7 CFR 1739 - Broadband Grant Program Reg.

§ 1738.41

7 CFR Ch. XVII (1–1–05 Edition)

§ 1738.41 Payments on loans.
(a) Broadband loans must be repaid
with interest within a period that,
rounded to the nearest whole year,
equals the expected composite economic life of the facilities to be financed, as calculated by RUS.
(1) The expected composite economic
life shall be based upon the depreciation rates for the facilities financed by
the loan.
(2) The depreciation rates used shall
be the rates currently in place, as long
as RUS finds them to be reasonable for
the telecommunications industry.
(b) Applicants may request a repayment period that is shorter than the
expected composite economic life of
the facilities financed. A shorter period
may be approved as long as the Administrator determines that the loan remains feasible.
(c) Interest is payable on funds advanced each month as it accrues beginning with the first billing after the advance, as defined in the note. Principal
payments on each note are scheduled
to begin one year after the date of the
first advance. After this deferral period, interest and principal payments
on all funds advanced during this oneyear period shall be made in equal
monthly installments. Principal payments on funds advanced 1 year or
more after the date of the first advance
will begin with the first billing after
the advance. The interest and principal
payments on each of these advances
shall be made in equal monthly installments.
§§ 1738.42–1738.49

[Reserved]

PART 1739—BROADBAND GRANT
PROGRAM
Subpart A—Community Connect Grant
Program
Sec.
1739.1 Purpose.
1739.2 Funding availability and application
dates and addresses.
1739.3 Definitions.
1739.4–1739.9 [Reserved]
1739.10 Eligible applicant.
1739.11 Eligible project.
1739.12 Eligible grant purposes.
1739.13 Ineligible grant purposes.
1739.14 Matching contributions.

1739.15 Completed application.
1739.16 Review of grant applications.
1739.17 Scoring of applications.
1739.18 Grant documents.
1739.19 Reporting and oversight requirements.
1739.20 Audit requirements.
1739.21 OMB control number.

Subpart B [Reserved]
AUTHORITY: Title III, Pub. L. 108–199, 118
Stat. 3.
SOURCE: 69 FR 44899, July 28, 2004, unless
otherwise noted.

Subpart A—Community Connect
Grant Program
§ 1739.1

Purpose.

(a) The provision of broadband transmission service is vital to the economic development, education, health,
and safety of rural Americans. The purpose of the Community Connect Grant
Program is to provide financial assistance in the form of grants to eligible
applicants that will provide, on a
‘‘community-oriented
connectivity’’
basis, broadband transmission service
that fosters economic growth and delivers enhanced educational, health
care, and public safety services. RUS
will give priority to rural areas that it
believes have the greatest need for
broadband transmission services, based
on the criteria contained in this subpart.
(b) Grant authority will be used for
the deployment of broadband transmission service to extremely rural,
lower-income communities on a ‘‘community-oriented connectivity’’ basis.
The
‘‘community-oriented
connectivity’’ concept will stimulate
practical, everyday uses and applications of broadband by cultivating the
deployment of new broadband transmission services that improve economic development and provide enhanced educational and health care opportunities in rural areas. Such an approach will also give rural communities the opportunity to benefit from
the advanced technologies that are
necessary to achieve these goals.

356

VerDate Aug<04>2004

18:45 Jan 23, 2005

Jkt 205022

PO 00000

Frm 00356

Fmt 8010

Sfmt 8010

Y:\SGML\205022T.XXX

205022T