§ 1738.102 - Payment assistance for loans.

§ 1738.102 Eligible service areaPayment assistance for loans.

(a) A service area Grant funding may be eligible for a broadband loan if all of the following are true:

(1) The proposed funded service area is completely contained within a rural area;

(2) At least 15 percent of the households in the proposed funded service area are unserved households;

(3) No part of the proposed funded service area has three or more incumbent service providers; and

(4) No part of the proposed funded service area overlaps with the service area of current RUS borrowers, nor the services areas of grantees that were funded by RUS.

(b) Multiple service areas may be included in a single broadband loan application. Non-contiguous areas are considered separate service areas and must be treated separately for the purpose of determining service area eligibility. If non-contiguous areas within an application are determined to be ineligible, the Agency may consider the remaining areas in the application for eligibility. If an applicant fails to respond to Agency requests for additional information or modifications to remove ineligible areas, the application will be rejected.

(c) If no existing broadband service provider responds to the Public Notice as described in § 1738.204(b), then the number of incumbent service providers for § 1738.102(a)(3) will be determined by using:

(1) The most current National Broadband Map; or

(2) Any other data regarding the availability of broadband service that the Secretary may collect or obtain through reasonable efforts.

(d) If a service provider is identified by methods described in paragraphs (c)(1) or (2) of this section, and the Agency is unable to determine whether such provider is an incumbent service provider, as defined herein, then the Agency will request the service provider to provide information responding to the Public Notice for the loan application, demonstrating that they meet the definition for an incumbent service provider. If the service provider does not respond to the Agency's request within 30 calendar days providing the necessary information to make a determination, the provider will not be considered an incumbent service provider

also be used to provide assistance to Title VI Awardees in the form of subsidized loans at such rates as the Agency will issue from time to time by notice in the Federal Register, or in the form of a payment assistance loan, which shall require no interest and principal payments or require nominal periodic payments as determined by the Agency and published in the Federal Register.

(b) Subsidized loans shall only be available to projects which will serve rural areas lacking access to service with speeds of at least 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream and meets any one of the priorities set forth in § 1738.105(a)(3)(i).

(c) The Agency may determine, at its sole discretion, to provide a payment assistance loan which shall require no interest and principal payments or such nominal payments as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. Such loans will only be provided to projects which will serve rural areas lacking access to service of speeds of 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream and meets any two of the priorities set forth in § 1738.105(a)(3)(i). When considering the authority to provide a payment assistance loan, the Agency will consider how such assistance will:

(1) Improve the Applicant's compliance with the commitments of the Agency's standard Award agreement, in addition to any additional requirements imposed by the Agency specific to the project;

(2) Promote the completion of the broadband project;

(3) Protect taxpayer resources; and

(4) Support the integrity of the Agency's broadband programs.

(d) The Agency and recipients of payment assistance loans must agree to specific milestones and objectives for the project which must be met, in addition to the other requirements of this part. Such terms may be amended by mutual agreement for good cause. Failure to meet the agreed upon terms, upon the Agency's determination that such failure was a direct result of the Awardee's own actions, may result in the Agency's request to the return of all, or any portion, of the grant funds used for the payment assistance loan.

(e) Additionally, Applicants with an associated loan under Title I and Title II of the RE Act and which are seeking any grant assistance under this part, are not eligible for a subsidized loan or payment assistance loans.