October 31, 2022 – Home, Kan. – Blue Valley Tele-Communications, Inc. (BVT) was notified of its selection of a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Broadband ReConnect Program 50% grant to deploy fiber inside the city limits of Frankfort, Hanover, Washington, and Waterville. Approximately 3,000 people along with 255 businesses will benefit from this project.

USDA’s Broadband ReConnect Program is a pilot program offering unique federal financing options in the form of grants, loans, and combinations thereof to create or improve rural e-connectivity for rural customers across America.

To date, USDA has invested in a total of 101 projects across the country in the third round of the Broadband ReConnect Program. The investments represent $1,616,962,371 in grant and loan funding for high-speed internet. The funded service areas include a total of 62,914 households.

BVT Chief Executive Officer, Candace Wright said, “We are ecstatic to have been selected as one of the USDA grant recipients. These dollars are going to impact thousands of our customers for many years to come. We are grateful for those who implemented the program making the ability to apply a possibility. It’s a win anytime we can bring federal dollars back to our rural Kansas communities - especially when those dollars assist in the deployment of future-ready technology like fiber optics.”

BVT recently completed Fiber-to-the-Home projects in Blue Rapids, Bremen, north of Frankfort, east of Winifred, and Bern, with projects underway in rural Nemaha County and the City of Marysville. As one of the first in the nation to deploy fiber to the home of even its most rural customers, BVT’s fiber networks currently encompass a total of 16 communities and multiple rural areas across four counties.

Customers in grant areas will be notified by mail when work is scheduled to begin.