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Public funds. Public results.
U.S. Office of Rural Connectivity ProgramsData & Performance

Agency Performance

Goals, targets, and results

The office reports against nine performance indicators under three strategic goals, updated at the close of each federal fiscal quarter. Each indicator states what it measures, what the target is, where the measure stands now, and which way it is moving.

Updated quarterly · as of FY2026 Q3, closed June 30, 2026

Reported through FY2026 Q3. 7 of 9 indicators are meeting their target.

Targets we are not meeting

These are listed first rather than at the bottom. Each one carries a written explanation of the cause and what has changed in response. An indicator that is not being met is a fact about the program, not a communications problem.

  • Indicator 2.1

    Not meeting target

    Median time from award to project completion

    41.4 months against a target of 30.0 months, and improving.

    The full explanation is on the indicator card under strategic goal 2.

  • Indicator 2.2

    Not meeting target

    Share of active awards with current quarterly reporting

    92.8% against a target of 95.0%, and improving.

    The full explanation is on the indicator card under strategic goal 2.

What the status labels mean

Meeting target
The result is at or better than the target. For a measure that builds up over the year, it is ahead of where it stood a year ago.
At risk
The target is still being met, but the measure has moved the wrong way over the last year.
Not meeting target
The result is worse than the target. An indicator in this state carries a written explanation of why.

Strategic goal 1

Expand access

Bring reliable high-speed internet service to rural and tribal communities that do not have it.

  • Indicator 1.1

    Households connected during the fiscal year

    Meeting target

    274,300year to date

    improving (+14,900 vs. a year earlier)

    This measure builds up over the year and is only complete at year end, so it is judged against the same point last year rather than against the year-end target of 340,000.

  • Indicator 1.2

    Community anchor institutions connected during the fiscal year

    Meeting target

    1,137year to date

    improving (+31 vs. a year earlier)

    This measure builds up over the year and is only complete at year end, so it is judged against the same point last year rather than against the year-end target of 1,450.

  • Indicator 1.3

    Share of completed projects delivering 100/20 Mbps or better

    Meeting target

    94.8%most recent

    improving (+0.8% vs. a year earlier)

Strategic goal 2

Steward public funds

Award funds promptly, monitor them closely, and finish projects on the schedule we committed to.

  • Indicator 2.1

    Median time from award to project completion

    Not meeting target

    41.4 monthsmost recent

    improving (2.0 months vs. a year earlier)

    Why this target is not being met

    This target is not being met and has not been met since FY2024. Projects awarded during the FY2022 to FY2024 funding surge are the ones now finishing, and they ran into the same three things almost everywhere: a shortage of qualified fiber crews, utility pole attachment reviews that took far longer than the schedules assumed, and supply lead times on conduit and electronics that peaked in FY2024. The measure has improved for three consecutive quarters as the surge cohort clears, and the office does not expect to reach 30 months before FY2028. Two changes are in place: pole attachment readiness is now scored during application review rather than checked after award, and construction schedules longer than 36 months require a written staffing plan.

  • Indicator 2.2

    Share of active awards with current quarterly reporting

    Not meeting target

    92.8%most recent

    improving (+0.8% vs. a year earlier)

    Why this target is not being met

    This target is not being met. The gap is concentrated in small awards: recipients under $250,000, mostly adoption grants run by organizations with no dedicated grants staff, account for roughly three quarters of late filings. The office is not treating this as an enforcement problem. A shorter report form for awards under $250,000 took effect in FY2026 Q2 and the measure has moved up since; a plain-language reporting guide and a pre-filled template are scheduled for FY2027 Q1.

  • Indicator 2.3

    Share of enacted budget authority obligated by year end

    Meeting target

    68.4%year to date

    improving (+1.5% vs. a year earlier)

    This measure builds up over the year and is only complete at year end, so it is judged against the same point last year rather than against the year-end target of 95.0%.

Strategic goal 3

Reach the greatest need

Direct funding to the communities with the least service and the fewest resources to fix it themselves.

  • Indicator 3.1

    Share of award dollars going to persistent-poverty counties

    Meeting target

    28.2%most recent

    improving (+0.8% vs. a year earlier)

  • Indicator 3.2

    Tribal nations with at least one active award

    Meeting target

    31most recent

    improving (+2 vs. a year earlier)

  • Indicator 3.3

    Federal cost per household connected

    Meeting target

    $774most recent

    improving ($67 vs. a year earlier)

How these numbers are produced

Indicators are reported at the close of each federal fiscal quarter and are not revised once published, except to correct an error, which is noted in place. Three indicators accumulate over the fiscal year and only reach their target at year end; those are compared against the same quarter of the prior year rather than against the annual target, and the cards say so.

Quarters follow the federal fiscal calendar, so FY2026 Q1 covered October through December 2025. The underlying series for every indicator is published in the open data catalog.