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Success Stories

Investing in Wastewater Infrastructure is Key to Preserving Smith Island, Maryland

For the people living on Smith Island, the water matters. But it’s about more than the beautiful views of the Chesapeake Bay from the picturesque island ten miles from the mainland. The multi‐generational residents depend on the surrounding Chesapeake Bay for their livelihoods. For many, crabbing, oystering, and ecotourism are what puts dollars in their bank accounts, and food on their tables. In rural communities…

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Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 5 Stories
USDA financing is helping a local telephone cooperative utility company bring high-speed broadband service to rural Appalachian Virginia

Broadband in the Mountains

In today’s digital age, broadband Internet access seems like it’s just about everywhere on everybody’s personal electronics and smart phones. In rural Edwards Ridge in Dickenson County, VA, however, the Appalachian Mountains are a physical barrier that has made broadband… [Read More]

Broadband Service Changing Lives in Rural Tennessee

  North Central Telephone Cooperative (NCTC) recently completed construction of more than 1,000 miles of Fiber To The Home (FTTH) facilities making broadband service available to approximately 14,000 households, 951 businesses, and 48 strategic institutions.  Headquartered in… [Read More]
Ribbon cutting for Karuk Tribe's new wireless network

Connected in the Hinterlands: Bringing Broadband to Native Communities in Northern California by Janice Waddell

Orleans, California has no cell service, no high-speed internet, and sometimes not even a reliable landline phone connection. This town of five or six hundred people, nestled along the Klamath River and Six Rivers National Forest, is in the heart of the territory of the Karuk… [Read More]

Everyday Superheroes in North Dakota

 In rural North Dakota, high speed Internet isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.  Just ask Tracey Koester. Tracey used to commute to Bismarck, ND for work. It was a 56-mile journey one-way, and she did it 5 days-a- week, for 17 years. Tracy and others have used high speed… [Read More]

USDA RD Partners with HTC to Make Broadband Available

Many of us take access to modern electronic and technological services for granted. But for businesses in Rural America, the lack of high-speed internet connections can make a difference between success and layoffs. In 2009, Highland Telephone Cooperative (HTC) began pursuing… [Read More]