USDA Rural Development

Telecommunications Program

Success Story: Telecommunications Infrastructure Program, Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), and Farm Bill Broadband Loan Program

Monroe Telephone Company

Oregon

Need:

Monroe Telephone Company has served communities in rural Oregon since 1956. The residents of these communities needed broadband internet service to help local businesses remain competitive, to benefit local schools, fire departments, and other public services, and to provide modern internet speeds to residents.

How Rural Development Helped:

Monroe Telephone Company received a Farm Bill Broadband Loan in 2005 for $1,492,000 to make high speed broadband available throughout its network. In 2010, Monroe Telephone Company received a Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) loan for $1,413,684 and a BIP grant for $4,241,050. These funds enabled the company to extend broadband service in Lane and Benton counties with Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) service.

Results:

USDA Rural Development programs help local businesses stay competitive and help keep these businesses in the rural communities in which they were established. Local residents and local institutions, such as fire departments, schools, and libraries, now have access to all the benefits of modern broadband internet service. As a result of USDA Rural Development programs, Monroe Telephone Company has been able to serve 850 establishments with high speed broadband internet access, including a fire department, a sheriff’s office, a health clinic, a school district, and a library.

As Monroe Telephone rolls out its FTTP broadband service, rural Oregon stands to benefit even further from expanded internet access and enhanced speeds. More than 2,300 residents, 29 local businesses, and 7 local institutions will benefit from access to FTTP broadband service, including two rural schools.

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