7 CFR § 1740.11 - Eligible and ineligible service areas.

(a) Eligible service areas.

(1) Applicants must propose to provide broadband service directly to all premises in the PFSA.

(2) If any part of the applicant's PFSA is ineligible, RUS, in its sole discretion, may request that an applicant modify its application, if RUS believes the modification is feasible. Otherwise, RUS will reject the application.

(b) Ineligible service areas—(1) Overlapping service areas. RUS will not fund more than one project that serves any one given geographic area. Invariably, however, applicants will propose service areas that overlap, varying from small de minimis areas of the territory, but which may be significant with respect to households involved, to larger areas of the service territory, but which may contain few households or businesses, if any. As a result, devising a procedure that will cover every overlap circumstance is not practicable. Nevertheless, it is the agency's intent to make as many eligible applications viable for consideration as possible. That may mean the agency may:

(i) Determine the overlap to be so insignificant that no agency action is necessary;

(ii) Request one or more applications to be revised to eliminate the overlapping territory;

(iii) Choose one application over another given the amount of assistance requested, the number of awards already chosen in the area or State, or the need for the project in the specific area due to other factors; or

(iv) Simply choose the project that scores higher or in the judgement of the agency is more financially feasible.

(2) Prior funded service areas to include: (i) RUS Broadband loans. Service areas of borrowers that have RUS Broadband loans, as defined in this part, are ineligible for all other applicants, and can be found on the Agency web page for the program. However, RUS Broadband Borrowers that have built out their service areas consistent with their application and award documents, but were not required to provide, and are currently not providing, sufficient access to broadband pursuant to this regulation are eligible to apply for funding for these service areas; provided that they have not defaulted on, and have materially complied with, in the sole discretion of RUS, their prior Broadband loan award requirements. Current RUS Broadband Borrowers that have received funding to provide sufficient access to broadband but have not yet built out their system are ineligible to apply for funding for these service areas.

(ii) RUS Community Connect Grants. Service areas that received grants under the RUS Community Connect Grant Program are eligible if they do not have sufficient access to broadband, except for those grants still under construction. Service areas still under construction can be found on the Agency's web page.

(iii) RUS BIP Grants. Service areas that received a 100 percent grant under the RUS Broadband Initiatives Program are eligible if they do not have sufficient access to broadband.

(c) Service areas with other funding.

(1) Applicants are encouraged to work with the Governor's office for the states, and tribal governments for the tribal areas where they are proposing to provide broadband service and submit information detailing where state funding has been provided.

(2) Service areas that have received federal grant funds, or funds from the Federal Communications Commission, to provide broadband service will be restricted from funding, if such funding is principally to construct facilities throughout the service area that provide broadband service at the threshold level of service. If additional service areas are restricted from funding, these areas will be identified in the funding opportunity announcement that opens an application window.