The U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving nearly $30 million in grants to two Oklahoma companies to expand high-speed Internet access in rural areas.
With the grants, Pioneer Telephone Cooperative and Cimarron Telephone Company will provide a broadband network in Blaine, Dewey, Ellis, Kingfisher, Pawnee and Osage counties. The USDA says this will provide high-speed Internet for more than 5,000 people and 702 farms.
The grants are part of the USDA's $100 million ReConnect Program funded by the CARES Act, which aims to expand broadband in rural areas.
The USDA received 11 applications for the program, and says more investments will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
