H.R. 3280 — Rural Broadband Modernization Act

This section revises Section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants, loans, and loan guarantees to eligible entities for the construction, improvement, or acquisition of facilities and equipment needed to provide broadband service delivering at least 100 Mbps (or greater, as established by the Secretary) symmetrical throughput to rural households. It defines "broadband service" as any technology capable of high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video transmission, as identified by the Secretary, and "rural area" to exclude urbanized areas, cities/towns/incorporated areas over 20,000 population (for grants/direct loans), and certain other populations. The Secretary must prioritize (1) projects serving unserved rural communities lacking residential broadband of at least 25 Mbps downstream/3 Mbps upstream; (2) projects maximizing broadband levels to the greatest proportion of rural households; (3) eligible entities providing broadband/utility service for at least five years in the relevant state; (4) all organizational forms equally; and (5) projects requesting relatively less grant funding. Additional priorities include projects in communities under 10,000 population (including those with outmigration/strategic plans, high low-income rates, isolation, or precision agriculture needs) and those with substantial multi-stakeholder funding (e.g., governments, nonprofits, schools/libraries/colleges/health facilities, private entities, philanthropies). Applications may combine grants/loans with decisions required within 30 days. Grants are capped at 75% of total project costs, or 100% of development costs (i.e., construction, applications, other activities) for areas with fewer than seven households per square mile, using publicly available data for density calculations.