NEWS RELEASE WASHINGTON, D.C.

Contact: Vicki Ritterling (202) 690-0498

$33.8 MILLION FROM USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT GOING TO GEORGIA AND FLORIDA TO EXPAND BROADBAND ACCESS

**Corrected Version**

     HINESVILLE, Georgia, April 6, 2006--Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas Dorr today announced that Broadband South, LLC, whose headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia, will receive a $33.8 million loan to expand broadband access in southeast Georgia, the Florida Panhandle and northern Florida. Sixty four rural communities will be served by this project.

     "Broadband service provides an economic engine for rural communities, which opens the door for business development, improved health care and additional educational opportunities," said Dorr. "The infrastructure built with this loan is an investment in the future of these rural communities."

     Approximately 350,000 homes lie within the proposed service area. The project is expected to be built over the next three years and provide some 24,000 subscribers and 2,700 business subscribers with high speed telecommunications service.

     The Rural Development Broadband Access loan program was authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill. The legislation authorized USDA Rural Development to make loans to deploy broadband service to communities with a population of 20,000 or less, with first priority going to communities without broadband service. The loans are low interest and allow for the technology to be market driven.

     The Rural Development Broadband Access Program has made 56 loans for more than $868 million since the program was created in 2002.

     USDA Rural Development's mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life in rural communities. As a venture capital entity, Rural Development has invested over $63 billion since the beginning of the Bush Administration to provide equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. Over 1.1 million jobs have been created or saved through these investments. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA's web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.

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