ANCHORAGE, Alaska, April 24, 2024 – USDA Rural Development Alaska State Director Julia Hnilicka today announced USDA is partnering with the City of Chevak and Connecting Alaska Consortium to support high-speed internet deployment in rural Alaska.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is providing funding to connect Alaskans all across our vast state,” Hnilicka said. “Connecting Alaska Consortium and the City of Chevak will use these funds to help propel rural Alaskans closer to closing the digital divide. USDA Rural Development is a proud funder of quality, high-speed internet across Alaska, including these cooperative agreements which will provide assistance to 125 rural communities to get the technical assistance they need to realize their goals.”
City of Chevak is receiving a $185,933 award to promote high-speed internet expansion in the Alaska Tribal communities of Chevak, Scammon Bay, Hooper Bay, and Paimiut. City of Chevak, in partnership with the tribal council of Native Village of Chevak, will develop a comprehensive plan to access affordable middle mile fiber and obtain further financial support to provide high quality broadband services to the community.
Connecting Alaska Consortium is receiving a $1 million award to deliver technical assistance and training to support planning and engagement, coordinating partnerships, grant-related training, and data collection and reporting. Funding will also support technical assistance and training conferences. The project will be used to promote and expand high-speed internet access in 122 rural and Tribal communities across Alaska.
These awards are included in a national announcement that USDA is awarding $5.2 million in cooperative agreements through the Broadband Technical Assistance Program, which is funded through President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. A full list of projects from today’s announcement is available online.
The Broadband Technical Assistance Program provides funding to cooperatives and organizations interested in receiving or delivering broadband technical assistance and training. This program promotes the expansion of high-speed internet into rural and Tribal communities by funding feasibility studies, network designs, hiring efforts, application development assistance and more.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. Visit the Rural Data Gateway to learn how and where these investments are impacting rural America. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/ak.