GIBSON ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP RECEIVES $32 MILLION RECONNECT PROGRAM LOAN

Gibson Electric Membership Corporation will use a $32 million ReConnect Program loan to deploy a fiber to the premises network in rural Fulton, Graves and Hickman Counties in Kentucky, as well as Obion, Weakley, Lake and Dyer Counties in Tennessee, following the announcement Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald LaVoy.

The USDA has invested $55.3 million in four high speed broadband infrastructure projects in rural Kentucky, part of the first round of the USDA's ReConnect Pilot Program investments.

These investments are to create or improve rural e-Connectivity for more than 12, 250 rural households and nearly 100 farms and businesses across Kentucky and northern Tennessee.

GEMC will use the funding to deploy a fiber to the premises network for service areas to include approximately 7,400 households spread over 1,056 square miles.

In March 2018, Congress provided $600 million to USDA to expand broadband infrastructure and services in rural America, and in late December that year the rules of the program were announced, called "ReConnect", which were to include how loans and grants would be awarded to help build broadband infrastructure in rural communities.

USDA received 146 applications between May, 2019 and July, 2019, requesting $1.4 billion in funding all three ReConnect Program funding products, 100% loans, 100% grants and loan-grant combinations.

The grants, loans and combinations enable the federal government to partner with the private sector and rural communities to build modern broadband infrastructure in areas with insufficient internet service, defined as connection speeds of less than 10 megabits per second download and 1 MBps upload.