costs incurred outside that window are not reimbursable.

  212 awards made, 143 of them active. See this program's awards.

• Community Anchor Network Grants (CANG)

  $338M obligated since FY2017

  Connects the buildings a rural community shares: libraries, schools, health clinics, community colleges, and public safety facilities.

  Who may apply

  Local governments, tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations.

  Typical period of performance

  4 years. Costs incurred outside that window are not reimbursable.

  619 awards made, 332 of them active. See this program's awards.

• Digital Access and Adoption Grants (DAAG)

  $203M obligated since FY2017

  Pays for the part of the problem a network does not solve: devices, digital skills training, technical support, and subscription assistance.

  Who may apply

  Local governments, tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations.

  Typical period of performance

  3 years. Costs incurred outside that window are not reimbursable.

  1,359 awards made, 521 of them active. See this program's awards.